Month: April 2023

Vitamins are compounds that you must have for growth and health. They are needed in small amounts only and are usually available in the foods that you eat. Thiamine (vitamin B 1) is needed for the breakdown of carbohydrates.

Some conditions may increase your need for thiamine. These include:

• Alcoholism
• Burns
• Diarrhea (continuing)
• Fever (continuing)
• Illness (continuing)
• Intestinal disease
• Liver disease
• Overactive thyroid
• Stress (continuing)
• Surgical removal of stomach

Also, the following groups of people may have a deficiency of thiamine:

• Patients using an artificial kidney (on hemodialysis)
• Individuals who do heavy manual labor on a daily basis

Increased need for thiamine should be determined by your health care professional.

Lack of thiamine may lead to a condition called beriberi. Signs of beriberi include loss of appetite, constipation, muscle weakness, pain or tingling in arms or legs, and possible swelling of feet or lower legs. In addition, if severe, lack of thiamine may cause mental depression, memory problems, weakness, shortness of breath, and fast heartbeat. Your health care professional may treat this by prescribing thiamine for you.

Thiamine may also be used for other conditions as determined by your health care professional.

Claims that thiamine is effective for treatment of skin problems, chronic diarrhea, tiredness, mental problems, multiple sclerosis, nerve problems, and ulcerative colitis (a disease of the intestines), or as an insect repellant or to stimulate appetite have not been proven.

Injectable thiamine is administered only by or under the supervision of your health care professional. Other forms of thiamine are available without a prescription.

Importance of Diet

For good health, it is important that you eat a balanced and varied diet. Follow carefully any diet program your health care professional may recommend. For your specific dietary vitamin and/or mineral needs, ask your health care professional for a list of appropriate foods. If you think that you are not getting enough vitamins and/or minerals in your diet, you may choose to take a dietary supplement.

Thiamine is found in various foods, including cereals (whole-grain and enriched), peas, beans, nuts, and meats (especially pork and beef). Some thiamine in foods is lost with cooking.

Vitamins alone will not take the place of a good diet and will not provide energy. Your body also needs other substances found in food such as protein, minerals, carbohydrates, and fat. Vitamins themselves often cannot work without the presence of other foods.

The daily amount of thiamine needed is defined in several different ways.

For U.S.—

• Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are the amount of vitamins and minerals needed to provide for adequate nutrition in most healthy persons. RDAs for a given nutrient may vary depending on a person’s age, sex, and physical condition (e.g., pregnancy).
• Daily Values (DVs) are used on food and dietary supplement labels to indicate the percent of the recommended daily amount of each nutrient that a serving provides. DV replaces the previous designation of United States Recommended Daily Allowances (USRDAs).

For Canada—

• Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) are used to determine the amounts of vitamins, minerals, and protein needed to provide adequate nutrition and lessen the risk of chronic disease.

Normal daily recommended intakes in milligrams (mg) for thiamine are generally defined as follows:

Persons	U.S. (mg)	Canada (mg)
Infants and children Birth to 3 years of age	0.3–0.7	0.3–0.6
4 to 6 years of age	0.9	0.7
7 to 10 years of age	1	0.8–1
Adolescent and adult males	1.2–1.5	0.8–1.3
Adolescent and adult females	1–1.1	0.8–0.9
Pregnant females	1.5	0.9–1
Breast-feeding females	1.6	1–1.2

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

• Tablet
• Solution

What is vitamin K and why is it important?

Vitamin K is a substance that our body needs to form clots and to stop bleeding.  We get vitamin K from the food we eat.  Some vitamin K is also made by the good bacteria that live in our intestines. Babies are born with very small amounts of vitamin K stored in their bodies, which can lead to serious bleeding problems if not supplemented.

What is Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding or VKDB?

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding or VKDB, occurs when babies cannot stop bleeding because their blood does not have enough Vitamin K to form a clot. The bleeding can occur anywhere on the inside or outside of the body.  When the bleeding occurs inside the body, it can be difficult to notice.  Commonly, a baby with VKDB will bleed into his or her intestines, or into the brain, which can lead to brain damage and even death. Infants who do not receive the vitamin K shot at birth can develop VKDB at any time up to 6 months of age. There are three types of VKDB, based on the age of the baby when the bleeding problems start: early, classical and late. More information about these types is included below.

Why are babies more likely to have vitamin K deficiency and to get VKDB?

All infants, regardless of sex, race, or ethnic background, are at higher risk for VKDB until they start eating regular foods, usually at age 4-6 months, and  until the normal intestinal bacteria start making vitamin K. This is because:

• At birth, babies have very little vitamin K stored in their bodies because only small amounts pass to them through the placenta from their mothers.
• The good bacteria that produce vitamin K are not yet present in the newborn’s intestines.
• Breast milk contains low amounts of vitamin K, so exclusively breastfed babies don’t get enough vitamin K from the breast milk, alone.

What can I do to prevent my baby from getting vitamin K deficiency and VKDB?

The good news is that VKDB is easily prevented by giving babies a vitamin K shot into a muscle in the thigh.   One shot given just after birth will protect your baby from VKDB.  In order to provide for immediate bonding and contact between the newborn and mother, giving the vitamin K shot can be delayed up to 6 hours after birth.

Is the Vitamin K shot safe?

Yes.  Many studies have shown that vitamin K is safe when given to newborns.   For more information about the safety of the vitamin K shot, 

What might cause babies to be deficient in vitamin K and have bleeding problems?

Some things can put infants at a higher risk for developing VKDB. Babies at greater risk include:

• Babies who do not receive a vitamin K shot at birth.  The risk is even higher if they are exclusively breastfed.
• Babies whose mothers used certain medications, like isoniazid or medicines to treat seizures.  These drugs  interfere with how the body uses vitamin K.
• Babies who have liver disease; often they cannot use the vitamin K their body stores.
• Babies who have diarrhea, celiac disease, or cystic fibrosis often have trouble absorbing vitamins, including vitamin K, from the foods they eat.

How often are babies affected with vitamin K deficiency bleeding?

Since babies can be affected until they are 6 months old, healthcare providers divide VKDB into three types; early, classical and late.   The chart below helps explain these three different types.

• Early and classical VKDB are more common, occurring in 1 in 60 to 1 in 250 newborns, although the risk is much higher for early VKDB among those infants whose mothers used certain medications during the pregnancy.
• Late VKDB is rarer, occurring in 1 in 14,000 to 1 in 25,000 infants.
• Infants who do not receive a vitamin K shot at birth are 81 times more likely to develop late VKDB than infants who do receive a vitamin K shot at birth. 

What things should I look for in my baby if I think he or she might have VKDB?

Unfortunately, in the majority of cases of VKDB, there are NO WARNING SIGNS before a life-threatening event starts.  Babies with VKDB might develop any of the following signs:

• Bruises, especially around the baby’s head and face
• Bleeding from the nose or umbilical cord
• Skin color that is paler than before.  For darker skinned babies, the gums may appear pale
• After the first 3 weeks of life, the white parts of your baby’s eyes may turn yellow.
• Stool that has blood in it, is black or dark and sticky (also called ‘tarry’), or vomiting blood
• Irritability, seizures, excessive sleepiness, or a lot of vomiting may all be signs of bleeding in the brain

Remember, VKDB is easily preventable with just a single vitamin K shot at birth.

Overview

Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses such as bending over or coughing can cause a fracture. Osteoporosis-related fractures most commonly occur in the hip, wrist or spine.

Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone.

Osteoporosis affects men and women of all races. But white and Asian women, especially older women who are past menopause, are at highest risk. Medications, healthy diet and weight-bearing exercise can help prevent bone loss or strengthen already weak bones.

Symptoms

There typically are no symptoms in the early stages of bone loss. But once your bones have been weakened by osteoporosis, you might have signs and symptoms that include:

• Back pain, caused by a fractured or collapsed vertebra
• Loss of height over time
• A stooped posture
• A bone that breaks much more easily than expected

When to see a doctor

You might want to talk to your doctor about osteoporosis if you went through early menopause or took corticosteroids for several months at a time, or if either of your parents had hip fractures.

Causes

Osteoporosis weakens boneOpen pop-up dialog box

Your bones are in a constant state of renewal — new bone is made and old bone is broken down. When you’re young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone and your bone mass increases. After the early 20s this process slows, and most people reach their peak bone mass by age 30. As people age, bone mass is lost faster than it’s created.

