Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Ebook74 pages36 minutes

    Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

    By Kenneth Kee

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system
    Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare autoimmune progressive disease with relatively symmetrical weakness of 2 or more limbs due to neuropathy, areflexia and mild sensory symptoms of not more than 4 weeks duration.
    Causes are:
    1. A nonspecific respiratory or gastrointestinal viral illness
    2. Vaccination (rarely)
    3. Extreme exposure to cold
    The result of the antibodies attack on the peripheral nerves is inflammation of myelin and blockage of nerve conduction resulting in muscle paralysis with sensory or autonomic deficits.
    The first symptoms of this disorder are varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs.
    In many cases the symmetrical weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body.
    These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and when severe the person is almost totally paralyzed.
    Such an individual is often put on a ventilator to assist with breathing and is watched closely for problems such as an abnormal heart beat, infections, blood clots, and high or low blood pressure.
    Absence of fever is one of the sign of Guillain Barre Syndrome.
    Recovery usually begins 2-4 weeks after progression of disease stops
    The diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome involve
    1. History of a rapid onset and progression of ascending motor weakness, areflexia and the absence of fever.
    2. Physical and neurological examinations for peripheral neurological deficit.
    3. Cerebrospinal fluid examination-
    a. An elevated protein level (100 - 1000 mg/dL)
    b. Absent pleocytosis (increased cell count)
    4. Electromyography studies and nerve conduction studies may show prolonged distal latencies, conduction slowing, nerve conduction blockage suggestive of demyelization.
    5. Computed tomography or MRI may show actual demyelization of the nerve.
    There is no known cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome.
    The most critical part of the treatment for this syndrome consists of keeping the patient's body functioning during recovery of the nervous system.
    This can sometimes require placing the patient on mechanical ventilatory assistance, a heart monitor, or other machines that assist body function.
    1. Hospitalization and early intubation with a respirator on standby in case of difficulty in respiration
    2. Treatment of the underlying cause is started as soon as possible:
    Currently, plasma exchange (also called plasmapheresis) and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are used.
    Both of them are equally effective but immunoglobulin is easier to administer.
    a. High dose intravenous immune globulin, which temporarily modifies the immune system and provides the body with normal antibodies from donated blood
    In high-dose immunoglobulin therapy, doctors give intravenous injections of the proteins that, in small quantities, the immune system uses naturally to attack invading organisms.
    Giving high doses of these immunoglobulins, derived from a pool of thousands of normal donors, to Guillain-Barre patients can lessen the immune attack on the nervous system.
    b. Plasmapheresis in which abnormal antibodies are removed from the blood.
    Plasmapheresis seems to reduce the severity and duration of the Guillain-Barre episode
    3. Rehabilitation is started after the patient is stable and will focus on improving activities of daily living functions such as brushing teeth, washing and getting dressed.
    4. Physiotherapy to strengthen muscles
    5. Speech therapy for speech and swallowing
    Patients sometimes need psychological counseling to help them adapt.
    The recovery period may be as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years.
    TABLE OF CONTENT
    Introduction
    Chapter 1 Guillain Barre Syndrome
    Chapter 2 Interesting Facts about Guillain Barre Syndrome

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKenneth Kee
    Release dateDec 16, 2016
    ISBN9781370755639
    Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Author

    Kenneth Kee

    Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

    Read more from Kenneth Kee

    Related to Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

    Related ebooks

    Wellness For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Doctor Gill

      Mar 22, 2023

      In a French study of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in babies, incidents happened six times a day in those under six months old. Gradually, there was a significant decrease in the number of cases. Parental smoking was the most important f

      4 min read

    • Article

      The problem: Epilepsy

      Mar 2, 2021

      The problem: Epilepsy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Coping with… A SLIPPED DISC

      Jul 26, 2023

      ADVICE FROM OUR WOMAN’S WEEKLY DOCTOR A slipped prolapsed/herniated) disc can happen for a variety of reasons, such as degenerative ageing changes in the disc tissue, exercising too hard or not enough, lifting heavy objects the wrong way, vibratio

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Expert

      Mar 21, 2024

      Q Why does my hand tingle in the night? A Tingling, or pins and needles, prickling or numbness on the skin happens when the blood supply to the nerves is temporarily cut off. This is usually when you sit or sleep in a way that puts pressure on that

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coping with RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME

      Aug 3, 2022

      Diagnosing restless legs syndrome (RLS) is difficult because it’s purely based on symptoms, as there’s no tests to confirm the diagnosis, and it can be complex to treat. The International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) gives certain criteria, stating all m

      3 min read

    • Article

      Health News

      Dec 3, 2020

      Health News
      2 min read

    • Article

      Doctor Gill

      Mar 27, 2024

      Unsurprisingly, in a longitudinal investigation of 150,000 people on the Swedish diabetes register, those whose risk factors (blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, Hba1c, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and smoking) were at recommended levels, were

      4 min read

    • Article

      Coping with... TOURETTE’S SYNDROME

      Nov 29, 2023

      ADVICE FROM OUR WOMAN’S WEEKLY DOCTOR Tourette’s starts during childhood, more often in boys and in people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning difficulties. The cause is unknown, but

      4 min read

    • Article

      Doctor Gill

      Nov 8, 2023

      Two recent trials suggest daily multivitamin supplements are beneficial for cognition. Firstly, among 3,500 older adults randomly assigned to vitamin supplements or placebo, episodic memory (tested by ability to learn and recall lists of unrelated wo

      4 min read

    • Article

      INSULIN RESISTANCE explained

      Aug 16, 2023

      INSULIN RESISTANCE explained
      4 min read

    • Article

      INSULIN RESISTANCE explained

      Aug 16, 2023

      INSULIN RESISTANCE explained
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Expert

