Elderly Care Awareness: National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month

Elderly Care in Stuart FL

March is National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month. This month-long health observance is set aside to educate people on CFS, how it can impact your parent, and what you can do to help her cope with it. This challenging condition can represent tremendous challenges in your elderly care journey with your aging parent. By knowing what you are dealing with and being able to recognize it, however, you can help your loved one maintain her quality of life even while dealing with CFS. Some things that you should know about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include:

• The extreme exhaustion caused by this condition does not improve with rest
• Both physical exertion and mental exertion can increase the fatigue
• The medical community does not know what causes chronic fatigue syndrome or why it develops
• Some theories regarding the cause of CHF include high levels of stress and specific viral infections
• Periods of total exhaustion and inability to function at a proper level can last for 24 hours or more
• The fatigue goes beyond just physical tiredness. Sufferers also tend to experience cognitive challenges such as diminished memory and lack of concentration
• Sufferers tend to experience their symptoms for six months to a year, but the symptoms can last for several years at a time
• There is no actual test to screen for chronic fatigue syndrome and no way to conclusively diagnosis this disease. Instead, doctors utilize reporting of symptoms and the elimination of other possible causes to come to the diagnosis of CFS.

It can be truly terrifying to see your aging loved one suffering from symptoms that can be totally debilitating but seem to have no source. You may notice that she is feeling more tired than usual or does not seem to have the same level of physical strength that she did. Her mind may not be as clear and she may struggle to want to participate in any activities. This can make you worry that she is dealing with a wide range of issues from cancer to Alzheimer's disease, and she may be worried about herself. If this situation occurs in your elderly care journey, it is important that you take the time to really pay attention to what is happening so that you can make the decisions that are right for her. If you start to notice new or strange symptoms in your aging parent that include fatigue and weakness, start to record them. Ask that her home care provider also monitor these symptoms and keeps track of them. Record what the symptoms are, when they occur, and how they impact your parent. This information can be vitally important to your parent's doctor when she is evaluating her health and trying to come to a diagnosis. While there are many other conditions that could have similar symptoms, having a thorough record of the symptoms can help to narrow down the potential sources. Through this narrowing down and the close examination of the symptoms, your parent can get the proper diagnosis and start on the path toward management. Source http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20022009
If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Stuart FL, contact the caring staff at BrightStar Care of Jupiter. Call today (561) 741-1200.