Modern Health Observation

Archive for the ‘Rheumatic Disease’ Category

Most patients learn to live with fibromyalgia.

- Patients usually recomendárseles regular aerobic exercise or swimming to improve physical fitness. Relaxation techniques and regular exercise helps improve sleep patterns. It is not necessary to see a relaxation center is maintained, but useful initial advice from a physiotherapist to say what the most appropriate exercises.

- Patients should avoid certain medications like nasal decongestants, excess alcohol, tea or coffee, especially if taken late in the afternoon.

- It is also beneficial to control stress, eating healthily and maintaining an ideal weight.

- Must take medications recommended by the doctor, having told this if there are unacceptable side effects.

- The family must understand the disease and give the patient the support needed to cope with the discomfort. Read the rest of this entry »

How does the disease progress?

Occasionally the disease subsides after months or even years, but usually continues over the years. Fibromyalgia patients should be aware that the disease causes permanent joint damage, bone damage or lasting physical disability. There is no greater risk of arthritis in later years of life.

What treatments are available?

Although not a cure, much can be done to relieve symptoms, especially with the aid of the patient’s family and doctor.

- May be useful analgesics in different classes, beginning with the soft as paracetamol. The most potent, with codeine, should be used only when they are tested and painkillers are not effective. Read the rest of this entry »

How can fibromyalgia diagnosed?

No single test, such as blood tests or X-rays to allow dignosticarla. A doctor may suspect this disease by the patient’s symptoms and the absence of structural damage, inflammation or swelling of the joints on physical examination. The presence of painful areas in parts of the body as well as the history of fatigue and sleep disturbance can help the doctor make the diagnosis.

Doctors usually do blood tests and even x-rays to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms to fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome or ME, in which blood tests are evidence of past or recent viral infection.

What other diseases have similar symptoms?

The following diseases have similar symptoms to fibromyalgia and should be excluded on physical examination or laboratory analysis and x-rays: Read the rest of this entry »

Who is at risk?

Fibromyalgia is common, as have between 1% and 3% of the population, representing between 400,000 and 1,200,000 people in Spain is 10 times more common in women than in men.

Fibromyalgia has some similarities with chronic fatigue syndrome (post viral) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). However, patients with MS have a history of previous viral infection, they notice less pain and are more tired and lethargic that those with fibromyalgia. Read the rest of this entry »

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia (previously called fibrositis) is a disease “rheumatic” frequent, in which the symptoms originate in the muscles, tendons and ligaments in the joints, and whose discomfort may persist for months or even years, although the affected tissues do not suffer irreversible damage.

What causes fibromyalgia?

The cause is unknown. Research indicates that patients with fibromyalgia there is a sleep disorder that can be detected by studying the brain waves in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Read the rest of this entry »