1/3. Empowerment through giving symptoms voice.This paper takes the perspective that physical and behavioral symptoms can be viewed as a form of mind-body communication. If the symptoms are listened to and "given voice," they can point the way to addressing imbalances influencing the development of the symptoms or to examining factors that can empower clients to heal. The author contends that women's traditional gender socialization may play a role in developing symptomatic bodily expression. It is proposed that hypnosis provides a suitable method for hearing and translating the mind-body communication. The application of hypnotic techniques is illustrated through two case examples.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Growth failure in the child with inflammatory bowel disease.Once considered rare in pediatric practice, chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is now being recognized with increasing frequency in children of all ages. In IBD, growth failure may be the only clinical presentation; it is imperative to perform a detailed history and physical examination to search for other systemic and gastrointestinal manifestations of the disease. IBD can have a significant impact on linear growth, weight gain, and bone mineralization, and can cause delays in the onset of puberty. Delays in growth and sexual development can be early indicators of disease activity, and assessment of growth and development should be performed frequently. Nutritional therapy is important not only to correct undernutrition, but also as therapy for IBD. Delayed puberty can have a significant impact on the self-esteem of the adolescent patient and diminish final adult height. Loss of bone mineral density is especially significant during a period in which the majority of bone accretion is expected to occur. These issues present unique problems to the gastroenterologist caring for a child or adolescent with IBD and require specific types of monitoring and interventions.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. Acute cytomegalovirus infection associated with the onset of inflammatory bowel disease.A 29-year-old man was admitted with high-grade fever, crampy abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea that had persisted for 2 weeks before his admission. Symptomatic treatment (acetaminophen only) was of no benefit. On physical examination, there was diffuse abdominal tenderness. Laboratory tests showed a leukomoid reaction with atypical lymphocytosis, and serology tests revealed acute cytomegalovirus infection. Abdominal computed tomography and colonoscopy revealed an inflammatory process involving the large intestine. On histologic examinations of intestinal biopsy samples, there was an active inflammation with no inclusion bodies.The patient was treated with ganciclovir with only mild improvement. Adding 5-aminosalicylic acid caused little further improvement. Repeated colonoscopy performed 2 months later showed severe chronic ulcerative colitis. Only the addition of systemic steroids caused complete resolution of the symptoms.On review of the literature (medline search for cytomegalovirus colitis in immunocompetent patients), 18 cases were found. On follow-up, 10 of these patients were found to have inflammatory bowel disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |