Home » Health & Wellness » Patient Education » Gulf War Illness: Scamming My Money With A Pseudo-Health Claim

Gulf War Illness: Scamming My Money With A Pseudo-Health Claim

© Janine Fowlds

There is a new illness sweeping the country and it seems to only affect people who have served in the Gulf War. It doesn't have an official name yet, but it is referred to as the Gulf War Illness by the Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illness which was appointed by President Clinton to research it. The reported symptoms include headaches, stomach discomfort, back and neck pain, anxiety, fatigue, and depression. The first reports of symptoms originated from a reserve unit who didn't have the opportunity to experience frontline activities. After the media publicized their story, the rest of the nation's military thought it would be a good idea to jump on the bandwagon. There's only one problem with this bandwagon. It's costing Americans more money than it is really worth.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed a special task force to research the Gulf War Illness. But it wasn't until November 1996, when Bernard Rostker was named to head the project, that the studies became more extensive and were taken very seriously. The RAND Corporation joined in the efforts to find a cause for this mysterious syndrome. All fingers pointed to the over 600 oil well fires in Kuwait as the culprit. According to the Pentagon in a report made on November 5, 1998, no identification had yet been made as to the cause of the Gulf War Illness. Also noted were the air quality test results from the site of the oil well fires where results revealed that the concentration of contaminants were within the US air quality standards. Also, the measured contaminant concentrations fell below the levels of causing short- or long-term diseases or health problems. The RAND Corporation evaluated the similarities between the symptoms experienced by the Gulf War veterans and the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Gulf War Illness, itself, has since been partially identified as such and that it is conclusive that PTSD is linked with stressful events.

This past April, two new tests were launched: Antibiotic Treatment Trial and Exercise-Behavioral Therapy. The latter test combines aerobic activity with cognitive behavioral therapy. This particular therapy will be evaluated on over 1,300 Gulf War veterans at 20 different sites across the US. The Antibiotic Treatment Trial concerns Mycoplasma fermentans incognitus, which is theoretically assumed to have infected some of the Gulf War veterans. There have been no established links to the organism but all are hoping that the antibiotic treatments will cure the illness. More research projects are unfolding and these are only the beginnings of more than 120 projects planned.

The copyright of the article Gulf War Illness: Scamming My Money With A Pseudo-Health Claim in Patient Education is owned by Janine Fowlds. Permission to republish Gulf War Illness: Scamming My Money With A Pseudo-Health Claim in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.