Panic Attacks: Get All The Help You Need

Panic attacks or anxiety attacks can be harmful to us if we neglect it and don’t do something about it. There are many medication options for panic attacks. So, don’t just sit and watch this disorder take over your happiness. Do something!

Article:
A panic attack can grip you anytime of the day, any time of the year. A panic attack often comes without a warning—it’s just out of the blue. Trigger or no trigger, a panic attack can creep into you even when you least expect it. So, how do you decode this mysterious puzzle and overpower it to experience a peaceful life?

A panic attack is noticeable as an indiscriminate fear or a deep feeling of fear. A panic attack is often accompanied by other symptoms that are physically visible. Following is a list of these symptoms:

•    Feeling of chocking
•    Feeling of suffocation
•    Sweating
•    Palpitations
•    Nausea
•    Chest discomfort
•    Abdominal discomfort
•    Fear of dying
•    Fear of going crazy
•    Chills
•    Instability
•    Fainting sensation
•    Dizziness
•    Tingling or numbness

To help panic attacks, the first aid starts at home. Family members and neighbors must be trained to handle such complex situations. If a family member is having a panic attack at home, you must first make the person relax his or her shoulders so that the patient is conscious of the tension of the muscles. Then, gently talk to patient and urge him or her to relax one muscle group at a time. For example, you can tell the patient to tighten the hand muscles along with a deep breath and then make him or her to relax that same arm.

Similarly, the same procedure can be followed for the other muscle groups such as the legs and the upper body. After the relaxation exercise, you need to slow down the breathing of the patient.
Then, reassure the patient that he or she is perfectly fine and there is nothing to worry about. If the symptoms persist, call for the doctor immediately or take the patient to the nearest clinic or hospital.

By and large, most panic attacks are treated with the relaxation and reassurance techniques. With these techniques, most of the time, the patient feels fine within a few hours. It may also happen that the patient completely recovers from the attack by the time you take him or her to the doctor. Like panic attacks, anxiety attacks can also be very disturbing.

The symptoms of a panic attack are very similar to that of a heart attack. So, when you get a panic attack, you need to get it diagnosed properly. Call the doctor immediately or visit the hospital at the earliest. The first step in the treatment of a panic attack is the proper diagnosis. The diagnosis of a panic attack must be done by a trained professional only. Beware of quacks who claim that they can get cure panic attacks completely.

The medication for panic attacks is often prescribed by doctors when things can get worse with the patient. If the doctor or medical professional has a doubt of a heart or cardiac cause, he or she might prescribe aspirin and other medications for the control of blood pressure problems. Some medical professionals or doctors might also start an IV line to replenish the patient's body with the necessary fluids.

During evaluation, some medical professionals or doctors might prescribe medicines such as lorazepam (Ativan) or diazepam (Valium). These are anti-anxiety medicines and provide great relief to the patients. Panic attacks can be associated with other similar medical conditions such as depression, anxiety disorder and so on.

The doctors or medical professionals have a myriad of options when it comes to the treatment of panic attacks. Commonly, the first choice in panic treatment medication is SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Common examples of SSRIs are fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), fluvoxamine (Luvox), and paroxetine (Paxil). The popularity of these medications is due the fact that these medication help to reduce the frequency of panic attacks to a fairly large extent.

The only drawback is that these medications take a lot of time to show its effect. Generally, SSRIs would take at least 3-6 weeks to reduce the frequency of panic attacks. Most of these medications have to be taken daily—usually once in a day. Like panic attacks, you can also treat an anxiety attack, but a careful diagnosis is required before you start any medication.