How likely you are to develop osteoporosis depends partly on how much bone mass you attained in your youth. Peak bone mass is partly inherited and varies also by ethnic group. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have “in the bank” and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age.

Risk factors

A number of factors can increase the likelihood that you’ll develop osteoporosis — including your age, race, lifestyle choices, and medical conditions and treatments.

Unchangeable risks

Some risk factors for osteoporosis are out of your control, including:

• Your sex. Women are much more likely to develop osteoporosis than are men.
• Age. The older you get, the greater your risk of osteoporosis.
• Race. You’re at greatest risk of osteoporosis if you’re white or of Asian descent.
• Family history. Having a parent or sibling with osteoporosis puts you at greater risk, especially if your mother or father fractured a hip.
• Body frame size. Men and women who have small body frames tend to have a higher risk because they might have less bone mass to draw from as they age.

Hormone levels

Osteoporosis is more common in people who have too much or too little of certain hormones in their bodies. Examples include:

• Sex hormones. Lowered sex hormone levels tend to weaken bone. The fall in estrogen levels in women at menopause is one of the strongest risk factors for developing osteoporosis. Treatments for prostate cancer that reduce testosterone levels in men and treatments for breast cancer that reduce estrogen levels in women are likely to accelerate bone loss.
• Thyroid problems. Too much thyroid hormone can cause bone loss. This can occur if your thyroid is overactive or if you take too much thyroid hormone medication to treat an underactive thyroid.
• Other glands. Osteoporosis has also been associated with overactive parathyroid and adrenal glands.

Dietary factors

Osteoporosis is more likely to occur in people who have:

• Low calcium intake. A lifelong lack of calcium plays a role in the development of osteoporosis. Low calcium intake contributes to diminished bone density, early bone loss and an increased risk of fractures.
• Eating disorders. Severely restricting food intake and being underweight weakens bone in both men and women.
• Gastrointestinal surgery. Surgery to reduce the size of your stomach or to remove part of the intestine limits the amount of surface area available to absorb nutrients, including calcium. These surgeries include those to help you lose weight and for other gastrointestinal disorders.

Steroids and other medications

Long-term use of oral or injected corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone and cortisone, interferes with the bone-rebuilding process. Osteoporosis has also been associated with medications used to combat or prevent:

• Seizures
• Gastric reflux
• Cancer
• Transplant rejection

Medical conditions

The risk of osteoporosis is higher in people who have certain medical problems, including:

• Celiac disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Kidney or liver disease
• Cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Rheumatoid arthritis

Lifestyle choices

Some bad habits can increase your risk of osteoporosis. Examples include:

• Sedentary lifestyle. People who spend a lot of time sitting have a higher risk of osteoporosis than do those who are more active. Any weight-bearing exercise and activities that promote balance and good posture are beneficial for your bones, but walking, running, jumping, dancing and weightlifting seem particularly helpful.
• Excessive alcohol consumption. Regular consumption of more than two alcoholic drinks a day increases the risk of osteoporosis.
• Tobacco use. The exact role tobacco plays in osteoporosis isn’t clear, but it has been shown that tobacco use contributes to weak bones.

Complications

Compression fracturesOpen pop-up dialog box

Bone fractures, particularly in the spine or hip, are the most serious complications of osteoporosis. Hip fractures often are caused by a fall and can result in disability and even an increased risk of death within the first year after the injury.

In some cases, spinal fractures can occur even if you haven’t fallen. The bones that make up your spine (vertebrae) can weaken to the point of collapsing, which can result in back pain, lost height and a hunched forward posture.

Prevention

Good nutrition and regular exercise are essential for keeping your bones healthy throughout your life.

Calcium

Men and women between the ages of 18 and 50 need 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. This daily amount increases to 1,200 milligrams when women turn 50 and men turn 70.

Good sources of calcium include:

• Low-fat dairy products
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Canned salmon or sardines with bones
• Soy products, such as tofu
• Calcium-fortified cereals and orange juice

If you find it difficult to get enough calcium from your diet, consider taking calcium supplements. However, too much calcium has been linked to kidney stones. Although yet unclear, some experts suggest that too much calcium, especially in supplements, can increase the risk of heart disease.

The Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that total calcium intake, from supplements and diet combined, should be no more than 2,000 milligrams daily for people older than 50.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D improves the body’s ability to absorb calcium and improves bone health in other ways. People can get some of their vitamin D from sunlight, but this might not be a good source if you live in a high latitude, if you’re housebound, or if you regularly use sunscreen or avoid the sun because of the risk of skin cancer.

Dietary sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil, trout and salmon. Many types of milk and cereal have been fortified with vitamin D.

Most people need at least 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. That recommendation increases to 800 IU a day after age 70.

People without other sources of vitamin D and especially with limited sun exposure might need a supplement. Most multivitamin products contain between 600 and 800 IU of vitamin D. Up to 4,000 IU of vitamin D a day is safe for most people.

Exercise

Exercise can help you build strong bones and slow bone loss. Exercise will benefit your bones no matter when you start, but you’ll gain the most benefits if you start exercising regularly when you’re young and continue to exercise throughout your life.

Combine strength training exercises with weight-bearing and balance exercises. Strength training helps strengthen muscles and bones in your arms and upper spine. Weight-bearing exercises — such as walking, jogging, running, stair climbing, skipping rope, skiing and impact-producing sports — affect mainly the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine. Balance exercises such as tai chi can reduce your risk of falling especially as you get older.

Overview

Anemia is a condition in which you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues. Having anemia, also referred to as low hemoglobin, can make you feel tired and weak.

There are many forms of anemia, each with its own cause. Anemia can be temporary or long term and can range from mild to severe. In most cases, anemia has more than one cause. See your doctor if you suspect that you have anemia. It can be a warning sign of serious illness.

Treatments for anemia, which depend on the cause, range from taking supplements to having medical procedures. You might be able to prevent some types of anemia by eating a healthy, varied diet.

Types

• Aplastic anemia
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia
• Vitamin deficiency anemia
• Symptoms
• Anemia signs and symptoms vary depending on the cause and severity of anemia. Depending on the causes of your anemia, you might have no symptoms.

Signs and symptoms, if they do occur, might include:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Pale or yellowish skin
• Irregular heartbeats
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Chest pain
• Cold hands and feet
• Headaches
• At first, anemia can be so mild that you don’t notice it. But symptoms worsen as anemia worsens.

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor if you feel fatigued and you don’t know why.

Fatigue has many causes besides anemia, so don’t assume that if you’re tired you must be anemic. Some people learn that their hemoglobin is low, which indicates anemia, when they donate blood. If you’re told that you can’t donate because of low hemoglobin, make an appointment with your doctor.

Causes

Anemia can be due to a condition present at birth (congenital) or to a condition you develop (acquired). Anemia occurs when your blood doesn’t have enough red blood cells.

This can happen if:

Your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells
Bleeding causes you to lose red blood cells more quickly than they can be replaced
Your body destroys red blood cells
What red blood cells do
Your body makes three types of blood cells — white blood cells to fight infection, platelets to help your blood clot, and red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body and carbon dioxide from the body back to the lungs.

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin — an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color. Hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body and to carry carbon dioxide from other parts of the body to your lungs to be exhaled.

Most blood cells, including red blood cells, are produced regularly in your bone marrow — a spongy material found within the cavities of many of your large bones. To produce hemoglobin and red blood cells, your body needs iron, vitamin B-12, folate and other nutrients from the foods you eat.

Causes of anemia

Different types of anemia have different causes. They include:

Iron deficiency anemia. This most common type of anemia is caused by a shortage of iron in your body. Your bone marrow needs iron to make hemoglobin. Without adequate iron, your body can’t produce enough hemoglobin for red blood cells.

Without iron supplementation, this type of anemia occurs in many pregnant women. It’s also caused by blood loss, such as from heavy menstrual bleeding; an ulcer in the stomach or small bowel; cancer of the large bowel; and regular use of some pain relievers that are available without a prescription, especially aspirin, which can cause inflammation of the stomach lining resulting in blood loss. It’s important to determine the source of iron deficiency to prevent recurrence of the anemia.

