Persistent fatigue - A warning sign of many medical conditions

Depression is a neuropsychiatric disease that causes feelings of fatigue, sadness, loss of interest and mood disorders, disrupting living habits and making the patient think negatively.

What you need to know about prolonged fatigue

Prolonged fatigue, also known as chronic fatigue, is a condition that often appears in people with a high frequency of work, stress, long-term stress, etc.

If the feeling of fatigue persists, it could be a sign of the beginning of a medical condition. (Source: Getty images)

Normally, if fatigue is caused by stress, anxiety, insomnia or minor acute illnesses, it will quickly go away on its own when the cause is resolved. Therefore, many people often underestimate the feeling of fatigue in the body because they think that fatigue will go away on its own when the body relaxes, or use tea or coffee to suppress this feeling.

However, if the feeling of fatigue persists, it could be a sign of the beginning of a medical condition so finding out the cause is important to help treat the condition.

1. What are the symptoms of prolonged fatigue?

Recognizing and distinguishing prolonged fatigue from common symptoms of fatigue is quite simple, mainly based on the time of appearance and duration of the feeling of depression and fatigue in each person.

According to research agencies, prolonged fatigue, also known as chronic fatigue, can be diagnosed through some common symptoms such as a feeling of fatigue that lasts for 6 months or more and affects your life. life, spirit, and quality of life of the patient.

Prolonged fatigue is also called chronic fatigue. (Source: Getty images).

A prolonged feeling of fatigue can be accompanied by a number of other symptoms such as extreme fatigue even with moderate or light exercise, unexplained joint pain, sore throat, body aches, swollen lymph nodes in the armpit or the patient's neck, the feeling of fatigue becomes worse after waking up.

If more than 5 of the above symptoms appear along with fatigue lasting more than 6 months, it is best to go to the hospital for examination because at this time, the possibility of chronic fatigue syndrome is very high.

After a clinical examination based on manifestations, the doctor can rely on other characteristics to make a diagnosis.

2. Could it be the beginning of a medical condition?

Persistent fatigue may not have a serious impact on your life, but it can be a sign of the beginning of a medical condition. Therefore, you should not be subjective but must find the cause. The following are common medical causes of prolonged fatigue.

Anemia

Anemia causes oxygen supply to cells and metabolism to decline. A body suffering from anemia and lack of oxygen will always feel prolonged fatigue, dizziness, exhaustion, drowsiness and lack of energy to study and work.

In addition, anemia can also cause the body to lose appetite, suffer from insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, restless sleep, hair loss, ringing in the ears, stomach pain, cold hands and feet, and abnormal heart rate. The most common form of anemia is iron deficiency anemia.

Anemia causes oxygen supply to cells and metabolism to decline. (Source: Getty images).

Respiratory

Acute respiratory diseases such as flu or cold, bronchitis, pneumonia will make the patient's body feel tired all day. But this condition only appears for a short period of time and will go away on its own when the disease subsides.

On the contrary, chronic diseases of the respiratory tract such as bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and atelectasis will hinder the respiratory process and prolong gas exchange. Therefore, people with this disease often feel shortness of breath and chronic fatigue.

Diabetes

People with diabetes will have high blood glucose levels, causing the body to use a lot of energy to regulate blood sugar levels. Therefore, diabetes is one of the causes that cannot be ignored when suffering from chronic fatigue.

People with diabetes will have common symptoms such as fatigue, constant hunger, drinking a lot of water, frequent urination, weight loss, impaired vision and irritability. Fatigue is the first, most common and longest lasting symptom.

People with diabetes will have common symptoms such as fatigue, constant hunger. (Source: Getty images).

Cancer

Cancer fatigue is a form of chronic fatigue, caused by many factors. Cancer causes hormonal changes, muscle weakness, and damage to many organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, or lungs, all contributing to prolonged fatigue.

In addition, pain and anemia as well as side effects of cancer treatment (medications, chemotherapy, radiotherapy) also make patients constantly tired.

Thyroid

When you have thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism), thyroid hormones will not work effectively, disrupting the metabolic process, making the body feel tired all the time.

Heart

Chronic fatigue is also a common symptom of congestive heart failure. Heart failure causes the heart to contract weakly, with insufficient blood flow to organs and tissues, making the body always tired. This condition will get worse if the patient exerts himself a lot. Other symptoms of heart failure include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, and swelling of the legs and arms.

Other symptoms of heart failure such as difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and arms. (Source: Getty images).

Adrenal failure

Adrenal insufficiency is a disease that causes patients to feel persistent fatigue, less common than thyroid disease. In addition to symptoms of fatigue, adrenal insufficiency also causes patients to have headaches, diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss and increased skin pigmentation.

Tuberculosis

This is a disease mainly caused by bacteria and the attack power of this bacteria is very strong, can seriously damage the cells and tissues they come into contact with. For people with tuberculosis, psychological depression and body pain, illness, physical weakness, etc. make symptoms of prolonged fatigue worse, leading to lack of sleep, insomnia, depression, etc.

Neurasthenia

Nervous breakdown is a relatively dangerous disease, which can be caused by long periods of pressure and stress. People with neurasthenia, in addition to often feeling tired, are also easily angry, irritable, have erratic moods, and have a weak body and no interest in working.

People with neurasthenia, in addition to often feeling tired, are also very easily angry. (Source: Getty images).

Depression

Depression is a neuropsychiatric disease that causes prolonged feelings of fatigue, sadness, loss of interest and mood disorders, disrupting living habits and making the patient think negatively, even thinking about death and committing suicide.

Depression greatly affects the brain, reducing the secretion of the hormone serotonin, reducing energy levels and making the body tired all day. Therefore, prolonged fatigue is very common in people with depression. If not detected and treated early, depression can cause many serious consequences.

Vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 plays an important role in brain health, the immune system and metabolism. Factors that cause vitamin B12 deficiency include old age, too much plant-based diet, digestive system diseases and diabetes medications.

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes the body's organs to function ineffectively, patients are susceptible to chronic fatigue, moodiness, memory loss, impaired vision, dizziness and itchy hands and feet. .

Natural foods contain lots of vitamin B12. (Photo: Getty images).

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops or is very shallow for short periods of time during sleep, leading to lack of oxygen. This disease is a type of sleep disorder that greatly affects the quality of sleep at night.

The patient does not sleep well, sleeps intermittently, and after waking up will always feel tired because the brain is awakened to perform breathing.

People with sleep apnea syndrome will have symptoms of snoring, headaches in the morning due to lack of brain oxygen, fatigue and excessive sleepiness during the day despite sleeping a lot at night. This condition can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and more seriously, stroke.

Prolonged fatigue can stem from many different causes. Therefore, when symptoms do not improve, patients should go to medical centers for examination and find the cause to have the best treatment to ensure the best health.