NUR 600 Discussion 8.1: Common and Less-Common Diagnoses for the Neurologic System

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One of the most prevalent neurological illnesses is headaches, which can afflict anyone at any age. While a headache often isn’t anything to be overly concerned about, if the patient’s headaches start to occur abruptly and frequently, there may be signs of an underlying issue. Severe headaches that appear out of the blue, headaches accompanied by fever, photosensitivity, and neck stiffness are all warning signs of more dangerous conditions including meningitis or cerebral hemorrhage (Filler et al., 2019). Managing chronic pain may be crippling, even though headache disorders like migraine and tension-type headaches are not life-threatening. Nowadays, there are several headache therapy choices available including NSAIDs.

A very uncommon neuromuscular ailment that damages the nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain is ALS, often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease (Masrori & Van Damme, 2020). Although doctors are unaware of the precise origin of ALS, environmental and genetic factors are thought to play a role. Muscle twitching, stiffness, impaired speech, and breathing and swallowing issues are among the symptoms. Sadly, this ailment is challenging to identify and frequently needs a neuromuscular neurologist’s assessment.

A thorough medical history and physical examination are the first steps a healthcare professional takes to identify a nervous system problem. To diagnose a headache in an emergency, the doctor must first take a complete history and do a focused physical examination. The unilateral location, extended duration (4–72 hours), frequency, concomitant symptoms including nausea and/or vomiting, and light sensitivity are only a few of the migraine’s primary distinguishing characteristics (Anarte-Lazo et al., 2021). For ALS, a neurologic examination will evaluate the patient’s reflexes, muscular strength, and other reactions. It will also be conducted regularly to see whether symptoms such as muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, and spasticity are progressively worsening (Quinn & Elman, 2020).

References

Anarte-Lazo, E., Carvalho, G. F., Schwarz, A., Luedtke, K., & Falla, D. (2021). Differentiating migraine, cervicogenic headache and asymptomatic individuals based on physical examination findings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04595-w