Vitamin deficiency anemia. Besides iron, your body needs folate and vitamin B-12 to produce enough healthy red blood cells. A diet lacking in these and other key nutrients can cause decreased red blood cell production. Some people who consume enough B-12 aren’t able to absorb the vitamin. This can lead to vitamin deficiency anemia, also known as pernicious anemia.
Anemia of inflammation. Certain diseases — such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease and other acute or chronic inflammatory diseases — can interfere with the production of red blood cells.
Aplastic anemia. This rare, life-threatening anemia occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells. Causes of aplastic anemia include infections, certain medicines, autoimmune diseases and exposure to toxic chemicals.
Anemias associated with bone marrow disease. A variety of diseases, such as leukemia and myelofibrosis, can cause anemia by affecting blood production in your bone marrow. The effects of these types of cancer and cancer-like disorders vary from mild to life-threatening.
Hemolytic anemias. This group of anemias develops when red blood cells are destroyed faster than bone marrow can replace them. Certain blood diseases increase red blood cell destruction. You can inherit a hemolytic anemia, or you can develop it later in life.
Sickle cell anemia. This inherited and sometimes serious condition is a hemolytic anemia. It’s caused by a defective form of hemoglobin that forces red blood cells to assume an abnormal crescent (sickle) shape. These irregular blood cells die prematurely, resulting in a chronic shortage of red blood cells.

Risk factors

These factors place you at increased risk of anemia:

A diet lacking in certain vitamins and minerals. A diet consistently low in iron, vitamin B-12, folate and copper increases your risk of anemia.
Intestinal disorders. Having an intestinal disorder that affects the absorption of nutrients in your small intestine — such as Crohn’s disease and celiac disease — puts you at risk of anemia.
Menstruation. In general, women who haven’t had menopause have a greater risk of iron deficiency anemia than do men and postmenopausal women. Menstruation causes the loss of red blood cells.
Pregnancy. Being pregnant and not taking a multivitamin with folic acid and iron, increases your risk of anemia.
Chronic conditions. If you have cancer, kidney failure or another chronic condition, you could be at risk of anemia of chronic disease. These conditions can lead to a shortage of red blood cells.

Slow, chronic blood loss from an ulcer or other source within your body can deplete your body’s store of iron, leading to iron deficiency anemia.

Family history. If your family has a history of an inherited anemia, such as sickle cell anemia, you also might be at increased risk of the condition.
Other factors. A history of certain infections, blood diseases and autoimmune disorders increases your risk of anemia. Alcoholism, exposure to toxic chemicals and the use of some medications can affect red blood cell production and lead to anemia.
Age. People over age 65 are at increased risk of anemia.

Complications

Left untreated, anemia can cause many health problems, such as:

Extreme fatigue. Severe anemia can make you so tired that you can’t complete everyday tasks.
Pregnancy complications. Pregnant women with folate deficiency anemia can be more likely to have complications, such as premature birth.
Heart problems. Anemia can lead to a rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). When you’re anemic your heart pumps more blood to make up for the lack of oxygen in the blood. This can lead to an enlarged heart or heart failure.
Death. Some inherited anemias, such as sickle cell anemia, can lead to life-threatening complications. Losing a lot of blood quickly results in acute, severe anemia and can be fatal. Among older people, anemia is associated with an increased risk of death.
Prevention
Many types of anemia can’t be prevented. But you can avoid iron deficiency anemia and vitamin deficiency anemias by eating a diet that includes a variety of vitamins and minerals, including:

Iron. Iron-rich foods include beef and other meats, beans, lentils, iron-fortified cereals, dark green leafy vegetables and dried fruit.
Folate. This nutrient, and its synthetic form folic acid, can be found in fruits and fruit juices, dark green leafy vegetables, green peas, kidney beans, peanuts, and enriched grain products, such as bread, cereal, pasta and rice.
Vitamin B-12. Foods rich in vitamin B-12 include meat, dairy products, and fortified cereal and soy products.
Vitamin C. Foods rich in vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, melons and strawberries. These also help increase iron absorption.
If you’re concerned about getting enough vitamins and minerals from food, ask your doctor whether a multivitamin might help.

Overview

Amnesia refers to the loss of memories, including facts, information and experiences. Movies and television tend to depict amnesia as forgetting your identity, but that’s not generally the case in real life.

