Malaise is a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or fatigue that has no clearly identifiable cause.
A person may feel this way for various reasons. Some causes are transient and relatively benign, while others are more chronic and severe.
While health issues can cause malaise, people’s experiences and descriptions of this feeling tend to differ, which can create challenges for a doctor during diagnosis.
In this article, we review the definition of malaise and describe some causes of this symptom. We also provide information about how malaise can influence a diagnosis and what treatments are available.