Guillain-Barre Syndrome

6 Pages 1426 Words

Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. I interviewed a patient, Yvonne, who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre when she was only 11. She struggled with the disease, went into remission, and the relapsed even worse. She is now in remission and has several checkups a year.
The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. For Yvonne, it started in her pinky toe. She thought that her toe was just “asleep”. But when the tingling, sleepy sensation started to travel up her legs after a few days, she started to get concerned so she went to a doctor for a check-up, only for the doctor to say it was nothing to be concerned about. (1)
These symptoms can increase in intensity until the muscles cannot be used at all and the patient is almost totally paralyzed. In these cases the disorder is life threatening-potentially interfering with breathing and, at times, with blood pressure or heart rate-and is considered a medical emergency. The patient is often put on a respirator 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. Most patients, however, recover from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, although some continue to have some degree of weakness. (4;pg104-107)
Guillain-Barre can affect anybody. It can strike at any age and both sexes are equally prone to the disorder. The syndrome is rare, however, hitting only about one person in 100,000. Usually Guillain-Barre occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection ( 3; pg 16-19) Occasionally, surgery or vaccinations will trigger the syndrome. The disorder can develop over t...