A Child With PANDAS And PANS Can Suddenly Have New Obsessions, Tics, And Compulsions They Didn’t Have Before, And Here’s What Causes It
Children’s health and pediatric medicine is fascinating, and there are so many things to learn about when it comes to your children’s health.
If your child’s behavior suddenly seems to “change overnight” and somewhat out of the blue, they begin showing new compulsions or have new obsessions, you may want to ask your pediatrician about PANDAS and PANS.
While PANDAS may make you think of the cute black and white bear, in terms of medicine, it stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus. PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.
A child who may have PANDAS or PANS will suddenly have new obsessions and compulsions they didn’t have before.
An obsession would be something they’re suddenly scared or concerned about, and they may deal with seeing stressful images or scenarios in their heads over and over again.
Compulsions are more like rituals, and a child with PANDAS or PANS may begin ritually doing things like washing their hands several times in a row, entering and re-entering a room a certain number of times, or repeating actions and feeling unable to control themselves.
These habits are also considered OCD or Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. However, with PANDAS or PANS, they appear suddenly versus gradually progressing over time.
Some of the other symptoms a child with PANDAS or PANS may have include jerking movements and tics, experiencing fears related to cleanliness or food, memory issues, acting hyper, mood swings, etc.
So what causes PANDAS or PANS?
Monkey Business – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual children
It’s quite fascinating. PANDAS and PANS can occur because of a child’s immune system’s response to an infection.
PANDAS specifically occurs when a child’s immune system produces antibodies to fight off bacteria that cause a strep infection, like strep throat.
However, instead of attacking the germs, the antibodies may also attack a part of the brain called the basal ganglia, which can affect a child’s movement, thoughts, feelings, etc.
PANS works in a very similar way to PANDAS, but instead of the immune system responding to a strep infection, PANS occurs when it responds to another kind of infection like chickenpox, the flu, and Lyme disease.
PANDAS and PANS are not contagious and can be treated through medicine for the infection and different kinds of therapy to help with the OCD symptoms, including habit reversal and cognitive behavioral therapy.
While PANDAS and PANS seem very scary, working diligently with doctors and therapists while strictly following a therapist’s treatment plan will help guide and support any child going through it.
If you think your child may have PANDAS or PANS, talk to a pediatrician right away to address your concerns.
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