Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex medical condition, characterized by long-term fatigue and other symptoms which that they limit a person’s ability to carry out ordinary daily activities.
Characteristics
- Quality of life of persons with CFS can be extremely compromised.
- It causes feel so tired that one can’t complete normal, daily activities.
- It has been assumed to be a chronic post-viral syndrome, occurring after mononucleosis or influenza infection, or after infection with an intestinal virus.
- The fatigue of CFS is not due to ongoing exertion, is not much relieved by rest, and is not due to any other medical condition.
Signs and Symptoms
- Felling unwell after being active. Feeling tired all the time
- It is so severe that it affects work and social activities.
- Impaired memory or concentration
- Post-exertional malaise, where physical or mental exertions bring on “extreme, prolonged exhaustion and sickness“
- Unrefreshing sleep / muscle pain (myalgia) / pain in multiple joints (arthralgia) / headaches of a new kind or greater severity
- Sore throat, frequent or recurring
- Tender lymph nodes (cervical or axillary)
- Short term Memory
- Not able to fetch correct word for something
- Sensitive to emotion, noise and light
- Fast heart beats
- Dizziness and nausea
- Law temperature, cold hand & feet, sweating
- Digestive disturbance
- Painful and often slightly swollen lymph nodes
Functioning
- The functional capacity of individuals with CFS varies greatly.
- Some lead relatively normal lives; others are totally bed-ridden and unable to care for themselves.
- Work, school, and family activities are significantly reduced for extended periods of time.
- The severity disability is the same in both genders.
- It affects a person’s functional status and well-being more than major medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, or type II diabetes mellitus.
Risk factors
- All ethnic groups and income levels are susceptible to the illness
- The illness is reported to occur more frequently in people between the ages of 40 and 59.
- CFS is less prevalent among children and adolescents than adults
Diagnosis
- No characteristic laboratory abnormalities to diagnose CFS.
- Testing is used to rule out other potential causes for symptoms.
- When symptoms are attributable to certain other conditions, the diagnosis of CFS is excluded.
- Important conditions and disorders to exclude are current/active major depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, bipolar disorder, alcohol abuse or other substance abuse.
- Current morbid obesity and active medical diseases need to be resolved and excluded before a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome can be made.
Awareness Day
- May 12 is designated as International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day (CFS).
- The day is observed so that stakeholders have an occasion to improve the knowledge of “the public, policymakers, and healthcare professionals about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of ME/CFS, as well as the need for a better understanding of this complex illness.”
Homeopathy Treatment
- Homeopathy treatment is holistic & patient friendly, and are customized to suit each patient according to his condition. Homeopathy offers the best treatment for CFS. There are many medicines; only few given here.
- Carbo vegetabilis for weak and delicate old people. / Phosphoric Acid & Ignatia: CFS with with depression.
- Cinchona for Functional debility from loss of fluids, sexual excesses, etc. / Picric Acid for CFS with memory Loss / Arsenic Album for CFS with desire to lie down.
- Kali Phos for CFS with extreme tiredness and weak memory. / Gelsemium for CFS with drowsiness and muscle pain.
- Sarcolacticum Acidum for CFS with feeling of weakness in morning. / Onosmodium for CFS with head and eye complaints.
- We at Anubhuti Homeo Clinics prefer to take history of patients first and advise proper homeopathy remedies. A detailed history followed by constitutional treatment by a good and qualified homeopathic doctor is necessary to treat the complaints that appear. It is not advisable to resort to self-medication for any disease. The remedies mentioned in this presentation are mentioned solely to create awareness of homeopathic medicines in dealing with disease conditions