OCR Text |
Show Dystonia, a motor disturbance accompanies a fever, or follows fol-lows a course of antibiotics should be brought to the attention at-tention of a physician. A special case involves children, especially those under 1 year of age, who don't have the fluid reserves of an adult and are therefore much more susceptible to dehydration. Chronic diarrhea should be evaluated by a physician to rule out serious medical conditions. Some of these require re-quire high fiber diets; other steroids (Prednisone); others antibiotics, and others dietary changes. The stronger anti-diarrhea medicines, those requiring re-quiring a prescription (Lomotil, Imodium, and others), oth-ers), should not be used until after a physician has seen the patient Many types of diarrhea are made worse, to the point of needing surgery or even causing death, by these agents. Specifically, these agents should not be used to treat traveler's diarrhea. diar-rhea. Doxycycline or Pepto Bismol are as effective and much safer. - Dr. Tea Gani-ats, Gani-ats, department of family medicine, at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Copley News Service Q. Please tell me about the condition called "dysto-nia." "dysto-nia." LA, Columbus, Ohio A Dystonia is a motor disturbance dis-turbance which is characterized character-ized by Intermittent involuntary involun-tary sustained muscle sapsms in either the neck, trunk, extremities or combination combi-nation of these regional areas. Dystonia results in very bizarre and abnormal posturing. When the patient attempts a specific movement, move-ment, there is usually by-perextension by-perextension of the body part . Although dystonia is not very common in primary care practices, physicians will occasionally see this phenomenon as a complication complica-tion arising from a reaction to phenothiazines. In this situation, sit-uation, the child will develop ;-. involuntary movements of the entire body and often uncontrollable un-controllable eye movement " (oculogyric crisis). This phenomenon phe-nomenon is the most common com-mon presentation of acute dystonia for most primary : ;. care practitioners. Dystonia may also be seen in some forms of congenital brain disease. In dystonia ' V musculorum deformans, a progressive degenerative disease with an onset in early childhood, dystonic movements of the neck, ; ,: . trunk and extremities devel-op devel-op gradually. This produces -': a very bizarre gait, often in : '- association with facial grill gri-ll . macing and can easily be misinterpreted as a functional func-tional disorder. Dystonia should be differentiated dif-ferentiated from other movement disorders which all have their origin in abnormalities ab-normalities of the basal ganglia. gan-glia. These other movement disorders include chorea, (rapid, Jerky, small movements), move-ments), athetosis (slow, writhing, small or large movements), and ballismus (violent, rapid, flinging). Dr. Martin Stein, assistant professor pediatrics, at the University of California, Sa Diego School of Medicine. Q. What are the treatment methods for severe diarrhea? diar-rhea? J.T, Redding, Calif. A. First we must define diarrhea, di-arrhea, which is the presence pres-ence of loose, unformed stools, Frequent (four times a day) formed stools can be normal, while one loose stool every other day may be abnormal ab-normal There are many more causes of diarrhea then we have room to discuss in this column, and many diarrheas have quite different therapies. thera-pies. However, a few general points can be made. Acute diarrhea can often be treated by taking clear fluids (avoid milk) for 24 to 48 hours. This conservative thereapy is especially safe is the diarrhea is not bloody or accompanied by fever. Kao-pectate Kao-pectate or Pepto Bismol can also be used. Diarrhea which lasts more than a few days, is bloody, |