Asthenia in women
From the point of view of physicians, asthenia is not a disease, it is a condition in which a person feels physical and mental exhaustion. In women, asthenia can be a sign of the development of an illness or a harbinger of depression.

Asthenia in women is a state of physical and neuropsychic exhaustion, which is accompanied by a feeling of constant fatigue.

Asthenia in women is more common than in men, but women often ignore alarming symptoms and attribute everything to banal overwork. Meanwhile, asthenia can signal the development of a somatic disease, be a harbinger of depression and other mental disorders.

We talked to our experts about the causes of asthenia in women and found out how to diagnose and treat the condition. They also learned about preventive measures and whether folk remedies help with asthenia.

What is asthenia disease

Asthenia is not a disease, but a condition that occurs against the background of diseases, physical and mental stress, after injuries and operations.1,3. In domestic medicine, this condition is called “asthenic syndrome”. In the English-language literature, the term “chronic fatigue syndrome” is more common.1. There is also a less scientific, but more capacious definition of asthenia – “driven horse syndrome”.

There are two types of asthenia: psychogenic and somatogenic.2. Psychogenic develops due to inadequate distribution of forces or intrapersonal conflict. Somatogenic asthenia occurs against the background of the disease2. The most characteristic sign of any kind of asthenia: a feeling of fatigue that appears even in the absence of exercise and does not go away after rest2.

Useful information about asthenia

Causespathological processes, stress, physical or mental stress
Symptomsfatigue, poor sleep, depression – unlike overwork, they do not disappear after rest
Treatmentmedicines, nutrition, physiotherapy and psychotherapy
Preventionproper nutrition, lack of physical and emotional overload, walks in the air

Causes of asthenia in women

The causes of asthenia in women are very diverse – from the banal deficiency of vitamins and trace elements to hormonal disorders, infectious and somatic diseases. Among the most common causes of asthenia in women are the following:

  • physical and emotional overwork;
  • pregnancy;
  • deficiency of vitamins (especially groups B, C, D),
  • mental illness;
  • depression, including postpartum;
  • chronic diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, impaired renal function, blood diseases, diabetes mellitus and impaired thyroid function;
  • oncology;
  • chronic vascular diseases of the brain: atherosclerosis, ischemia, consequences of traumatic brain injury, meningitis or encephalitis;
  • infectious diseases;
  • surgical interventions.

Another cause of asthenia in women can be a coronavirus infection. Many patients during the recovery period after COVID-19 experience a breakdown and emotional exhaustion.

Symptoms and signs of asthenia in women

Symptoms of asthenic disorders are nonspecific. This means that the symptoms of asthenia in women and men are very similar to the symptoms of many somatic and mental pathologies.3. However, some characteristic signs of asthenia still exist. These include3:

  • fatigue, which often occurs before work and after rest;
  • irritability, tearfulness, mood swings;
  • sleep disturbances: problems with falling asleep, nightmares, frequent awakenings in the middle of the night, inversion – sleepiness during the day and wakefulness at night;
  • low performance;
  • deterioration in attention and concentration;
  • vascular disorders: palpitations, fluctuations in blood pressure, discomfort and pain in the region of the heart;
  • headaches that may occur at the end of the working day, at night or in the morning, are accompanied by a feeling of a “hoop” on the head or are bursting in nature;
  • gastrointestinal disorders;
  • muscle tension, which is accompanied by pain in the neck, back and lower back.

Among other symptoms of asthenia in women, hypersensitivity to visual, verbal and tactile stimuli can be distinguished.3. For people with asthenic syndrome, the light seems too bright, the sounds are too loud, and the touch is painful3.

Treatment of asthenia in women

Treatment of asthenia in women largely depends on the severity of the condition and the causes that caused it. Nevertheless, with any therapeutic approach, the goals of treatment will be the same: reducing the degree of asthenia, increasing the level of physical and mental activity, improving the quality of life of the patient2.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is most often done by a therapist. The doctor will listen to complaints and check the patient’s physical and emotional state with the help of specialized tests and questionnaires. They allow you to assess general fatigue, mood levels, sleep disturbances, personality changes and a number of other parameters.2.

To exclude infectious and somatic diseases, laboratory and instrumental studies are prescribed:

  • Analysis of urine;
  • blood tests – general and biochemical;
  • thyroid hormone tests;
  • ECG, ultrasound of the heart, Holter monitoring;
  • PCR tests to detect infectious diseases;
  • MRI of the brain.

In some cases, additional examinations and consultations of narrow specialists are required: a gynecologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist.

