Malaise Overview

Malaise is a term for a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or fatigue that has no clearly identifiable cause.

A person may feel this way for various reasons. Some causes are transient and relatively benign, while others are more chronic and severe.

While health issues can cause malaise, people’s experiences and descriptions of this feeling tend to differ, which can create challenges for a doctor during diagnosis.

What is Malaise?

Malaise is described as any of the following:

  • A feeling of overall weakness
  • Feeling of discomfort
  • A feeling like you have an illness
  • Simply not feeling well

It often occurs with fatigue and an inability to restore a feeling of health through proper rest.

Sometimes, malaise happens suddenly. Other times, it may develop gradually and persist for a long period. The reason behind your malaise can be extremely difficult to determine because it can be the result of so many conditions.

However, once your doctor diagnoses the cause of your malaise, treating the condition can help you feel better.

Signs and Symptoms of Malaise

Malaise is a general feeling of being unwell. It is a symptom, not a condition.

People tend to experience and describe malaise in different ways, but their descriptions tend to involve one or more of the following elements:

These symptoms may appear suddenly, or they may come on very gradually. Also, for some people, malaise comes and goes, while for others it is lasting.

Malaise may be mild to severe. In some cases, it is so severe that it interferes with a person’s work performance, family life, and other relationships.

Causes of Malaise

Medical Conditions

There are numerous possible causes of malaise. Any time your body undergoes a disruption, such as an injury, disease, or trauma, you can experience malaise. The causes listed here represent some of the many possibilities.

Many issues can cause malaise. Some general causes include:

  • Aging
  • Chronic medical conditions
  • Drug withdrawal
  • Jet lag
  • decreased physical activity
  • Mental health conditions
  • Overexertion
  • Pregnancy
  • Medications, with malaise being a side effect
  • Viral infections

Musculoskeletal Disease

If you have a musculoskeletal condition, you can often experience a general sense of discomfort and unease. Additionally, malaise is a typical symptom of various forms of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis.

Viral Infections

Acute viral disorders, such as the following, can cause malaise:

Some of these causes are more serious than others. If a person with malaise is having trouble determining the cause, they should speak with a doctor.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a particularly complex disorder that’s characterized by a feeling of overall pain, fatigue, and malaise.

These chronic conditions may cause malaise:

Mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, can often lead to malaise. However, it’s also possible to begin to feel symptoms of depression and anxiety if you have malaise. It can be difficult to determine if the malaise or depression occurred first.

Other causes of malaise can include:

Medications

Medications that can also put you at risk for malaise include:

Some medications may not cause malaise on their own but can lead to malaise when combined with other medications.

Malaise and Fatigue

Fatigue often occurs along with malaise. When experiencing malaise, you will often also feel exhausted or lethargic in addition to a generalized feeling of being unwell.

Like malaise, fatigue has a large number of possible explanations. It can be due to lifestyle factors, illnesses, and certain medications.

Diagnosis of Malaise

Your doctor will perform a physical examination. They’ll look for an obvious physical condition that could be the cause of your malaise or could give clues about its cause.

They will also ask questions about your malaise. Be prepared to provide details such as approximately when the malaise started and whether the malaise seems to come and go, or is constantly present.

Your doctor will also likely ask you questions about recent travel, additional symptoms you’re experiencing, any challenges you have in completing daily activities, and why you think you’re having these challenges.

They’ll ask you what medications you’re taking, if you use drugs or alcohol, and whether you have any known health issues or conditions.

If they aren’t sure what’s causing you to feel malaise, they may order tests to confirm or rule out one or more diagnoses. These tests may include blood tests, X-rays, and other diagnostic tools.

Treatment of Malaise

Malaise is not a condition in and of itself. Therefore, treatment will focus on addressing the underlying cause.

Predicting what this treatment will consist of is unlikely because malaise can be due to a wide variety of conditions. That’s why an examination and testing is necessary. This information can help your doctor make a proper diagnosis.

Treatment for the cause of your malaise can help control the feeling and prevent it from becoming overwhelming. You can minimize your malaise by:

Malaise can be difficult to prevent because it has many possible causes.

Keeping a record of your physical and mental well-being can help you identify the causes and triggers of your malaise. Keep a journal to help you track your malaise. You can present your findings to your doctor if necessary.

Complications of Malaise

Some causes of malaise are temporary and tend not to cause any lasting harm. Examples include:

  • Common cold
  • Jet lag
  • Overexertion

When malaise results from an underlying medical condition, a person’s health may deteriorate if they do not receive treatment. Diabetes, HIV, or cancer, for example, can lead to very serious complications, and even death, without proper treatment.

Individuals  may have difficulty identifying the cause of their malaise, and if this happens, it is important to see a doctor, who will work to diagnose the issue and provide appropriate treatment.

When to See a Doctor?

A person may be able to identify the cause of their malaise. In some cases, the cause is temporary and does not require medical treatment. Examples of such causes include:

  • Jet lag
  • Overexertion
  • The common cold

Other causes of malaise are more serious and have the potential to cause further harm.

See a doctor if:

  • The cause of malaise is unclear
  • Malaise is so severe that it affects daily activities
  • There are any additional symptoms

Attempting to treat malaise without determining the cause can lead to inappropriate or ineffective treatment.

For example, caffeine may temporarily relieve feelings of fatigue, but it will not resolve the underlying issue.

Summary

Malaise is an unspecific symptom, and it can result from a diverse range of issues. Some causes come and go and are relatively harmless, while others can be lasting and severe.

A person should see a doctor if they experience severe, chronic, or unexplained malaise, or if other symptoms are present.

Diagnosing the cause of malaise can be difficult, especially because experiences and descriptions of malaise can differ. When making a diagnosis, a doctor will take a full medical history, and they may need to perform diagnostic tests.

A person with malaise may need to make frequent visits to their doctor. An ongoing conversation will provide the doctor with a more full and accurate understanding of the person’s experience and the underlying issue. Once the doctor has identified the cause of malaise, appropriate treatment can begin.

biospecimens

Biospecimens

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In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

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In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

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Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

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Types of Biospecimens

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Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.