Things to Do to Effectively Manage Essential Tremors

Essential tremor is a medical condition that affects a small percentage of the population. One out of twenty people is bound to develop this disorder once they reach the age of sixty years old and above.
 If you are diagnosed with this type of condition, life can be somewhat challenging for you. Simple things like drinking from a glass, having your morning coffee, eating breakfast, and buttoning your shirt may not be as easy as before. Sometimes it can make you feel frustrated and ashamed of yourself because you are now dependent on other people for your basic needs.

Despite all of these challenges that you are facing, you should not give up on life. Many patients have continued living their lives to the fullest despite the severe essential tremor symptoms. Do not lose hope because there are a lot of things that you can do to help reduce the tremors making life easier for you.

How do most patients develop essential tremors?

Essential tremor is a progressive brain condition that develops over time. Some patients exhibit mild symptoms (tremors) while they are in their early 40’s. Most patients do not take this seriously since it does not have a significant impact on their lives yet. But once they reach their 60’s, the tremors can start to worsen to the point that some patients are finding it hard to drink from a glass of water or using a spoon to eat their cereal. In some cases, the tremors may affect the head and the voice of the patient, which makes it more difficult for them to socialize in public.

What causes this condition?

Unfortunately, despite years of intensive medical research, there has been no clear answer regarding the cause of essential tremors. Some doctors believe that what is causing the tremors to manifest is an abnormality in the cerebellum. Individuals with this condition usually inherit it from their parents. So if you have essential tremors, there is a fifty percent chance that your kids may inherit this condition when they grow old.

How to effectively manage the condition?

Since there is no cure yet for essential tremors, the good news is that you can do something to manage its signs and symptoms. First, doctors can recommend you to undergo extensive physical therapy to help you build stronger muscles that can help you control your tremors. You can also undergo occupational therapy so that you can function independently in many ways. The second option is to take medications like beta-blockers, sedatives, anti-seizure drugs, or Botox injections in which all of them can help reduce the tremors.

Lastly, if all of the suggestions mentioned above are not effective enough, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of undergoing surgery. Surgery may be riskier than medications, but some procedures have a high success rate. You may want to consider talking to your doctor about deep brain stimulation and thalamotomy because both methods are known to help alot of patients in reducing their tremors.

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This is a guest blog entry.