Violation of the autonomic nervous system or autonomic dysfunction is a set of clinical symptoms of impaired functional activity of the autonomic CNS, which provoke disruption of the internal organs. Often this pathology manifests itself in childhood during the growth of the child, in adolescence it is observed in 100% of cases. Such a phenomenon is not considered an independent disease, but a syndrome that accompanies any pathology. Usually, such a disorder causes the development of neurosis, which significantly worsens the quality of a person's life.
Characteristics and description of the problem
Vegetative dysfunction is a set of functional disorders, which is caused by a disorder in vascular tone and the development of neuroses that worsen the quality of human life. In this condition, the normal reaction of the vessels to internal or external impulses is lost, while they either expand or narrow.
VNS monitors the activity of organs and systems in the body, which are influenced by various internal and external causes. It helps the body adapt tochanging environmental conditions. This nervous system has two subsystems in its structure:
- Sympathetic NS promotes bowel contraction, increased sweating, increased heart rate, vasoconstriction, increased blood pressure as a result of increased heart activity.
- Parasympathetic NS helps to contract muscles, stimulate the activity of all glands in the body, dilate blood vessels, reduce pressure as a result of slowing the heart.
There is a balance between the activities of these subsystems, if this balance is disturbed, the functioning of internal organs and the whole organism is disturbed, a syndrome of autonomic dysfunction develops. This disorder is a condition in which symptoms of somatic pathologies appear in the absence of organic lesions. These symptoms, which are of a psychogenic nature, force a person to visit various doctors, who, in turn, do not reveal any diseases in them. At the same time, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system causes a lot of suffering to a person.
VNS dysfunction today in medicine is very common, it is observed in 15% of children and 80% of adults. The disease usually manifests itself between the ages of twenty and forty. Women are more susceptible to the development of pathology. Autonomic dysfunction in adolescents always manifests itself.
Reasons for the development of the disease
The main cause of the development of pathology is a violationregulation by the VNS, the development of which is influenced by the following factors:
- Hereditary and genetic predisposition.
- Hormonal changes during puberty or menopause.
- Diseases of the endocrine system.
- Pathology of the brain of organic genesis as a result of trauma, tumor, stroke and others.
- Prolonged stress and emotional stress.
- Features of character, in the form of suspiciousness and anxiety.
- Having bad habits.
- Wrong diet.
- Prone to allergic reactions.
- Intoxication of the circulatory and nervous systems.
- Influence of radiation, vibration, noise as a result of labor activity.
- Surgical interventions.
- Using strong antibiotics for a long time.
- The presence of chronic infections in the body.
- Fetal hypoxia during a woman's pregnancy, birth trauma, in which dysfunction of the autonomic system develops in children.
As you can see, there are many reasons for the development of pathology. In most cases, these phenomena go away on their own as a person grows up. But sometimes the disease can cause inconvenience to a person for life.
Forms of pathology
Autonomic dysfunction syndrome comes in several forms:
- The cardiac or cardiac form is characterized by fear of death, resulting in increased blood pressure, heart rate, face turns pale,arousal and anxiety develop, which are manifested in physical activity. Also, a person's body temperature rises. This is due to an increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.
- The hypotonic form is caused by a decrease in blood pressure, the development of cyanosis of the extremities, the appearance of acne, weakness, bradycardia, shortness of breath. In severe cases, involuntary urination, abdominal discomfort, and allergies may occur. Such symptoms are associated with increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Mixed autonomic dysfunction manifests itself in the form of alternating symptoms of the first two forms.
Types of ANS disorders
It is customary to distinguish several types of disorders of the autonomic nervous system:
- Somatoform autonomic dysfunction, the treatment of which is quite successful. This pathology occurs most often. It is characterized by the manifestation of neurosis in the form of signs of various diseases of a chronic nature, which in fact do not exist. In this case, panic attacks, psychogenic cough, dizziness and indigestion are often observed. This phenomenon is associated with chronic stress and depression.
- Damage to the cerebral cortex, which develops as a result of an accident, brain injury, pathology of the central nervous system. In this case, a person feels severe dizziness, his blood pressure decreases, frequent urination and diarrhea develop. After such attacks, the patient complains of weakness and lethargy.
- Continuous irritation of the structures of the peripheralNS often occurs before menstruation, with urolithiasis, pain in the neck. Such dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system manifests symptoms clearly, which is associated with the development of serious pathologies in the body. If you have any signs of illness, you should visit a doctor.
Symptoms and signs of illness
The initial stage of the development of pathology is characterized by the development of neurosis, which provokes the further course of the disease. Neurosis is caused by a violation of vascular tone, skin sensitivity, nutrition of muscle cells, allergic reactions and disorders of the internal organs. First, all signs of neurasthenia appear, then autonomic nervous dysfunction manifests symptoms in the form of the following disorders:
- Astheno-neurotic syndrome in which there is constant fatigue, decreased performance, sensitivity to weather conditions, exhaustion of the body, noise intolerance, adaptation disorder.
