The Orange County Board of Commissioners has issued a proclamation declaring October to be Dysautonomia Awareness Month in Orange County.
Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used tot describe medical conditions that cause the Autonomic Nervous System to malfunction.
This proclamation is a result of one Orange High student named Miranda Harris, who was diagnosed with a form of dysautonomia called POTS, or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, after suffering a concussion three years ago.
Since being diagnosed, Harris has fought to spread awareness from this very common but often under diagnosed disorder.
“It was easier with the diagnosis because you knew there was something there, you weren’t making it up,” says Harris.
Since many of the symptoms of POTS aren’t visible, such as blood pooling in the extremities, chest pans ad shortness of breath, it can often take up to seven years to be diagnosed.
Miranda’s mother Debra, who works in the medical field, says this is one of the reasons why they feel raising awareness is so important.
“It takes many years often to get a diagnosis and there’s a lot of misdiagnosis along the way,” says Harris. “It’s a real odyssey or journey, so that’s why it’s important to us to help raise awareness in the medical community and around the general community for day-to-day support.”
Mayo Clinic researchers estimate that POTS impacts anywhere from one to three million Americans, the majority of which are young women between ages 12 and 40.
For more information, visit dysautonomiainternational.org.
