Is this your symptom?
- Often feeling sad or low mood; loss of hope or less interest in daily activities
- May feel like crying, have trouble sleeping, not taking care of yourself
Depression
- The exact cause is unknown.
- Some people are more likely to have depression than others. It may be inherited.
- It can be triggered by life events or a combination of life events and inherited.
- Women are more likely to have depression than men. It is common after childbirth and at the time of menopause.
Depression and Physical Issues
A number of physical issues can cause low mood and may be mistaken for depression. These include:
- Underactive thyroid. Low levels can make you feel low, weepy and tired.
- Underactive pituitary gland. Low levels affect sex drive and fertility. It can cause weight gain and low mood.
- A head injury, even if it happened many years ago.
- Polymyalgia Rheumatica. An inflammation that causes joint pain and stiffness, as well as depression.
- Early dementia may seem like depression to others.
It is important to rule out physical issues. Treatment may be needed.
Bipolar Disorder (serious). For some people, their mood can change from depression to periods of happiness and overactivity (mania). This is called bipolar disorder (or manic depression). Treatment may include mood stabilizing medicines such as lithium. Periods of depression and elation can last for weeks or months. This is different from normal mood swings which last for minutes or hours.
Postpartum Depression (serious). About 1 in 10 mothers experience post-partum depression. Seek help from your doctor if you feel depressed after childbirth. There are three main causes of low mood after you have had a baby:
- Baby Blues: feeling tired and emotional in the first weeks after childbirth
- Post-partum Depression: often within the first 4 weeks of childbirth, but can start months or even up to a year later. Symptoms last longer than baby blues.
- Post-partum Psychosis: a rare but serious mental illness that puts the mother and baby at risk. The mother may have low mood and also loss of touch with reality. She may have strange ideas, such as harming herself or her baby. Seek help right away if these symptoms occur.
Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some people feel depressed, but only in the winter months. The cause is unknown but may be due to lack of sunlight. These people find it hard to wake up. The symptoms get worse as the hours of daylight get shorter. Severe symptoms of depression and not wanting to see family and friends may occur between November and January. Treatment is to get more natural sunlight and/or light therapy from a lightbox with a bright light. Also, the usual therapies for depression may help.
When to Call for Depression
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
|
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
|
Self Care at Home
|
Call 911 Now
- You have tried to kill yourself or feel like you will try within the next few minutes
- You have hurt yourself, taken an overdose of a medicine or swallowed a poison
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- You fear you will hurt yourself or are thinking about hurting yourself
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- You feel life is not worth living; you feel guilty, worthless or helpless (or call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline)
- Your wife or partner had a baby in the past few months and is behaving oddly, such as:
- neglecting the baby
- doing strange things
- seeing or hearing things that are not there
- You have a history of bipolar disorder and feel your mood is changing
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent (or call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline)
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- You are not taking care of yourself (not eating and drinking normally, drinking too much alcohol, not bathing/showering)
- You have a constant feeling of anxiety, fear, worry and/or panic
- You are crying all the time
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Trouble sleeping
- You feel cranky, easily upset or restless
- Trouble focusing or feel tired all the time
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Mild low mood symptoms happen once in a while; does not affect normal activities
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
