"My eyes keep closing." It's not fatigue, it's an immune system issue... A 1-minute self-diagnosis.

"My eyes keep closing." It's not fatigue, it's an immune system issue... A 1-minute self-diagnosis.

 

Many people complain of feeling weak and lethargic due to stress and overwork. Unlike simple fatigue, if you experience actual muscle weakness that interferes with daily life, it could be myasthenia gravis, which warrants attention.

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune cells attack healthy tissue or substances. While autoimmune diseases are typically common in younger people in their 20s and 30s, myasthenia gravis is unusually prevalent in people in their 50s and 60s. Many people, accepting the loss of strength as a natural part of aging, often allow the condition to worsen.

 

The most common symptoms are muscle weakness and fatigue. Early-on, eye muscle weakness, including drooping eyelids and double vision, are particularly common. Facial muscle weakness can also make chewing, speaking, and swallowing difficult. While 15% of all myasthenia gravis patients experience only ocular symptoms, the remaining 85% experience muscle weakness in other areas, leading to limb weakness or, in severe cases, respiratory muscle weakness, requiring mechanical ventilation.

 

Myasthenia gravis can be easily confused with lethargy. However, while lethargy can feel draining and sluggish, muscle strength remains intact during tasks, patients with myasthenia gravis experience difficulty lifting objects or maintaining strength. Symptoms may be absent in the morning, worsening in the afternoon, or improving with rest or sleep, showing fluctuations in muscle weakness. Initially, symptoms may alternate between worsening and improving, sometimes even disappearing altogether, but in most cases, they worsen and spread throughout the body.

 

At the hospital

△If the eyelids gradually fall when the person looks up at the sky for 1 minute

△If the pupils do not focus and open within 1 minute when looking straight ahead and fixing the pupils to the left and right

△If you experience problems with pronunciation when counting numbers from 1 to 50, it is advised that you suspect myasthenia gravis.

 

In this case, the disease is further confirmed through repeated nerve stimulation tests, acetylcholine receptor antibody measurements, and anticholinesterase drug administration tests.

 

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that requires lifelong management. The goal of treatment is to maintain the immune system, prevent the disease from worsening, and appropriately manage symptoms to ensure minimal disruption to daily life. To achieve this, treatments such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, immunosuppressants, corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, plasmapheresis, and thymectomy may be considered.

 

 

Professor So Jeong-min of the Department of Neurology at Korea University Ansan Hospital said, "If myasthenia gravis is detected early and treated and managed consistently, patients can lead daily lives without major inconveniences." He added, "If symptoms disappear after taking medication, patients sometimes stop taking the medication on their own and no longer visit the hospital. However, this can lead to the risk of worsening symptoms and a myasthenia crisis in the future, so patients should consistently consult with a specialist and manage the condition."

 

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1-Minute Self-Diagnosis

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