Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is a mental illness that gives the victim uncontrollable thoughts. The behaviors we associate with OCD are in response to these thoughts, and are not the actual base of the disease. For example, a patient with OCD might think repeatedly that she left the door unlocked or that the door isn’t locked properly. So she locks it – again and again and again. Unfortunately, OCD is a long-term illness that can bring devastating results to every area of your life if left untreated.

Causes of OCD

There is not yet a determination of an exact cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. There are clues as to what might contribute to the condition, but despite years of research, no exact cause has been found. A lack of serotonin in the brain seems to contribute to the disease as well as faulty wiring in the brain that misconstrues messages. The body’s response to certain infections in childhood can also trigger a response or make the condition more pronounced as the child ages.

Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms

The most overwhelming symptom of OCD is anxiety. Those suffering from the disease are always plagued by anxious feelings of impending doom or disaster if they fail to meet exacting criteria. For example, a patient might feel a sense of dread if she doesn’t check to be sure each window is shut and locked securely before she leaves the house. In a mild case of OCD, the patient can make a quick lap of the house, have her anxiety relieved and be able to leave.

In a more serious case of OCD, the patient will test each window thoroughly and by the time she’s tested each window, she once again feels anxious that she might have missed something so she must check them again to be sure. In the most severe cases, the patient might never be able to leave the house due to her overwhelming anxiety about the windows, the stove, the doors, germs or any number of other things. (more…)

When the bird flu first appeared in Asia, the world took note. There was great fear that bird flu epidemic would spread into other countries and cause substantial harm to the world population. Then, after a mass slaughter of poultry, the disease was quieted and fell from the public’s attention. Now the bird flu, or H5N1, is regaining attention as the confusing and dangerous disease is once again rapidly spreading.

The Return of the Bird Flu
While most of the western world forgot about the bird flu after the initial scare, it never truly disappeared. H5N1 resurfaced in 2003 and has been spreading rapidly ever since. The disease which began in isolated cases in Asia has now spread throughout most Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. As it spreads the disease is also claiming human lives and the lives of countless birds. 211 people have been killed in more than 60 countries since 2003, and while many countries now vaccinate poultry, hundreds of millions of birds continue to die as well.

Understanding the Bird Flu
Unfortunately, over the ten years that the disease first appeared, little has been discovered that can explain the disease or calm the world’s once again growing fears. Scientists have been unable to discover why the flu appears and how it transfers to humans. More puzzling is why it transfers to only certain humans and how the disease is actually spread between people.

There are clues among human infections that H5N1 can spread through limited contact as a family in Pakistan was infected with no new infections occurring throughout the country. The season also seems to affect the number of infections. As colder temperatures appear, the number of reported cases of bird flu rise, much like influenza. But this still doesn’t explain the international migration of the disease – it would appear only wild birds can do that. (more…)