Instead, people with amnesia — also called amnestic syndrome — usually know who they are. But they may have trouble learning new information and forming new memories.

Amnesia can be caused by damage to areas of the brain that are vital for memory processing. Unlike a temporary episode of memory loss, called transient global amnesia, amnesia can be permanent.

There’s no specific treatment for amnesia, but treatment can be directed at the underlying cause. Tips to help enhance memory and get support can help people with amnesia and their families cope.

Symptoms

The two main features of amnesia are:

• Trouble learning new information.
• Trouble remembering past events and previously familiar information.

Most people with amnesia have problems with short-term memory, so they can’t retain new information. Recent memories are most likely to be lost. More-remote or deeply ingrained memories may be spared.

For example, people may recall experiences from childhood or know the names of past presidents. But they may not be able to name the current president, know the month or remember what they ate for breakfast.

Isolated memory loss doesn’t affect a person’s intelligence, general knowledge, awareness or attention span. It also doesn’t affect judgment, personality or identity. People with amnesia usually can understand written and spoken words and can learn skills such as bike riding or piano playing. They may understand they have a memory disorder.

Amnesia isn’t the same as dementia. Dementia often includes memory loss but also involves other problems with thinking that lead to a decline in daily functioning. These problems include having trouble with language, judgment and visual-spatial skills.

Memory loss also is a common symptom of mild cognitive impairment. This disorder involves memory and other cognitive problems that aren’t as severe as those experienced in dementia.

Additional symptoms

Depending on the cause of the amnesia, other symptoms may include:

• False memories that are either completely invented or are real memories misplaced in time.
• Confusion or disorientation.
• When to see a doctor
• Anyone who experiences unexplained memory loss, head injury or confusion requires immediate medical attention.

People with amnesia may not know where they are or be able to seek medical care. If someone you know has symptoms of amnesia, help the person get medical attention.

Causes

Typical memory function involves many parts of the brain. Any disease or injury that affects the brain can affect memory.

Amnesia can result from damage to brain structures that form the limbic system, which controls emotions and memories. They include the thalamus found deep within the center of the brain. They also include the hippocampal formations found within the temporal lobes of the brain.

Amnesia caused by brain injury or damage is known as neurological amnesia. Possible causes of neurological amnesia include:

• Stroke.
• Brain inflammation, which may be due to an infection with a virus such as herpes simplex virus. Or inflammation may be a result of an autoimmune reaction to cancer somewhere in the body. It also may be due to an autoimmune reaction in the absence of cancer.
• Not enough oxygen in the brain. This may happen as a result of a heart attack, respiratory distress or carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Long-term alcohol misuse that leads to too little vitamin B-1, known as thiamin, in the body. When this happens, it’s called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
• Tumors in areas of the brain that control memory.
• Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases that involve the degeneration of nerve tissue.
• Seizures.
• Certain medicines such as benzodiazepines or others that act as sedatives.
• Head injuries that cause a concussion, whether from a car accident or sports, can lead to confusion and problems remembering new information. This is especially common in the early stages of recovery. Mild head injuries typically don’t cause lasting amnesia, but more-severe head injuries may cause permanent amnesia.

Another rare type of amnesia, called dissociative amnesia, stems from emotional shock or trauma. It can result from being the victim of a violent crime or experiencing other trauma. In this disorder, people may lose personal memories and information about their lives. The memory loss is usually brief.

Risk factors

The chance of developing amnesia might increase if you’ve experienced:

• Brain surgery, head injury or trauma.
• Stroke.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Seizures.
• Complications
• Amnesia varies in severity and scope. But even mild amnesia takes a toll on daily activities and quality of life. The syndrome can cause problems at work, at school and in social settings.

It may not be possible to recover lost memories. Some people with severe memory problems need to be supervised or need to live in a care facility.

Prevention

Damage to the brain can be a root cause of amnesia. It’s important to take steps to minimize your chance of a brain injury. For example:

Don’t drink large amounts of alcohol.
Wear a helmet when bicycling and a seat belt when driving.
Treat infections quickly so that they don’t have a chance to spread to the brain.
Get immediate medical treatment if you have symptoms that suggest a stroke or brain aneurysm. Those symptoms include a severe headache, feeling numb on one side of the body or not being able to move one side of the body.