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
