Thursday, December 5, 2013

TREMORS OR SHIVERING OR SHAKING


TREMORS OR SHAKING OR SHIVERING


DR SUDHIR KUMAR MD (INTERNAL MED.) DM (NEUROLOGY)
SENIOR CONSULTANT NEUROLOGIST
APOLLO HOSPITALS, HYDERABAD

1.  What are tremors?
A: Tremors are commonly referred to as shaking or shivering also. They are involuntary movements (occurring without one’s control) of a part of body.

2.  What are the common causes of tremors?
A: The most common causes of tremors are:
·      Physiological or normal
·      Essential or familial
·      Parkinson’s disease

3.  What are physiological tremors?
A: We all remember shivering of our hands during oral or viva examinations, or while learning to drive, or during any state of anxiety. Such tremors occurring during stress or anxiety is referred to as physiological. Most often, only hands are affected. Since, these affect most people at some time in life, they are also called as normal (or exaggerated normal). These do not require any treatment.

4.  What are familial or essential tremors?
A: These are probably the most common cause of tremors, which are pathological (abnormal).
·      They often start in adolescence or early adulthood.
·      Hands are most often affected, leading to difficulty in writing, signing, drinking tea or coffee, buttoning or unbuttoning, opening a lock or anything that requires fine finger movements.
·      Head may also be affected, with either side-to-side or front-to-back movements.
·      Voice tremors are also common.
·      These occur in families and so are supposed to be of hereditary origin.
·      Severe disability is uncommon with these tremors.
·      Good medications are available to treat them. These include beta-blockers, clonazepam, primidone, and botox injections. Consulting a neurologist would help you choose the best medicine.

PARKSINSON’S DISEASE has already been described in one of my previous blog articles. This can be found at http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in/2013/03/parkinsons-disease_12.html

If you have any further queries on tremors or shaking, please send an email: drsudhirkumar@yahoo.com

For online consultation with Dr Sudhir Kumar, please click http://members.tripod.com/sudhirkumar_5/neurologist/id6.html