Chronic Fatigue in puberty.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) has become more common in teenagers in recent years. This is partly due to it being recognised more by the medical profession, but also because CFS is on the increase in all society. 

Chronic Fatigue is a breakdown of the immune and nervous system, where the person is literally too exhausted to function at their full capacity. Holistic health practitioners recognise a number of factors, that may have led to the chronic fatigue:

• Have never been well since glandular fever, flu or hepatitis;
• A history of repeated antibiotics for recurrent infections, particularly for sore throats or for acne;
• A history of emotional stress or bereavement, from which a person has never recovered;
• High achievers and perfectionists, how have a tendency to overwork and study. They completely overdo it and then burn out and collapse.

The tendency to chronic fatigue may not show up until the teenage years, when the busy lifestyle of the typical secondary school adolescent takes its toll on those, who are already susceptible. However, it is precisely because of this that chronic fatigue is  often not recognised in many teenagers, who are often thought to be lazy and apathetic and told to pick themselves up.

If the child is more exhausted for longer periods after regular amount of work or activities, find it difficult to function even after a good night sleep, find it harder than before to concentrate in the classroom, then the possibility of chronic fatigue needs to be considered.