An irresistible urge to move the legs is called “Restless Legs Syndrome.” The urge to move the legs is usually due to unpleasant feelings in the legs that occur when at rest. Movement eases the feelings for a while. Although symptoms mostly affect in the legs, they can also affect the arms.

There are two types of restless legs syndrome, they are:

1.Primary: Cause is not know, but tends to run in families, and is the most common
2.Secondary: Caused by another disease or condition or by taking certain medicines.

Restless legs syndrome is common in pregnant women and usually occurs during the last months of pregnancy. It usually improves or disappears within a few weeks after delivery.

People with restless legs syndrome describe their symptoms with words like creeping, crawling, tingling or burning sensations. The unpleasant feelings may also occur in the arms.

People with RLS often don’t get enough sleep because RLS can make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. They are often tired and sleepy during the day which makes it difficult to:

Â?Concentrate, learn and remember things
Â?Work
Â?Carry out other usual daily activities
Â?Take part in family and social activities

Not getting enough sleep can also cause depression or mood swings.

People with RLS usually also have a condition called periodic limb movement disorder. PLMD is characterized by leg twitching or jerking uncontrollably about every 10 to 60 seconds usually during sleep. The legs are usually most affected, but PLMD can also affect the arms.

Although RLS is unpleasant and uncomfortable, there are some simple self-care approaches and lifestyle changes that can help in mild cases. RLS symptoms often improve with medical treatment. There is ongoing research to better understand the causes of RLS and to develop better treatments.

Medicines that can cause RLS

RLS symptoms usually go away when medicine is stopped, if the RLS symptoms are actually caused by the medicine. You should never stop taking any kind of medicine that is prescribed by your doctor unless he or she instructs you to do so. Medicines that can cause RLS are:

Â?Antiseizure medicines
Â?Antinausea medicines
Â?Antidepressants
Â?Some cold and allergy medicines
Other substances that can cause RLS symptoms or make them worse include:
Â?Caffeine
Â?Alcohol
Â?Tobacco

Although RLS affects both men and women, the disorder occurs more often in women than in men. The age group in which RLS mostly occurs is middle age; however, in up to two out of every five cases, the symptoms of RLS begin before age 20. People who develop RLS early in life usually have a family history of the disorder. The disorder is also more common in persons of northern European descent.

Signs and Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome include:

Â?An almost irresistible urge to move the legs or arms when sitting or lying down
Â?An unpleasant feeling in the legs
Â?Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep because of the unpleasant feelings in the legs or arms
Â?Daytime sleepiness that results from a lack of restful sleep due to the repeated limb movements

Restless legs syndrome gets its name from the urge to move the legs when sitting or lying down. Typical movements include:

Â?Pacing and walking
Â?Jiggling the legs
Â?Stretching and flexing
Â?Tossing and turning
Â?Rubbing the legs

To help your doctor take a medical history, and to provide you with an appropriate diagnosis, provide him or her with answers to the following questions:

Â?Can you describe your symptoms?
Â?When did your symptoms first begin?
Â?When during the day or night do the symptoms usually occur?
Â?When are your symptoms worse?
Â?Do symptoms interfere with your sleep?
Â?What time do you go to bed and get up?
Â?What is your routine before going to bed?
Â?What kind of noise, light, interruptions are there in the room where you sleep?
Â?Do you snore?
Â?Are you tired and sleepy when you wake up and during the day?
Â?Do you have trouble concentrating?
Â?Do you doze off or have difficult staying awake doing routine tasks, especially while driving?
Â?Do other members of your family have similar symptoms?
Â?What medicines (over-the-counter and prescription) do you take?
Â?Do you gasp for air during sleep?
Â?Do you use caffeine, tobacco, or alcohol?

Listed below are some lifestyle changes to improve and relieve symptoms of RLS:

Â?Avoid things that can make symptoms of RLS worse such as tobacco, alcohol, foods and beverages that contain caffeine such as chocolate, coffee, tea, and some soft drinks
Â?Medicines: Only at the advice of your doctor should you stop taking medicines that have been specifically prescribed for you. There are some medicines that can make the symptoms of RLS worse and they include: Antidepressants, antinausea medicines, antipsychotic medicines, antihistamines.
Â?Adopt good sleep habits such as keeping your bedroom or sleep area cool, quiet, comfortable and free of unnecessary light. Use your bedroom for sleeping, not for watching TV or using computers or the telephone. Go to bed every night at the same time and wake up at the same time every morning.
Â?Follow a program of moderate exercise
Other activities that may also help relieve symptoms include:
Â?Walking or stretching
Â?Taking a hot or cold bath
Â?Massaging the leg or arm
Â?Using heat or ice packs

Doctors prescribe medicines to treat RLS in people who:

Â?Have clearly defined symptoms
Â?Those who have symptoms that cannot be controlled by lifestyle and non-drug treatments.