- The syndrome of mental disorders is expressed in a decrease in mood and motor activity, lethargy, the development of impressionability, sentimentality, tearfulness, hypochondria. A person develops severe anxiety that he is unable to control.
- Cardiovascular syndrome manifests itself in the form of pain in the heart that appears after nervous tension or stress. Pain is not relieved by medication, blood pressure fluctuates, heart palpitations appear.
- Cardiagicthe syndrome is characterized by the appearance of heart pain of a different nature, which occurs after physical exertion, emotional experiences.
- Syndrome of vascular disorders, in which edema and hyperemia of the extremities develop, irritability appears. In severe cases, a stroke may develop.
- Respiratory syndrome is caused by the development of shortness of breath at the time of emotional experience, a feeling of lack of air. In severe cases, suffocation may develop.
- Cerebrovascular syndrome, which develops migraine, irritability, impaired intelligence.
- Neurogastric syndrome is characterized by the development of flatulence, constipation, heartburn, hiccups, belching.
Autonomic dysfunction symptoms begin to manifest in childhood. Children with this pathology often get sick, complain of malaise when weather conditions change. Symptoms usually improve with age, but this is not always observed.
The most common patients who see a doctor are those with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or adjustment disorder.
Diagnostic measures
Due to the large number of symptoms and signs of manifestation, the diagnosis of autonomic dysfunction is difficult.
The doctor examines the history of the disease, listens to the patient's complaints and prescribes various diagnostic tests. In this case, it is necessary to examine several doctors, for example, a cardiologist, a neurologist and a therapist. Often, an electrocardiogram, rheovasography, gastroscopy, ultrasound, laboratory blood and urine tests, FGDS, MRI are used as a diagnostic method. It is very important to examine the patient's nervous system using electroencephalography and CT.
It is very important that the doctor can see the psychopathological signs of the disease, which play a decisive role in the correct diagnosis and the effectiveness of treatment. Usually autonomic dysfunction is accompanied by emotional and affective disorders, which include anxiety and depression, as well as phobias, hysteria and other pathologies. The most important symptom of the disease is a person's anxiety, which is uncontrollable.
Based on the results of research and the symptoms of the disease, the doctor makes an accurate diagnosis and develops therapy tactics. If autonomic dysfunction is suspected, it is recommended to undergo a full examination to exclude the risk of developing serious pathologies, the symptoms of which may be similar to the disease.
Pathology Therapy
Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system requires complex treatment, including non-drug therapy, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, normalization of the daily routine and nutrition.
According to the doctor's prescription, drug treatment can be used to eliminate the unpleasant symptoms of the pathology during attacks. As medications are prescribed:
- tranquilizers, such as Phenazepam,
- Neuroleptics like Sonapax
- nootropic drugs("Piracetam"),
- hypnotics,
- antidepressants,
- sedatives,
- cardiac and vascular drugs,
- vitamins.
In some cases, you may need to take hypotensive drugs, such as Corvalol.
Usually, drug treatment should last at least four weeks, then the drugs are carefully begun to be canceled, gradually reducing their dosage. With the rapid withdrawal of drugs, the risk of developing a relapse of the disease increases. The presence of signs of dysfunction suggests that therapy should be extended, it may be supplemented with other groups of medicines. On average, the course of treatment should be from two to six months.
Non-drug therapy
Patients must adhere to all doctor's orders:
- Avoid stressful situations, emotional stress. Positive emotions are recommended in this case.
- Eat right. Limiting s alt, coffee, and strong black tea.
- Normalize the period of sleep and wakefulness. Doctors recommend sleeping about eight hours a night in a ventilated room.
- Visit the pool, play sports. Go hiking.
- Take a massage course.
Vegetative dysfunction treatment also involves a psychotherapist who will help identify the causes of the development of the pathology and eliminate them. It must be remembered that the treatment of the disease will take a long period of time.
In some cases it is possiblethe use of herbal medicines after consultation with the attending physician. Such means include the fruits of hawthorn, St. John's wort, valerian, lemon balm, and so on. These plants contribute to the normalization of the activity of the cardiovascular system, toning the NS. Stimulation of immunity, improvement of metabolic processes in the body, reduction in the frequency of occurrence of attacks of the disease.
Failure to follow the doctor's prescriptions leads to a deterioration in well-being, as well as to the development of dangerous disorders in the human body.
Forecast
Usually, the disease develops in childhood and goes away on its own as a person grows up. In severe cases, medical attention is required. Treatment of the disease takes a long time, a person is successfully cured with the right approach to developing therapy tactics.
Prevention
For the purpose of prevention, it is recommended to undergo regular monitoring by a neurologist, timely diagnose and treat infections, endocrine and cardiovascular pathologies, and reduce the load on the nervous system. Also, a person needs to normalize sleep and wakefulness, nutrition, get rid of addictions, take vitamin complexes in the autumn and spring seasons. During an exacerbation of the disease, doctors recommend undergoing a course of physiotherapy.
