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Managing fatigue
The management of fatigue depends in large measure on its causes and the person's experience of it. For example, if fatigue is acute and normal, the person will recover from feeling tired after exertion by resting. In cases of fatigue associated with influenza or other infectious illnesses, the person will feel energy return as they recover from the illness. When fatigue is chronic and abnormal, however, the doctor will tailor a treatment program to the patient's needs. There are a variety of approaches that include:
- Aerobic exercise. Physical activity increases fitness and counteracts depression.
- Hydration (adding water). Water improves muscle turgor, or tension, and helps to carry electrolytes.
- Improving sleep patterns. The patient's sleep may be more restful when its timing and duration are controlled.
- Pharmacotherapy (treatment with medications). The patient may be given various medications to treat physical diseases or mental disorders, to control pain, or to manage sleeping patterns.
- Psychotherapy. There are several different treatment approaches that help patients manage stress, understand the motives that govern their behavior, or change maladaptive ideas and negative thinking patterns.
- Physical therapy. This form of treatment helps patients improve or manage functional impairments or disabilities.
In addition to seeking professional help, people can understand and manage fatigue by joining appropriate self-help groups, reading informative books, seeking information from clearinghouses on the Internet, and visiting websites maintained by national organizations for various diseases.
BOOKS
Beers, Mark H., and Robert Berkow, eds. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 17th ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1999.
Glaus, A. Fatigue in Patients with Cancer: Analysis and Assessment. Recent Results in Cancer Research, no. 145. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 1998.
Hubbard, John R., and Edward A. Workman, eds. Handbook of Stress Medicine: An Organ System Approach. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1998.
Natelson, Benjamin H. Facing and Fighting Fatigue: A Practical Approach. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998.
Winningham, Maryl L., and Margaret Barton-Burke, eds. Fatigue in Cancer: A Multidimensional Approach. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2000.
PERIODICALS
Natelson, Benjamin H. "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 285, no. 20 (May 23–30 2001): 2557–59.
ORGANIZATIONS
MEDLINEplus Health Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894. (888) 346-3656. <http://www.medlineplus.gov>.
National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Association. P.O. Box 18426, Kansas City, MO 64133. (816) 313-2000.
Tanja Bekhuis, PhD
Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt, MD
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Author Info: Tanja Bekhuis PhD, Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt MD, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit, Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders, 2005 |
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