Affective convulsions - really scary
Some parents have asked for the topic of "child affect convulsions". No problem. Here is the most important thing you need to know.
Medically, these cramps are not a problem. But they can be absolutely terrifying for parents - especially when they occur for the first time. Affect spasms can occur from the age of one, peaking at around the age of two, half of the children who suffer from them no longer have them from the age of four and they have almost all disappeared by the time they start school.
What happens during an emotional spasm? A child gets so upset, gets so worked up about something that it either starts to turn blue or pale - and then actually faints. Often the child also twitches and convulses. Sounds very dramatic. But it is almost always harmless. The children quickly regain consciousness. And if it is clear that the trigger was an emotion, there is no need to worry from a medical point of view.
Examples: shock, pain, anger, fear ... Specifically: A large dog comes round the corner, the child struggles to breathe in fear and falls over. Or the child bumps into something very hard, is in pain, struggles to breathe and loses consciousness.
Medically, there are a few differential diagnoses that need to be looked at, namely genuine seizures or causes coming from the heart. But these are cases that certainly cannot be dealt with briefly here. To be on the safe side that your child is suffering from the harmless variant, you should definitely discuss the whole thing with your paediatrician. It will then quickly become clear whether further investigations are necessary.
The message is: it does exist and it is actually harmless. This will hopefully prevent not only the child from fainting, but also the parents from being frightened.
Further interesting tips
Lies
Tears don't lie - at least that's what Michael Holm claims in his famous hit song. Children, on the other hand, do lie. Sometimes even like printed matter. This often causes parents a lot of stress, which is why we are taking a closer look at this topic. And also because it's honestly a topic where we parents always have to look at how big our own part in it is.
Cuts for psychotherapists
The remuneration of psychotherapists is being cut - at a time when many children and young people are already not receiving the therapy they need. It's not just the doctor who finds this impossible.
Immune training
Is it Christmas already? At least when we look at how many children are currently coming into the practice with mild respiratory infections, you could almost think so. While we had virtually no mild infections last autumn and winter, we can hardly save ourselves from children with coughs, colds and fevers. This is extremely atypical for summertime - but it's not bad. Quite the opposite.