A to Z Diseases
Generally children are mischievous, inquisitive, exploring and can be easily distracted but when it crosses a threshold it can be quite taxing to the parents as these children may be suffering from a condition known as ADHD or Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder.
ADHD is a behavioural disorder in which the child has
- Deficiency in Attention- child has very little focus, cannot complete a task because of his poor attention span. The child is not consistent in his efforts and is usually disorganized.
- Hyperactivity- child is constantly restless, cannot sit in one place, always fidgety, always running here and there, pulling things, being busy fruitlessly. Impatient, he has difficulty in waiting for his turn. Quite impulsive in action, does things without thinking of consequences.
Why it occurs is not known but various risk factors have been identified, primary among them being:
- Positive family history- where several studies show that ADHD runs in family establishing genetic link
- Child born prematurely or with low birth weight seem to have increased risk
- Injuries to the brain especially to the frontal lobe, the part of the brain which controls behaviour and emotions may lead to ADHD.
- Impairment in Dopamine metabolism- a neuro transmitter material present in brain, is thought to be a cause for ADHD
- Pregnancy history- antenatal exposure to smoking, drinking, environmental toxins, stress, infections etc are also suspected to play a role in ADHD.
How can we identify ADHD as generally children are known to be naughty? Diagnosis of ADHD cannot be established by any blood tests or scans. It is only diagnosed when the child persistently displays at least six to seven symptoms of ADHD in various settings for a period of more than six months and with the help of physical examination and detailed questionnaires based on DSM-V guidelines. Depending on the primary symptoms displayed by the child, they may be grouped under:
- Primarily Attention Deficiency: here as the name is suggesting child mainly lacks focus on performing an activity, gets easily distracted, they work may be incomplete or make careless mistakes in their work, are usually disorganized, forget their belongings or daily activities, cannot stay on a topic for a long time and in school going kids teachers frequently complain of incomplete class work or home work.
- Primarily Hyperactive: where the kid is constantly on move, they have poor sitting tolerance, always move here and there, constantly fidgety, pulling things, jumping, running, so much so that parents or care takers may find it tiring to keep up with them.
- Primarily Impulsive: the child finds it difficult to await his turn. They are always in a hurry, they may jump out of the lift even before it completely stops, blurt out answers even before teacher completes the question, tries to butt in between conversations, may appear clumsy as they may keep breaking/dropping things or falling because of their hurriedness.
- Combined type: in which child may display both attention deficiency and hyperactivity.
How Homeopathy can help? The principle behind homeopathy treatment is to cure the person not the disease. Medications are given after a detailed case taking based on person emotional, mental and physical symptoms along with assessing the birth and parental history and careful clinical observations including observing the child’s behaviour, social and communication skills and his reaction to stimulus. There are many medications in homeopathy for helping in managing ADHD. Some of the important medications in are:
- Merc Sol – well suited to restless, impulsive and anxious disposition constitution. Restlessness, anxiety increase in evening and night. Slow in answering questions. Inclination to contradict and quarrel. Prone to dysenteric stools. Profuse, offensive perspiration. Sensitive to any slight change in temperature.
- Strammonium– constant restlessness and anxiety. Gets affected by trifles. Mischievous child, full of pranks alternating with sadness. Sudden bouts of laughter and crying. Violent rage accompanied with shrieking, hitting and biting. Tremendous fear especially of darkness.
- Hyoscyamus– Restlessness. Loquacious kids, constantly blabbering, talks irrelevantly. Forgetful, weak memory. Immoderate or silly laughing. Prone to sudden violent anger, biting and hitting others. Jealousy and suspiciousness.
- Tarentula– Much excited with music. Desire to run about, dance and jump. Constant motions of limbs especially lower limbs and head. Anger with violence, anger on contradiction.
- Tuberculinum– Destructive child, prone to anger tantrums. Selfish, obstinate and aggressive children. Constant change in mood, one moment happy, next moment sad. Desires travel. Children prone to frequent colds and cough.