Modern treatments

With secondary or somatogenic asthenia, they are primarily involved in the treatment of the underlying disease and, in parallel, stop the manifestations of chronic fatigue syndrome. With psychogenic asthenia, a traumatic factor is identified and they try to eliminate it. For all types of asthenic syndrome, complex therapy is used with the use of drugs, psychotherapeutic methods, physical training, and physiotherapy.

Pills

There are no specific drugs for the treatment of asthenia. Depending on the etiology of the disease, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome may be prescribed medications from different pharmacological groups, including:

  • adaptogens;
  • nootropics;
  • tranquilizers;
  • antidepressants;
  • vitamin and mineral complexes with a high content of B vitamins, ascorbic acid and magnesium.

Medications are selected taking into account the clinical manifestations of asthenia. For example, patients with obvious signs of depression are prescribed tricyclic antidepressants, and anxiolytics are prescribed for panic disorders and increased anxiety.1,3.

Food

There are no strict recommendations, but patients with asthenic syndrome need a complete diet with a normal content of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and trace elements. With chronic fatigue syndrome, unbalanced weight loss diets that limit the use of certain foods will be very harmful.

Psychotherapy

For the treatment of asthenia, various psychotherapeutic techniques are used: hypnosis, auto-training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, conditioned reflex methods, neurolinguistic programming1,3. With the help of psychotherapy, they solve several problems: reduce anxiety, form a positive worldview, help get rid of subconscious fears and complexes1,3.

Physical exercises

Most doctors consider sensible exercise to be a priority treatment for asthenia.3. Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome will benefit from swimming, yoga and exercise therapy. Physical training is recommended to be combined with massage and physiotherapy sessions.3. Hydrotherapy gives good results: contrast shower and Charcot shower3.

Physical activity, massage and physiotherapy tone the body as a whole, improve blood circulation, relieve muscle tension and improve mood.

Prevention of asthenia in women at home

The most effective measure for the prevention of asthenia in women is a normal daily routine, the absence of physical and emotional overload at work and at home. Every day you need to walk in the fresh air for at least 30-40 minutes, do not give up playing sports, go to bed on time and eat right.

Popular questions and answers

Every fifth patient in our country complains of symptoms of asthenia when visiting a doctor1. These data do not diverge from global statistics. WHO predicts that in the near future chronic fatigue syndrome will be the second “most popular” diagnosis after cardiovascular disease1. Asthenic syndrome has not yet been sufficiently studied and raises many questions. Our experts answer the most popular of them.

How to understand that a person has asthenia?

An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a doctor. At the appointment, you should tell the doctor about your condition, mood, quality of sleep, problems with doing work and controlling emotions.

Given the subjectivity of symptoms, online tests/questionnaires can be used to diagnose asthenia. There are many tests, but the most commonly used are:

● test questionnaire “Scale of asthenic condition” (ShAS) Malkova L.D., contains 26 questions;

● The MFI-20 questionnaire consists of 20 questions that assess the level of physical and mental fatigue, decreased motivation and activity.

You can take the test yourself online or at a doctor’s appointment. If the test showed the presence of asthenic syndrome, it is necessary to adjust the lifestyle and undergo a comprehensive medical examination.

What to do if asthenia develops after coronavirus?

Asthenia after coronavirus occurs in many patients who have had an infection in moderate to severe form. This is due to the direct effect of the virus on nerve cells (impaired function and / or death of neurons), which does not allow a person to withstand normal stress.

Also, asthenia after covid is associated with hypoxia due to viral pneumonia, intoxication, and respiratory failure. As a result, the brain and other organs are not provided with enough oxygen. This also leads to psychological disorders.

Do not put off going to the doctor if you are faced with this problem. Therapy of post-covid asthenic syndrome should be timely and comprehensive. For treatment, medications, exercise therapy and tonic massage are prescribed.

Is it possible to cure asthenia with folk remedies?

Some traditional medicines can help treat asthenia. However, it is not recommended to use them without a doctor’s prescription, and even more so – to use instead of traditional therapy.
  1. M.A. Lebedev, S.Yu. Palatov, G.V. Kovrov, E.P. Schukina, Kh.T. Binyaminov. Asthenia is a symptom, syndrome, disease. Lectures for doctors. First Moscow State Medical University. Sechenov. 2014.
  2. Asthenic syndrome in the practice of a neurologist and a family doctor. Russian Medical Journal No. 13 dated July 28.07.2016, XNUMX https://www.rmj.ru/articles/nevrologiya/Astenicheskiy_sindrom_v_praktike_

    neurologa_i_semeynogo_vracha/

  3. Asthenic syndrome: myths and reality https://www.rmj.ru/articles/nevrologiya/Astenicheskiy_sindrom_v_praktike_

    neurologa_i_semeynogo_vracha/

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