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Symptoms » Tiredness » Causes
 

Misdiagnosis of Tiredness

Misdiagnosis and Tiredness

Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms. Although the most common symptoms are anal itch (or vaginal itch), which are obvious in severe cases, milder conditions may fail to be noticed in children. In particular, it may interfere with the child's good night's sleep. Threadworm is a condition to consider in children with symptoms such as bedwetting (enuresis), difficulty sleeping, irritability, or other sleeping symptoms. Visual inspection of the region can often see the threadworms, at night when they are active, but they can also be missed this way, and multiple inspections can be warranted if worms are suspected. See the introduction to threadworm.

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this group include multiple sclerosis, lupus, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism), chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes - all of these can have vague symptoms in their early presentations. Also, depression can have some symptoms similar to these conditions, and also the reverse, that many of these conditions can mimic depression and be misdiagnosed as depression.

RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed. The typical symptoms are night-time tingling, crawling, or burning sensations in the legs, with the irresistable urge to move the legs. This need for leg movement leads to tossing and turning, or getting up out of bed, all of which interferes with the ability to fall asleep. The sufferer then has the typical symptoms of sleep deprivation during the day: fatigue, tiredness, morning headaches, irritability, poor concentration and so on. This condition is sometimes misdiagnosed as other conditions such as ADHD, sleep disorders, other causes of insomnia, or other causes of leg tingling. Many patients also suffer from a related disorder called Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which causes leg spasms or other jerky movements. See introduction to RLS or introduction to PLMD.

Pituitary conditions often undiagnosed cause of symptoms: There are a variety of symptoms that can be caused by a pituitary disorder (see symptoms of pituitary disorders). For example, fatigue, headache, weight gain, diabetes-like symptoms, and various other symptoms. Pituitary tumors and other similar conditions are not as rare as physicians tend to believe. See introduction to pituitary conditions.

Commmon case of iron deficeincy anaemia: Iron deficiency anaemia is a common cause of anaemia worldwide. It is the largest cause of microcytic hypochromic anaemia with its main differential diagnosis being thalassaemia and anaemia of chronic disease. It is differentiated from the other two conditions based on blood tests. It is very important to differentiate between iron deficiency anaemia and thalassaemia as the treatment in both the conditions are exactly opposite. In iron deficiency anaemia iron has to be supplemented but in case of thalassaemia the iron stores are normal and iron supplementation is contraindicated. Iron deficiency anaemia must be spotted early on in children as in the long run it affects their cognitive and psychomotor performance and late diagnosis in thalassaemia can cause lethargy, failure to thrive and jaundice.

Cushing's syndrome of obesity?: Cushing’s syndrome usually occurs due to chronic steroid administration, bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, adrenal tumour and ACTH excess. Morbidity and mortality associated with Cushing syndrome are related primarily to the effects of excess glucocorticoids. The patient usually presents to the doctor with features of weight gain more so on the face with skin changes, depression and muscle weakness. A proper history is needed to rule out conditions like obesity, bulimia, alcoholism and depression.

More about Misdiagnosis


 » Next page: ANEMIA (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)

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