I am one among many suffering from a serious chronic illness currently dubbed as "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)", characterized as an "Infection-Associated Chronic Condition (IACC)". These names grossly mislead people about the severity and onset of these conditions, causing sufferers to face medical gaslighting and minimization of their suffering. 

You don't have to look far to find a person with ME/CFS who is unhappy with the name "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". The name downplays our reality into a simplistic symptom of fatigue, when it is an incapacitating and torturous illness. Patients deserve a reset of the medical gaslighting of the past, and to be taken seriously going forward. Many patients cannot even be taken seriously by their own doctors, due to the negative connotations of this name. 

The term "Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions" has been used to describe the group of neglected illnesses without any understanding why they occur, including ME/CFS, Long COVID, POTS, MCAS, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and more. However, this term has been at least just as harmful to patients for the following reasons:
-It creates a blind spot for sufferers with non-infectious onset. ~40% of ME/CFS patients did not have an infection at the onset of their illness. (source)
Other conditions under the IACC term like fibromyalgia have even less of an infectious connotation.
-It unnecessarily limits the scope of research. Currently, viral persistence is the only underlying theory being explored in Long COVID, and many researchers are unwilling to have discussions on other theories.
-It implies to new patients that a "hidden infection" is what is causing them to be sick, which encourages them to experiment with dangerous antivirals.
-It overlooks a critical clue in solving these diseases that our researchers need to hear, that patients develop this condition without having an infection. Recently, Maureen Hanson (a prominent ME/CFS researcher), published a paper saying, "By definition, every IACC was caused by an inciting infection." We know this is unequivocally false. This IACC term is misleading our researchers as to the onset and nature of these conditions.
(source)
-It moves us further away from evidence-based diagnoses, permitting other illnesses to be improperly labeled in the future.

As we have learned in the past, names like "Yuppie Flu" can have dire and long-lasting consequences. I would like to propose renaming "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" to "Acquired Exertional Failure Syndrome (AEFS)" and "Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions" to "Complex Chronic Conditions (CCC)" which is much more inclusive, and an accurate representation of the millions of patients who face a daily struggle worldwide. By signing this petition, it does not mean of all the names in the world, these names are ones you like the most. It means that you think these names (AEFS and CCC) are BETTER than the status quo (CFS and IACC). The reason that CFS has not been changed in the past is because there are so many different perspectives, we haven't been able to agree on a new one. I believe AEFS is accommodating enough that we can agree to this name change as a community in order to get the adequate representation and care that we deserve.

Let's respect the patients and their reality by renaming these conditions. This is an important first step to raise awareness and increase research funding. The weight of these diseases is enormous with CFS affecting more than 20 million people and IACC impacting hundreds of millions more worldwide (source: CDC). 

Let's stand together and demand the accurate renaming of these conditions. Sign our petition today. Please help me to affect change and bring dignity and improve countless lives.