We May Pay Dearly for Fatigue, If We Ignore It.

“If I overcome fatigue, everything will be O.K….”

Many people say that life is tiresome due to fatigue.

As spring sunshine gets warmer especially those who complain the lassitude of spring and chronic fatigue are increasing.

Fatigue spoils work.

Following research result in Australia, if people don`t sleep for 17 hours from the time to go to bed, alcohol density in blood rises up by 0.05 percent (reason for stopping driver`s license), if 28 hours, behavior becomes similar to alcohol density of 0.1 percent (reason for canceling driver`s license) in body.

Fatigue is entangled, therefore, it is difficult to define as one word, and it has various reasons and kinds, too.

When I inquired to professor in university hospital, about fatigue closely, “ I have no idea. If you ask repeatedly, I get tired.”

We should know fatigue to control it.

Indeed what medical industry has revealed about fatigue is dim like woman’s silhouette being shown in night window.

Fatigue is mostly a signal of request for human body`s rest.

“Automatic energy detect system”which is composed of hypothalamus, a pituitary gland and renal gland in stomach, etc sends signs, `to take a rest now`, when quantity of exhaustion is much, measuring the amount of stock and amount of exhaustion in human body.

Then, pyruvic acid and lactic acid which are waste of metabolism, piles and causes several symptoms.

Fatigue is not always bad.

Fatigue, after exhaustive exercising, finishing hard work or `violent love` becomes a tonic for the next day.

The lassitude of spring, spring guest, is fatigue that disappears naturally after one~three weeks.

If spring temperature becomes high, it is bound to cause tiredness as muscles, which shrinks in winter loosen up and amount of metabolism in body increases in spring.

However, if fatigue reaches more than one month it is diseased fatigue and above 6 months, it is called `chronic fatigue`.

Therefore we should go to see doctor and find out the reason for controlling it.

30percent of chronic fatigue is sign of tuberculosis, hepatitis, diabetes, thyroiditis, lung disease, anemia, cancer, heart disease, rheumatism, etc.

Mental matters such as, stress, uneasiness, and hypochondria also causes 30~40 percent of fatigue.

It is caused by medicines such as nervine, controlling blood pressure, contraceptives etc, too, and sometimes the reason can`t be found out.

Though it is chronic fatigue, we can control it, if we are faithful to life treatment, that is taking rest and calories appropriately.

Many people think `chronic fatigue = chronic fatigue syndrome`, however, it is not true.

A chronic fatigue syndrome is one of chronic fatigue but the reason hasn’t been found out yet.

Its symptoms are repetition of extreme fatigue such as if we work one day, then more than one day should be spent for rest; however, patients are extremely rare.

A chronic fatigue syndrome can be suspected if more than four are included from the following 6 conditions, △ throat pain △ pain in lymph nodes, neck and armpits △ muscle pain or arthralgia △ new headache △ stable fatigue despite enough sleep △ steady fatigue more than one day after exercise.

There is no medicine for complete cure, however, it can be relieved by medicines for hypochondria, vitamins, hydrocortisone, etc.

(Assistance = Lee Jeon Gwon, professor of home-doctoring in Samsung Seoul hospital of Seong Kyun Kwan medical university)

Seong-Ju Lee stein33@donga.com