There is no single medicine that is helpful in all persons with RLS. It sometimes takes several changes in medicines and dosages to find the best approach. Always talk to your doctor before taking any medicines or over-the-counter medicines for your symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ropinirole to treat moderate to severe RLS.

Restless legs syndrome is very often a lifelong condition. The symptoms may come and go frequently or they may disappear completely for long periods of time. They may even get worse over time. Lifestyle changes and medicines can help control and relieve symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Discuss with your doctor about lifestyle changes and medicines that might help your symptoms. As research continues new treatments are being developed.

Source: The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. Article written 4-2007.

Connie Limon
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/restless-legs-syndrome-139217.html

I know someone that has trouble sleeping at night and they found an over the counter sleep aid that they really like that help them sleep and they were wondering if long term use of it would cause problems for them.

Diphenhydramine is the most common OTC sleep aid medication - its sold under dozens of brand names, but you most likely know it better as Benedryl - the allergy medication….its an antihistamine.

And people have been known to take it daily for years….

The current economic recession will see many people having to deal with different situations, either with themselves or their family members.  One of the problems that have been increasing amongst Americans, especially older ones, is anxiety about the future.  This anxiety can result into the onset of a variety of mood disorders that range from being relatively mild to severe.

Depression and Bipolar Disorder are two types of mood disorders that are becoming increasingly common.  Depression has many levels and often goes undiagnosed for a long time if itâ??s mild.  Bipolar Disorder is a bit easier to identify because it involves severe mood swings that others will find abnormal and may seek to investigate the matter further.

How do you know if you are depressed or have bipolar disorder

There are signs that you can use to tell you if you or a loved one is depressed.

·        You feel sad, irritable or tense at all times.

·        You find yourself not enjoying hobbies and other things that you used to enjoy.

·        You donâ??t have a lot of energy even when youâ??ve done nothing all day.

·        You either lose or gain a lot of weight due a change in your eating habits.

·        Youâ??re either sleeping too much or not enough.

·        You have difficulty concentrating on something for a prolonged period of time.

·        You have times when you feel as though youâ??re not contributing to your family, job or community â?? a general sense of worthlessness.

·        You think about committing suicide or dying.

·        In the case of bipolar disorder, you have mood swings that go from one extreme to the other.

How to deal with it

If you find that most of the above signs fit your current emotional state, you may be depressed or have bipolar disorder and need to seek professional help immediately.  This does not mean that you should start taking a lot of medication; but it is the first step in diagnosing whether or not you really have a mood disorder.  A professional will help you create a mood chart on which you can record your moods over a period a time so that you can be accurately diagnosed. 

Do not be afraid to talk about your findings with those close to you.  Do not try to work things out alone; it will probably only make matters worse.  Also, try to identify the source of your depression and, with the help of loved ones, work on a solution or a positive way of dealing with the problem.

These mood disorders have a way of creeping up on us and slowly eating away at our will to live without us realizing it.  Awareness of the signs is the key to preventing anything devastating from happening as a result.  As with most illnesses, persistence and patience are essential as you will not necessarily see immediate improvement, but that will come with time.

We, at BoomerYearbook.com, would like to hear your thoughts on dealing with depression and/or bipolar disorder during this current recession.  Visit our website and share with others.

www.boomeryearbook.com is a social networking site connecting the Baby Boomer generation. Share your thoughts, rediscover old friends, or expand your mind with brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join today to discover the many ways we are helping Boomers connect for fun and profit.
For:www.boomeryearbook.com

Andrew clinton
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/a-boomers-guide-to-dealing-with-bipolar-and-mood-disorders-during-a-recession-707085.html

Are you losing hope already on your weight problems? Do you feel tired because you have tried almost all possible ways and techniques to shed those extra pounds away? Do you want to really lose them permanently?

If you feel you are at the end your dreams; cheer up because there is still hope because the fastest way to lose weight is here and will open new doors of opportunity to achieve that ideal weight for you. Every thing is possible, discover and learn ways to lose weight fast, effective and safely.

If every single approach you’ve had tried to lose weight failed you, it is understandable that you would feel bad but for you to stop hoping is wrong. You can not just give up because you’ve failed - you are not the first person who failed. Many have tried but never lose hope and they never say never to try new techniques.

