Dysautonomia conditions are widely unknown. Because of this, there exists a shocking ignorance about the life-style impact on these young heroes and their families. What dysautonomia patients need most is support, understanding and encouragement to help them deal with this complex, debilitating, and poorly understood group of disorders.
Many years ago no one had heard the term cancer either. Thanks to progress in that particular field of medicine, we now know and understand that there are different types of cancer and different causes. We understand that some forms of cancer are treatable and some are life threatening. Some can be cured and some can’t. Medical science advances with cancer treatment options daily and now everyone knows about cancer thanks to those advancements. Dysautonomia is NOT a form of cancer but we utilized cancer as our example because cancer was not always a well known condition. Modern physicians and researchers are now at the beginning stages of learning about dysautonomia conditions and they are advancing treatment options and protocol for the various types of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia has always existed (see the below link for additional information).
The average person may have never heard of dysautonomia before, but progress is being made in this field of medicine every day and word is getting out. With time and awareness, more and more people will start to understand the various forms of dysautonomia and more and more people will know what it is. Thanks to medical science and compassionate physicians and researchers, there is tremendous hope.
For additional information on the history of dysautonomia:
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/womensissues/a/dysautonomia.htm
Dysautonomia: A family of misunderstood disorders
Richard N. Fogoros, MD
In the 19th and early 20th centuries there used to be a condition called neurasthenia. People would find themselves suddenly unable to function, due to a host of inexplicable symptoms, often including fatigue, weakness, strange pains, dizziness and passing out. Doctors would not find anything to explain these symptoms, so they were attributed to a "weak nervous system," or neurasthenia. Women with neurasthenia (for men were not given this diagnosis, by and large) were often confined to their beds, where they would either recover or, eventually, die. And while nobody knew what caused this condition, everyone - doctors and laymen alike - took it seriously.
© 2002-2008 Dysautonomia Youth Network of America, Inc.