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Common Complaints and Their Treatment

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Ideally adolescence is a time to enjoy the benefits of a maturing body. However, common to adolescents are a number of complaints that if given prompt and proper attention can be alleviated with minimum of distress.

Acne

Acne is a skin disease common amongst teenagers and sometimes persisting into the early twenties. It is characterised by spots on the face, neck and trunk.

Estimates suggest that three out of every four adolescents are affected by it and that it is more common among males. Females however can generally develop acne earlier than males because of their earlier onset of puberty.

Acne is common in adolescence because the hormonal changes that occur at this time affect the skin. It is caused by minute skin particles that detach from the lining of a hair follicle and block the follicle and adjacent sebaceous gland.

This prevents the gland from secreting the natural grease ‘sebum’, which keeps your skin elastic and water proof.

Treatment

For the more severe forms of acne and its effects, medical advice is well worthwhile and often effective. Frequent washing reduces the bacteria on the skin and thus the risk of infection.

Sunlight also aids recovery, especially when the upper back is affected and a change to better eating habits, fresh air, exercise, relaxation and proper sleep will all help to prevent and alleviate this complaint.

Too much chocolate, cocoa, coffee, sugar, spicy foods, fats and nuts are all thought to worsen this condition.

Anaemia

Anaemia is defined as a reduction below normal in the haemoglobin content of the blood. Haemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in the red blood cells which transports oxygen from the lungs to all tissues throughout the body; it also gives the blood its bright red appearance.

Because of the rapid growth and the increase in the body's need for iron, this condition is common in adolescence, especially in females at the onset of menstruation.

The symptoms of anaemia are usually paleness, tiredness, faintness and headaches, irritability, and loss of appetite

Treatment

Once the cause of the deficiency has been established, increasing the amount of iron in your diet is the usual remedy.
Iron is present in meat, especially liver and kidneys, also especially bran and wheatgerm, in shellfish and eggs, in whole grains, in watercress, in legumes, especially lima and soya beans, in lentils, in peanuts and tahini, and in gooseberries, apricots and dried fruit.

Fainting and giddiness

This is a transient lack of consciousness due to a momentary loss of blood to the brain. Brief losses of consciousness are common to both sexes during puberty and, although more frequent in girls, most adolescents have one or two faints.
The general cause seems to be a combination of alterations in the blood pressure and sudden changes in posture, like from sitting to standing, especially in a close environment.

Treatment

The most immediate form of treatment is to lie down in order to enable the blood to flow more readily to the brain. Recovery is accelerated if the legs and feet are raised above the head.

The weakness that usually accompanies recovery disappears with rest.

Medical examination might be necessary in order to establish the cause and long-term treatment could include more fresh air, proper exercise and a change in diet to more nutritious foods.

Dental decay

Owing to the body's rapid growth and the heavy demands therefore made upon its resources, dental decay often becomes more obvious during adolescence.

Treatment

Adequate nourishment, including foods that are rich in calcium, such as nuts, seeds, milk, cheese, eggs and sardines with bones, helps to prevent decay, and you should avoid sugar, sweets and sugary drinks and foods that help to promote dental plaque.

Regular brushing of your teeth (night and morning) and regular visits to your dentist are also most important.

Stress

'Keep your head cool and your feet warm' has been recommended by generations of physicians as an elementary rule for keeping healthy and fit, while 'hot-headedness' has always been associated with stress and irrational thought and action, mood swings and physical and mental ill health.

It is now widely recognised that many of our Western diseases are actually the result of the body's inability to cope with the stresses and strains of a rapid and competitive lifestyle.

As you approach adulthood it is inevitable that you have to face up to these problems. and learning how to cope with them is of great value to your health.

However, as well as a great variety of stress-related diseases, there are also a large number of crimes, accidents and injuries inflicted and suffered daily as an indirect result of actions and decisions made while under stress.

Stress is generally accepted as having three phases. The first phase is known as the 'alarm reaction'; this is a response by the nervous system that initiates a simultaneous series of physiological events that prepare the body for 'fight or flight'.
The second phase is known as 'resistance and adaptation'; at this stage stress is neutralised by the body as it resists and counters the situation, or adapts to it.

These first two phases are quite natural and normal to our daily lives as we cope with the events that alarm or upset us, either by resisting them or adapting to them.

Indeed, this kind of stress can be beneficial, arising as it does from the stimulation of new physical and intellectual challenges, romance and the excitement of other activities that spice everyday life.

The third phase of stress, however, is quite often not beneficial. This occurs when the body fails to neutralise the condition, whereupon a state of exhaustion then follows.

This usually happens when the situation that provokes the stress is severe or persists for a period of time; it is this kind of stress that weakens the body and provokes abnormal reactions.

Hatred, bigotry, anger, guilt, fear, depression and grief are some of the characteristics associated with stress and stressful personalities.

The effects of stress

Physically the 'fight or flight' response increases the heart rate and blood pressure, increases the respiration rate and constricts the airways. Breathing becomes shallow, saliva and other gastric juices are inhibited and there is a general increase in the tone (state of contraction) of the skeletal muscles, especially those of the face, throat, shoulders, abdomen and pelvic floor. In this state the body is prepared literally to fight or runaway.

Persistent and severe stress, however, can lead to more permanent conditions of the heart and circulation, like chronic high blood pressure, of the lungs and respiration, like asthma, of the digestive system, like chronic constipation or diarrhoea, and of the musculoskeletal system, like stiffness and inflexibility. And these are just a few of the physical disorders associated with stress.

Causes and cures

Extreme physical and mental exertion, lack of sleep, harassment, isolation and social overcrowding and poverty can all induce stress. In general, though, stress is caused by extremes— by either too much or too little of almost anything.

Fresh air, mild exercise and periods of rest all help to restore the body to a more balanced state. To reverse the effects of stress abdominal breathing is essential, relaxation techniques like self-hypnosis and meditation, and stretching exercises, are all also very good for regulating the heart rate and blood pressure, restoring abdominal breathing, regulating the digestive system, relaxing the muscles and restoring flexibility to the joints.

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