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FEATURED HEALTH ARTICLE: - HYPERACTIVITY
IN CHILDREN
(Manah
Asthairyeta)
Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a
neurobiological
condition seen primarily in the school-aged
population that affects one' s ability to maintain attention.
Historically, other terms have been used for this disorder (minimal
brain damage, minimal brain dysfunction, hyperactive, hyperkinetic),
but these terms have changed as knowledge of the problem has
increased.
We should be alert if:
A child does not manage to pay attention to details or
makes mistakes due to lack of care when doing homework, housework or
other work.
ADHD
affects 3 to 5 percent of all children. Intelligence is normal or
even gifted. Boys are 2 to 3 times more likely to be affected by the
disorder than girls. ADHD often continues into adolescence, and
sometimes into adulthood. The specific cause of ADHD is still
unknown.
ADHD is a diagnosis applied to children and adults who
consistently display certain characteristic behaviors over a period
of time. The most common behaviors fall into three categories: inattention,
hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Inattention. People who are inattentive have a hard time
keeping their mind on any one thing and may get bored with a task
after only a few minutes. They may give effortless, automatic
attention to activities and things they enjoy. But focusing
deliberate, conscious attention to organizing and completing a task or learning something
new is difficult.
Hyperactivity. People who are hyperactive always seem to be in
motion. They can't sit still. They may dash around or talk
incessantly. Sitting still through a lesson can be an impossible
task. Hyperactive children squirm in their seat or roam around the
room. Or they might wiggle their feet, touch everything, or noisily
tap their pencil. Hyperactive teens and adults may feel intensely
restless. They may be fidgety or they may try to do several things
at once, bouncing around from one activity to the next.
Impulsivity. People who are overly impulsive seem unable to
curb their immediate reactions or think before they act. As a
result, hey may blurt out inappropriate comments. Or, they may run
into the street without looking. Their impulsivity may make it hard
for them to wait for things they want or to take their turn in
games. They may grab a toy from another child or hit when they're
upset.
The person's pattern of behavior is compared against a
set of criteria and characteristics of the disorder. These criteria
appear in a diagnostic reference book called the DSM (short for the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
According to the diagnostic manual, there are three
patterns of behavior that indicate ADHD. People with ADHD may show
several signs of being consistently inattentive. They may have a
pattern of being hyperactive and impulsive. Or they may show all
three types of behavior.
According
to the DSM, signs of inattention include:
- Becoming easily
distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds
- Failing to pay
attention to details and making careless mistakes
- Rarely following
instructions carefully and completely
- Losing or forgetting
things like toys, or pencils, books, and tools needed for a task
Some signs of hyperactivity
and impulsivity are:
- Feeling restless,
often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming
- Running, climbing, or
leaving a seat, in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is
expected
- Blurting out answers
before hearing the whole question
- Having difficulty
waiting in line or for a turn
Because everyone shows some of
these behaviors at times, the DSM contains very specific guidelines
for determining when they indicate ADHD. The behaviors must appear
early in life, before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. In
children, they must be more frequent or severe than in others the
same age. Above all, the behaviors must create a real handicap in at
least two areas of a person's life, such as school, home, work, or
social settings. So someone whose work or friendships are not
impaired by these behaviors would not be diagnosed with ADHD. Nor
would a child who seems overly active at school but functions well
elsewhere.
Ayurveda:
Among the five elements,
earth is the capacity for stability in the body and mind. Water is
the capacity for flow and feeling. Fire is the capacity for
discrimination and digestion. Air is the capacity for motion, both
physical and the movement of thought. Ether is the capacity for
expansiveness and creativity. In the case of hyperactivity and
attention deficit disorder, there is excess in the qualities of air
and ether and a deficiency in the qualities of earth. Hence, from
the perspective of Ayurveda, ADD and ADHD are conditions of
increased expansive and creative energies and a decrease in
stability. The end result is a person who can go into creative
spaces that others cannot enter and therefore thinks outside of the
normal perceptive view of the general population. The loss of
stability is required to enter the realm they are in. This is
increase in the qualities of the elements air and ether a “Vata
disturbance”. While the condition has its creative advantages, it
can also reach a degree of disturbance in which it becomes difficult
to function well in the world of common experience.
