Dear Sir,
Fifth March is Global CVS Awareness Day, charities and organisations supporting this cause joined together to raise awareness of this condition.
What is CVS?
Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) is a poorly understood condition affecting both children and adults, with onset possible at any age. Sufferers are typically healthy between attacks but suffer episodic bouts of illness. Intense and unrelenting nausea and repeated vomiting, up to six times an hour, for two days to, in extreme cases, two weeks are the main symptoms. During the attack, subjects are completely disabled and exhausted. Attacks can happen every couple of weeks or a few times a year, it varies by individual. Much school time is lost and for adults it can be very difficult to hold down a job.
Who gets CVS?
As far as is known, anyone can. Some sufferers develop the condition in childhood, others at age 70 or beyond. There is often a pattern of female-line inheritance, and associations with migraine are common.
The most famous sufferer of CVS was probably the scientist Charles Darwin, who had severe illness throughout his life that matches the symptoms of CVS.
Can it be treated?
In most cases, potent anti-emetic drugs may help but for some there is currently limited effective treatment. Much more research is required.
What can be done?
Just talking about the condition will help. We know that many sufferers are dismissed as having a ‘tummy bug’ or ‘food poisoning’ as the person is usually well in between. This means diagnosis and treatment is often delayed as the person suffers a ‘tummy bug’ every two weeks for a year and still isn’t recognised as having a serious medical condition.
Awareness and research are critical to helping people with CVS.
Website: www.cvsa.org.uk
Email: info@cvsa.org.uk
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