That’s the spirit.

Although there are no techniques in particular that offers instant results, for sure you would find fastest way to lose weight and shed off those extra pounds in your body. Fastest in a way that you would see results in the most realistic time frame of program even those diet pills in the market should be given some allowance to see efficacy, right?

Learn the most sensible, realistic diet plan to lose weight. Forget those fad diets in the market like cabbage soup, calorie watch diets, or those diets that would ask a person to consume particular food type - avoid them.

Think of your body as a machine that has an engine to maintain to function well. Most of these fad diets do violate the purpose and principle of having a good nutrition so they failed. Continued regimen of these kinds of diets would just lead to the following:

“Digestive discomforts

“Bad breath

“Flatulence

“Pale skin color

“Dizziness, among others

Your digestive systems may face difficulty because some diets would just let you skip meals which is to dangerous. Some diet such as cabbage soup might result to discomfort and accumulation of gas in the stomach. If you have stomach discomfort, it is possible that you may have bad breath, too. If you will notice most dieters suffer also from halitosis or bad breath, this is due to unhealthy consumption of food and usual skipping of meals. This may lead to serious systemic halitosis or bad breath.

If you just do a little research, you’ll see that the reason you’ve failed in the past diet workouts is because you lack the right knowledge on dieting. But now, success is within your reach - do the fastest way to lose weight.

The fastest way to lose weight should be done by:

“Eating fruits instead of sodas to enhance our digestive systems’ function

“Consuming raw vegetables for the body to absorb the nutrients

“Following a balance diet - no strict diet on particular food

“Drinking plenty of water for hydration instead of energy drinks

“Doing some simple target area exercises

“Having a healthy lifestyle; avoiding vices

“Sleeping appropriate hours to regain strength

There is no shortcut but there you may find these tips to be the fastest to lose weight ideally and in a realistic way.

Janet Sommers
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fastest-way-to-lose-weightlearn-ways-to-lose-weight-491559.html

What’s the top eye cream on the market, today? Well, there aren’t many good ones. Most of them contain allergens and irritants, which are particularly dangerous when used around the eyes. If you read some online reviews, you’ll see that reactions range from redness and itching to difficulty sleeping and it is all because of the ingredients.

Many people think that only those with “sensitive” skin need to worry about the ingredients in skincare products. But, everyone should take the time to learn about some of the most common skincare ingredients and about the problems they can cause.

Paraffin is one of the most common ingredients in around-the-eye products. The ingredient can even be found in the top eye creams; that is to say the top-selling ones. If being tops means something else to you, something like the safest and most effective, then paraffin is something that is not listed on the label of ingredients.

In reviews, creams containing paraffin are said to have the consistency of chap-stick. They pull at the skin, which is always a problem. If they are intended for nighttime use, they “migrate” into the eyes during sleep. In addition, the waxy substance clogs the pores and causes pimples.

In case those things aren’t enough to make you avoid paraffin, here’s another one. It often contains cancer-causing contaminants.

Paraffin, mineral oil and petrolatum are “volatile organic compounds”. They are called volatile, because they are flammable, organic because they contain carbon and the term “compounds” is self-explanatory.

Those of us that are “in” to organic foods have a different definition of the word. We think of it as foods that are grown without the use of synthetics, chemical pesticides, lead-based fertilizers or other hazardous compounds. To those of us that feel that way, finding the top eye cream would mean finding one that contained only the safest plant-based oils and other natural ingredients.

Lucky for us, those safe ingredients are also the most effective, when it comes to reducing bags, dark circles and even tiny wrinkles. Chrysin, for example, an antioxidant found in blue passion flower promotes circulation, reducing bags and dark circles. Manuka honey, for another example, has antioxidant and antibacterial activity, which helps reduce the signs of aging and prevents blemishes.

The top eye creams should contain the most moisturizing ingredient available. According to clinical studies, that ingredient is a compound called Cynergy TK. It improves the skin’s moisture content by more than 20% and improves its ability to retain moisture. There is nothing else that can do that.

Cynergy TK is actually a protein complex that contains small amounts of copper and zinc. Research has shown that, when they are bound to protein, copper and zinc stimulate the growth of new skin. That’s important for anyone that is starting to look a little older around the eyes.

The skin’s layers become thinner with age. That’s one of the things that cause wrinkles and sagging. So, the top eye cream can do many things, if it contains the right ingredients.

Valerie Rosenbaum
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/what-is-the-top-eye-cream-on-the-market-1244453.html