Patients with Vata disturbances
often experience physical conditions such as constipation and gas in
the digestive system and dryness through out the body. Hence, a diet
that is nourishing, oily and somewhat heavy is important as long as
the patient does not become overweight. Overweight patients require
a similar diet but with smaller portions. Nourishment is the key to
increasing stability.
Spiritually-- Learning is
an internal process of self–observation. While children find
self-observation difficult, it is important that parents create a
supportive environment for self–exploration at the child’s pace.
On the mental level and
emotional level, Ayurveda approaches the condition through the use
of herbs. Ayurveda classifies herbs with a stabilizing effect on the
mind as “medhya rasayanas”. Along with Vata these herbs act on
Sadhaka pitta to promote the intellect and deeply nourish the
neurological tissues. They are nervine tonics. Many such as
Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera) and Shankha Pushpi (Convolvulus
pluricaulis) have a secondary mild sedative effect. Others like
Vacha (Acorus calamus) have a mild stimulating effect. The most well
known herbs for the condition are Brahmi (Bacopa monierra) and Gotu
Kola (Centella asiatica).
In
order to create the creative and expansive energies, Ayurveda
recommends consistent routines surrounding bedtime and meals as well
as the overall daily routine. Routines are essential to creating
stability of the mind. The condition is exacerbated by irregular
routines.
University of Illinois researchers studied nature as an
ADHD natural treatment. This study showed that children with ADHD
benefit from time outdoors enjoying nature with a significant
reduction of ADHD symptoms. Researchers also suggested that daily
doses of "green time" could supplement medications.
Here are just
a few ideas for increasing "green time":
- Play in a green yard or ball field at recess
and after school.
- Take after-dinner walks.
- Doing class work or homework outside or at a
window with a relatively green view.
- Grow an outdoor garden.
- Bike, ski, sled, inline skate...
- Visit a nature center or zoo.
- Choose a greener route for the walk to school.
- Participate in local nature clean-ups.
- Take up bird watching.
- Star gaze.
- Fishing.
ADHD Is Not Usually
Caused by:
- Too much TV
- Food allergies
- Excess sugar
- Poor home life
- Poor schools
You may consult our Ayurveda experts
through on
line consultation
or personally.
HERB OF THE MONTH:
Vacha –Acorus calamus.
Sweet flag is a grass-like, rhizome forming, perennial that
can grow to 2 meters high, resembling an iris. This species
inhabits perpetually wet areas like the edges of streams and
around ponds and lakes, in ditches and seeps.
Acorus calamus, if taken orally through a funnel, relieves
a cough. Celsus records that the plant was readily available in
the markets of India almost 2,000 years ago.
Calamus has been banned by the FDA as a food additive and
within the last few years many herbal shops have stopped
recommending or dispensing it.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
The essential oil of rhizomes of Acorus calamus
contains two isomeric substances a- and B-asarone.
Solvent extraction of oil from Acorus calamus gave
a- and B-asarone, calamol and calamene.
Stabilised oil of A. calamus yields three monocyclic
sesquitepenes shyobunone, epi-shybunone. Preisocalamendiol,
isolated from A. Calamus, on heating give dihydroxyisocalamendiol.
It
helps
in increasing the memory.
BEAUTY TIP – FOR HEALTHY HAIR:
· To
get rid of dandruff add 2 teaspoon of lemon juice in 50ml.of
natural
vinegar and massage over the scalp and leave for 30 minutes
and
wash with mild shampoo.
For personalized beauty related queries mail to: beauty@ayurplanet.com
FORTHCOMING EVENT:
Event Name : 2nd Nutraceutical Summit
Date (s) : February 3---5 ;2005
Venue : Intercontinental, The Grand;Connaught Place; New Delhi.
Details : www.nutraceuticalsummit.com
News: N.E.J.M. (1/25/01); Circulation (1/23/01)
The
great thing about opening a clogged artery with angioplasty--and keeping it
open with a tiny stent--is that the treatment works 90% of the time. In the
short term, at least. After six months the artery closes back up again in 1
patient out of 4. Now scientists have come up with a hot new idea: blast the
treated vessel, stent and all, with radiation. Two preliminary studies suggest
that the odds a zapped vessel will reclog are reduced as much as 90%.
Is it good to let doctors’ work on human body as
experimental animals that too with certifications and approval with drug
authorities? Is it a pharmaceutical way of functioning for earning or it’s
aim is to really help the humanity? Write to: ayur@ayurplanet.com
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This monthly is meant only for information purpose and it is not intended to
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