View source for Malaise

{{Short description|Feeling of general discomfort}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{Distinguish|nausea}}
{{For|the Swedish entomologist and inventor of the [[Malaise trap]]|René Malaise}}
}}
{{Infobox medical condition
| name          = Malaise
| synonyms      = Discomfort, uneasiness
| pronounce     = {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ|z}} {{respell|mə|LAYZ}}
| field         = [[Family medicine]], [[Internal medicine]], [[Pediatrics]], [[Geriatrics]], [[Psychiatry]], [[Clinical psychology]]
| symptoms      = Feeling of uneasiness or discomfort
| complications =
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| risks         =
| diagnosis     = Based on symptoms
| differential  = [[Pain]], [[anxiety]],  [[depression (mood)|depression]]
| prevention    =
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}}

In [[medicine]], '''malaise''' is a feeling of general [[suffering|discomfort]], uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an [[infection]] or other disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003089.htm|title=Malaise: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia|website=medlineplus.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916154928/https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003089.htm|archive-date=2016-09-16}}</ref> It is considered a vague term{{snd}}describing the state of simply not feeling well. The word has existed in [[French language|French]] since at least the 12th century.

The term is often used [[figurative language|figuratively]] in other contexts, in addition to its meaning as a general state of [[angst]] or [[melancholia]].

== Cause ==
Malaise is a [[non-specific symptom]] and can be present in the slightest ailment, such as an [[emotion]] (causing fainting, a [[vasovagal response]]) or hunger (light [[hypoglycemia]]<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/2/390|title=Short-Term, Delayed, and Working Memory Are Impaired During Hypoglycemia in Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes|first1=Andrew J.|last1=Sommerfield|first2=Ian J.|last2=Deary|first3=Vincent|last3=McAulay|first4=Brian M.|last4=Frier|date=1 February 2003|journal=Diabetes Care|volume=26|issue=2|pages=390–396|via=care.diabetesjournals.org|doi=10.2337/diacare.26.2.390|pmid=12547868|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913150624/http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/2/390|archive-date=13 September 2016|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref>), to the most serious conditions ([[cancer]], [[stroke]], [[heart attack]], [[internal bleeding]], etc.).

Malaise expresses a patient's uneasiness that "something is not right" that may need a medical examination to determine the significance.

Malaise is thought to be caused by the activation of an immune response, and the associated pro-inflammatory [[cytokines]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dantzer|first1=Robert|title=Cytokine, Sickness Behavior, and Depression|journal=Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America|date=1 December 2016|volume=29|issue=2|pages=247–264|doi=10.1016/j.iac.2009.02.002|pmc=2740752|issn=0889-8561|pmid=19389580}}</ref>

==Figurative use==
"[[Economic malaise]]" refers to an economy that is stagnant or in [[recession]] (compare [[Depression (economics)|depression]]). The term is particularly associated with the [[1973–75 recession|1973–75 United States recession]].<ref>One example can be found in ''The Next 200 Years: A Scenario for America and the World'', by [[Herman Kahn]] et al., published in 1976, p. 2.</ref> An era of American automotive history, centered around the 1970s, is similarly called the "[[malaise era]]."

The "Crisis of Confidence" speech made by US President [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1979 is commonly referred to as the "[[malaise speech]]", although the word itself was not actually in the speech.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |title= "Crisis of Confidence" Speech (July 15, 1979) |publisher= Miller Center, University of Virginia |format= text and video |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090721024329/http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |archive-date= July 21, 2009 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Ennui|''Ennui''}}
* {{annotated link|Fatigue (medical)}}
* {{annotated link|Malaise Créole|''Malaise Créole''}}
* {{annotated link|Nosology}}
* {{annotated link|Post-exertional malaise}}
* {{annotated link|Prodrome}}
* {{annotated link|Torpor}}

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist}}
{{Wiktionary}}

== External links ==
{{Medical resources
|  ICD10          = {{ICD10|R|53||r|50}}
|  ICD9           = {{ICD9|780.7}}
|  MedlinePlus    = 003089
|  eMedicineSubj  = search
|  eMedicineTopic = Malaise
}}

* {{MedlinePlusEncyclopedia|003089}}

{{General symptoms and signs}}
{{Common Cold}}

[[Category:Symptoms and signs]]
[[Category:Emotions]]
[[Category:French medical phrases]]