Basic Solutions to Tackle Schizophrenia Patients at Home

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects the way a person acts, thinks, expresses emotions, perceives reality and relates to others. With this mental illness, people often have problems functioning in school, work, society and relationships. If a person is found with schizophrenia, they may seem scared, withdrawn or lost from the touch of reality. This is a lifelong disease and has no preventive cure. However, the episodes can be controlled with regular therapy and proper treatment.

What are the Types of Schizophrenia?

Previously, psychiatrists referred to different types of schizophrenia, such as paranoid schizophrenia and catatonic schizophrenia. However, this categorisation was not beneficial in diagnosing or treating schizophrenia. Experts now see schizophrenia as a spectrum of conditions like:

• Brief psychotic disorder
• Schizotypal personality disorder (which also falls under personality disorder)
• Delusional disorder
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Schizophreniform disorder

Who gets Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder, and anyone can be diagnosed with it. The illness affects people from all around the world, irrespective of their ethnicity or culture. While this condition can occur at any age, it typically emerges in adolescence or early childhood. This illness affects both men and women equally, though schizophrenia symptoms can appear in men sooner than in females. The earlier the symptoms appear, the more serious the condition becomes. Children above the age of five can develop schizophrenia, although it is uncommon before puberty.

What are the Main Causes of Schizophrenia?

There is no one reason for schizophrenia. Psychiatrists think that there are different schizophrenia causes. The prime causes include:

• Problems with brain development before birth.
  
• Imbalances in chemical signals that the brain uses for cell-to-cell communication.
  
• Lack of communication between different areas of the brain.

What are the Risk Factors of Schizophrenia?

Though there’s not one root cause for this disease, there are certain risk factors for developing schizophrenia.

Genetic

Experts haven't identified a single cause of schizophrenia, so the role of genetics is uncertain. However, if you have a history of schizophrenia in the family, particularly a parent or a sibling who has it, you are considerably more likely to acquire the disorder.

Environment

Many environmental factors can increase your chances of developing schizophrenia. Being born in the winter increases this risk marginally. There are certain brain-related conditions and autoimmune diseases which can also put you at risk. Extreme stress over time might also contribute to its development.

Using Recreational Drug

Using recreational drugs in larger amounts in your daily lifestyle can increase the risk of developing this mental disorder. If a person has used or is still using heavy marijuana (cannabis) may develop schizophrenia. However, there is no evidence to prove that marijuana directly is the direct cause of this illness or is the contributing factor.

What Tests Will be Done to Diagnose This Condition?

To diagnose schizophrenia, your healthcare provider may prescribe the following tests:

Blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid (spinal tap) tests

These tests seek chemical changes in bodily fluids that might explain behavioural abnormalities.

Imaging Tests

Doctors often use computerised tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging tests to rule out disorders like structural alterations in the brain, trauma in the brain, strokes as well as tumours.

Brain Activity Testing

An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures and records electrical activity in your brain. This test is often used to detect disorders like epilepsy.

How is Schizophrenia Cured?

Unfortunately, schizophrenia isn’t curable. However, there are medications, therapy and self-management techniques that are used in schizophrenia treatment. Some of the treatments include:

• Antipsychotic medications 
• Other medications for preventing symptoms that happen alongside schizophrenic episodes
• Psychotherapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy (if nothing works and the condition worsens)

Conclusion

Schizophrenia can happen to anyone at any given age, mostly during early childhood. Since there is not one specific cause of this mental disorder, it may be difficult to identify its development. If a person seems completely detached from reality, they may have developed the disorder. With proper treatment, you can control the frequent episodes of this illness.