Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Blogger

Damaging diagnoses of myalgic encephalitis in children Sir,— We are being referred, from consultants and family doctors, a small but nevertheless worrying number of children and very young teenagers in whom a diagnosis of myalgic encephalitis has been made or suggested—in some cases because the mother has been diagnosed as having myalgic encephalitis. Some of these young subjects have received management and treatment which has not been put to the generally accepted tests of clinical efficacy or safety. Virtually all have had their quality of life further and seriously impaired by the application of the myalgic encephalitis label. The consequences have been serious with withdrawal from school, loss of contact with social peers, somatising of psychological problems, and lack of rational medical treatment, whether it be from a paediatrician or child psychiatrist. In most cases the diagnoses have been made or offered by parents with harassed practitioners acquiescing in the di...

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis by proxy Sir,—The letter by Drs F Harris and L S Taitz describing the damaging effects of the diagnoses of myalgic encephalomyelitis in children¹ prompts us to report a case that we believe shows myalgic encephalomyelitis by proxy. (The name of the general practitioner has not been cited as a co-author to protect patient confidentiality.) A 12 year old boy presented with his mother to the general practitioner with complaints of recurrent nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches, headaches, and lethargy. Clinical examination revealed no abnormalities apart from mild obesity. At the insistence of his mother, who was convinced her child was suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.), the child was referred to a general medical clinic to reassure her that he had no actual illness. When the mother was questioned on the child’s symptoms the criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis or the postviral fatigue syndrome² were sufficiently ful...