Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Types, Causes & Risk Factors

Conditions & Diseases: Bones, Muscles & Joints

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Types of CFS

There are 5 types of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

1. Post-Exertional Fatigue: In this type a person feels extremely weak, discomfort or sick after minimal activity.

2. Wired Fatigue: In this type, a patient feels extremely low energy leading to a feeling of over stimulation with a major sign of maladaptive stress.

3. Brain Fog Fatigue: In this type a person experiences extreme mental fatigue, which is far more serious than physical fatigue. Mental fatigue involves confusion, disorientation and the inability to function normally in daily activities.

4. Flu-like Fatigue: In this type, the patient feels weak with symptoms of flu, high temperature and sore glands.

5. Energy Fatigue: In this type, the patient experiences heaviness and immobilization lacking energy and is unable to do any activity for long periods. This is experienced in the first three months of illness or during a temporary relapse (4).

Causes & Risk Factors

Causes:

The exact causes of CFS are not known, but it is understood that the condition is related to an infection that affects the immune system. Several bacterial and viral infections have been investigated to understand the cause and affect relationship, but the exact relationship with CFS is not yet confirmed. Treatment of bacterial infection such as that of chlamydia pneumoniae with antibiotics may improve the symptoms of CFS, but the definite relationship of CFS with bacterial infections is still being debated (5).

Risk factors for CFS include:

1. Women are four times more vulnerable to CFS than men.

2. CFS is common in people 40 years and 50 years old.

3. Children in their teens are at higher risk of developing CFS as compared to adults (1).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com