      Dec 27, 2019

      QI have cancer and I’m being told I must ‘fight’ it. What does this even mean? A What it doesn’t mean is that whether you will recover is down to how hard you try. There’s little evidence that we can ‘beat’ cancer by force of will. If we’re in pai

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coping with FALLS

      Sep 7, 2022

      Falls aren’t an inevitable part of getting older, but one in three adults over 65, and half of people aged 80 plus have at least one fall a year. Most falls don’t result in serious injury but cuts, bruising, fractures and head injury can occur, which

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Expert

      Mar 19, 2020

      Q EACH SPRING, I GET AN ITCHY RASH ON MY NECK AND ARMS, WHICH GOES BY ITSELF. COULD THIS BE AN ALLERGY? A This sounds like polymorphic light eruption (PLE), caused by sensitivity to ultraviolet light in the sun’s rays (which can penetrate windows a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coping with B12 DEFICIENCY

      Jul 7, 2021

      Coping with B12 DEFICIENCY
      3 min read

    • Article

      SEIZURES Not Always Epileptic!

      Jul 30, 2020

      SEIZURES Not Always Epileptic!
      13 min read

    • Article

      Doctor Gill

      Jul 12, 2023

      This is a break in the hip joint, usually at the top of the femur bone The hip is a ‘ball and socket’ joint, where the femur head sits in the acetabulum socket of the pelvis. A hip fracture commonly breaks at the top of the femur, rarely involvin

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Expert

      May 11, 2023

      A Your GP will try to make the diagnosis from your symptoms, plus any rash or recent tick bites you know about, but Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose. The symptoms are varied, resembling other conditions, and there’s not always an obvious rash or

      3 min read

    • Article

      Coping with... INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

      Sep 6, 2023

      ADVICE FROM OUR WOMAN’S WEEKLY DOCTOR T he two main types of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is vastly different to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), although symptoms may be similar. Main IBD symptoms include diarrhoea lasting

      3 min read

    • Article

      Health Now

      Jul 15, 2019

      A yawn could be more than just a sign of tiredness: it might be signalling something else, such as: If you’re a migraine-sufferer, keep track of how much you’re yawning. Yawns have been identified as an early warning sign of an impending attack, so i

      4 min read

    • Article

      Coping with A HERNIA

      Jan 4, 2023

      Advice from our Woman’s Weekly doctor A hernia can occur anywhere in the body cavities or between tissue layers, but the commonest occur in the chest or abdominal cavities. It may cause no or few symptoms, although you may notice a swelling or lump

      4 min read

    • Article

      Doctor Gill

      Mar 20, 2024

      The condition causes pain and stiffness,making the shoulder hard to move This occurs when the flexible tissue that surrounds the shoulder joint – known as the capsule – becomes inflamed and thickened, affecting one or both shoulders, although it’s no

      4 min read

    • Article

      Feeling Tired?

      Sep 11, 2023

      Statistically, fatigue is mentioned by one in five people who visit their GP. But how do you know what’s normal, or when it might be the sign of an underlying health issue? Stress, anxiety and depression can drain energy levels, causing chronic fatig

      1 min read

    • Article

      LIVING WITH Fibromyalgia

      Dec 27, 2018

      LIVING WITH Fibromyalgia
      2 min read

    • Article

      Post-COVID Fatigue

      Feb 23, 2023

      Post-COVID Fatigue
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee

      Guillain Barre

      Syndrome

      A

      Simple

      Guide

      To

      The Condition,

      And

      Related Conditions

      By

      Dr Kenneth Kee

      M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

      Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

      Copyright Kenneth Kee 2013 Smashwords Edition

      Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated

      To my wife Dorothy

      And my children

      Carolyn, Grace

      And Kelvin

      This book describes the Guillian Barr Syndrome and Related autoimmune Diseases such as Temporal Arteritis, SLE, Rheumatoid arthritis and Myasthenia gravis which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

      If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Introduction

      Ode to Gullain Barre Syndrome

      Gullain Barre Syndrome, you make me sad

      Because of my paralysis, I wish I was dead

      You start with varying degrees of weakness

      In the legs, tingling sensations and numbness

      Now you have spread to my arms and my upper body

      I have also lost my reflexes and knee jerks already

      I hope that you will not affect my cranial nerves or brain

      Or else I cannot breathe or swallow, that will be insane

      Loss of pain and temperature sensation may be present.

      Deep aching pain in the weakened muscles I resent.

      Autonomic dysfunction may occur such as tachycardia,

      Bladder dysfunction, frequent urination and diarrhea

      Hospitalization and intubation may be needed early

      Injections of immnoglobilins is given intravenously

      Plasma exchange is a method to remove the antibodies

      Rehabilitation is started with the recovery of the body

      -An original poem by Kenneth Kee

      Interesting Tips about the Gullain Barre Syndrome

      A Healthy Lifestyle

      1. Take a well Balanced Diet

      2. Rehabilitation is started after the patient is stable and will focus on improving activities of daily living functions such as brushing teeth, washing and getting dressed.

      4. Physiotherapy to strengthen muscles

      Speech therapy for speech and swallowing

      Guillain-Barre syndrome patients face not only physical difficulties but emotionally painful periods as well.

      It is often extremely difficult for patients to adjust to sudden paralysis and dependence on others for help with routine daily activities

      Patients sometimes need psychological counseling to help them adapt

      3. Keep bones and body strong

      Bone marrow produces our blood

      Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk, and dark green vegetables.

      Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.

      Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits

      Zinc and other minerals are important to the body

      4. Get enough rest and Sleep

      Avoid stress and tension

      5. Exercise and stay active.

      It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.

      One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1