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Symptoms of Guillain-Barre can get worse very quickly. It may take only a few hours to reach the most severe symptoms, but weakness increasing over several days is also common.
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The cause of the weakness and paralysis of GBS is the loss of myelin, which is the material that coats nerve cells (the loss of myelin is called demyelination). Myelin is an insulating substance which is wrapped around nerves in the body, serving ...
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The initial sensation of weakness or paralysis in the toes spreads upward within days to a few weeks to the arms and the central part of the body. In medical terminology, this represents an ascending pattern of spread. The weakness and paralysis c...
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Paralysis is defined as complete loss of strength in an affected limb or muscle group.
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Paralysis is defined as complete loss of strength in an affected limb or muscle group.
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Numbness and tingling are decreased or abnormal sensations caused by altered sensory nerve function.
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True muscle weakness means that full effort does not produce a normal muscle contraction or movement. A voluntary muscle contraction is generated when the brain sends a signal through the spinal cord and nerves to a muscle.
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Weakness is a reduction in the strength of one or more muscles.
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Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness due to a drop in blood flow to the brain. The episode is brief (lasting less than a couple of minutes) and is followed by rapid and complete recovery. You may feel light-headed or dizzy before fainting...
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Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness, weakness of muscles, and inability to stand up, all caused by sudden loss of blood flow to the brain. Fainting is a relatively common symptom caused by a variety of problems relating to changes in blo...
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Fainting is loss of consciousness caused by a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain. Known by the medical term "syncope," fainting may be preceded by dizziness , nausea, or a feeling of extreme weakness.
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Syncope, or fainting, is a temporary loss of consciousness, usually caused by decreased blood flow to the brain . Syncope is a symptom, rather than a disease itself, and has many causes. The vasovagal faint, which usually occurs in young, otherwis...
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Breathing difficulty involves a sensation of difficult or uncomfortable breathing or a feeling of not getting enough air. See also: Difficulty breathing - first aid
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Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a feeling of difficult or labored breathing that is out of proportion to the patient's level of physical activity. It is a symptom of a variety of different diseases or disorders and may be either acute or chronic.
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Palpitations are heartbeat sensations that feel like your heart is pounding or racing. You may simply have an unpleasant awareness of your own heartbeat, or may feel skipped or stopped beats. The heart's rhythm may be normal or abnormal. Palpitati...
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A sensation in which a person is aware of an irregular, hard, or rapid heartbeat.
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Drooling is saliva flowing outside the mouth.
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Clumsiness is a common problem in otherwise healthy children with normal intelligence. Motor coordination problems may affect the ability to perform age-appropriate activities, such as dressing and running.
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Muscle rigidity is an alteration of muscle tone in which the muscles are in an involuntary state of continual tension. Muscle rigidity can be a manifestation of neurological damage (basal ganglia diseases) or a side effect of certain medications.
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Spasticity is stiff or rigid muscles with exaggerated, deep tendon reflexes (for example, a knee-jerk reflex. The condition can interfere with walking, movement, or speech. See also: Muscle cramps
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Spasticity is a form of muscle overactivity. A spastic muscle is one in which a muscle resists being stretched out, and the resistance to stretch is greater the faster the muscle is moved. Spasticity is often used as an umbrella term for other for...
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Spasticity is an abnormal increase in muscle tone. It may be associated with involuntary muscle spasms , sustained muscle contractions (dystonia), and exaggerated deep tendon reflexes that make movement difficult or uncontrollable. Although it mos...
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Total blindness is the inability to tell light from dark, or the total inability to see. Visual impairment or low vision is a severe reduction in vision that can't be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and reduces a person's ability...
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Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect muscles, bones, and organs. See also: Muscle cramps; Joint pain.
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Gait and balance problems exist when a disease process, trauma, or aging result in the inability to control one's center of gravity (COG) over the base of support (BOS) in static or dynamic tasks and environments.
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Impaired sensation is often a signal that there something affecting a nerve or the nervous system. Changes in sensations are often subjective and difficult to describe, that is, experienced by the patient but difficult for the provider to diagnose and treat.
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Breathing that slows down or stops from any cause is called apnea.
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Uncoordinated movement is muscle control problem or an inability to finely coordinate movements, which results in a jerky, unsteady, to-and-fro motion of the middle of the body (trunk) and unsteady gait (walking style. The condition is called ataxia.
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Ataxia, a medical term originated from the Greek language meaning "without order," refers to disturbances in the control of body posture, motor coordination, speech control, and eye movements. Several brain areas, including the cerebellum and the ...
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Developmental coordination disorder is diagnosed when children do not develop normal motor coordination (coordination of movements involving the voluntary muscles).
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Lack of coordination in the muscles. Ataxia, an extreme lack of coordination of the muscles, is a symptom of damage to the central nervous system. People with ataxia typically stand with feet planted far apart, and sway while standing, struggling ...
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Hazy vision, cloudy vision, blurred vision are all problems with seeing clearly. Any change in your normal vision is cause for concern and is a good reason to call a doctor for an examination.
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Dysphagia is a disorder of swallowing.
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Electrical impulses causes the heart to pump. Normally the impulse originates in the right upper chamber of the heart, called the right atrium. The electrical
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Aimless movements can be a symptom of a primary or secondary movement disorder, side effect of a medication, psychiatric disturbance or dementia. Aimless or purposeless movement is therefore a significant symptom requiring evaluation by a physician to determine the origin of the problem.
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Falls are a common source of injury, particularly in the elderly population. They are more likely to occur if impairments in balance, strength, perception, joint range of motion, postural function or coordination are present. Serious injury from f...
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A charley horse is the common name for a muscle spasm, especially in the leg. Muscle spasms can occur in any muscle in the body. When a muscle is in spasm, it contracts without your control and does not relax.
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Muscle spasms and cramps are spontaneous, often painful muscle contractions.
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Visual disturbances are abnormalities of sight. Visual disturbances associated with neurological disorders often include double vision (diplopia), moving or blurred vision due to nystagmus (involuntary rapid movements of the eyes), reduced visual ...
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Sensations are carried from the extremities of the body to the brain via neurons in the spinal cord. If the blood supply to the nerves is decreased, it can produce the feeling that “my hand fell asleep”.
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Sensations are carried from the extremities of the body to the brain via neurons in the spinal cord. If the blood supply to the nerves is or if the nerve is otherwise damaged or its function affected, it can produce the feeling that “my finger fell asleep”.
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Sensations are carried from the extremities of the body to the brain via neurons in the spinal cord. If the blood supply to the nerves is decreased, it can produce the feeling that “my toe fell asleep”.
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Sensations are carried from the extremities of the body to the brain via neurons in the spinal cord. If the blood supply to the nerves is decreased temporarily, it can produce the feeling that “my leg fell asleep”.
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Numbness and tingling are abnormal sensations that can occur anywhere in your body, but are often felt in your fingers, hands, feet, arms, or legs.
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Sensations are carried from the extremities of the body to the brain via neurons in the spinal cord. If the blood supply to the nerves is decreased, it can produce the feeling that “my foot fell asleep”.
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