Do You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Taking care of one's health is the best thing that one can do to avoid all the physical illnesses. It may be painful to some to do it but it is in fact the simplest way if you don't want to be affected with health disturbances. One of the most common illnesses that people complain about is the CFS, or chronic fatigue syndrome.

It is sometimes called post-viral fatigue, Epstein-Barr or myalgic encephalomyelitis disease. At other times, this is referred to as the chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, or simply CFIDS. This CFS illness is often considered yuppie flu, or hypochondriacal behavior. Recently, health experts agreed that the illness is distinct and has physical symptoms.

The most common symptom is an unexplained fatigue feeling, in which it can not be easily relieved by some rest. Other physical symptoms are:

• Muscle or joint pains or weakness
• Unexplained headaches
• Bowel problems
• Poor concentration
• Confusion
• Forgetfulness
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Poor temperature control
• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia

Some Causes

It was never understood what causes chronic fatigue syndrome. However, there are conditions which believed to trigger chronic fatigue syndrome such as toxins and virus infection. In some studies, the disease can be related to physical inactivity, immune system problems, low blood pressure, hypoglycemia, overwork, stress, hormonal imbalance, brucellosis, and colitis. Regardless, chronic fatigue syndrome is not a simple health case that can be ignored as it can provide major disturbance on the patient's quality of life.

Not Easy to Diagnose

It is often hard to detect if one is suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome. In many cases, it would go for years before a patient is found to have the illness. The reason is there are not any laboratory tests that can confirm or diagnose such illness. The diagnosis can only be made if the patient exhibits no other causes, including drugs' side effects.

If the patient suffers four from the eight symptoms stated below, they can be diagnosed with chronic fatigue illness.

• Short-term memory impairment or difficulty in concentration
• Tender lymph node
• Sore throat
• Multi-joint pains
• Muscle pains
• Headaches
• Un-refreshing sleep; and
• Fatigue that lasts more than a day.

If four, or more, of the above symptoms are suffered by the patient for six consecutive months, they will be officially and medically diagnosed with the syndrome. Otherwise, the condition will be most diagnosed as another illness, the idiopathic chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome may not sound serious to others, but this can be frustrating illness to others as the effects can be so much troublesome to most especially it entails daily life style. What is worse about is it can affect people of all walks of life, whether children or adult.

The problem with diagnosis is also the reason why there is no known exact number of people suffering from the syndrome. Only an estimation of half million Americans were suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Women are found to suffer more than men, though the statistic is not clear whether the illness affects more women due to a different condition and lifestyle or if only that women report their condition more than men do.

Regardless of which, it is always advised that proper health care is practiced all the time as it is one way to avoid CFS, or any illness, for that matter.