Night terrors

Introduction Night terror is a sudden awakening in sleep, direct eyes, two eyes, fear, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, accompanied by loud shouts, turmoil, attacks lasting 1 to 2 points, after the attack, go back to sleep, wake up after morning The episode cannot be recalled. Night terrors are also called sleep. The patient suddenly sat up in sleep, screaming, accompanied by signs of autonomic nerves, such as heartbeat, rapid breathing, and sweating. There is a strong sense of fear, anxiety and suffocation, and occasional hallucinations, such as ghosts. Each episode takes about 1-2 minutes, and there is usually no memory after waking up in the morning. This is different from nightmares. Children are more common, and most of them heal themselves when they grow up. Adult patients often have anxiety disorders, or there may be unidentified visceral diseases. The treatment can be stabilized.

Cause

(1) The development of nerves and brain in childhood is not yet complete. The inhibition of the central nervous system, especially the immature development of the cerebral cortex that controls sleep arousal, will have a certain impact on the child's sleep. This is a natural phenomenon of normal physiological development of the child. If the child's seizures are not obvious or occasionally, parents don't have to care too much. As the child grows, the development of various parts of the body gradually matures, and the symptoms gradually disappear. This condition is transient.

(2) Psychological factors occupy a certain proportion. The psychological factors we are talking about here include emotional anxiety, depression, nervousness, and so on. Some emotional stimuli are temporary or temporary, such as being crazy during the day, watching horror and thrilling movies at night, or listening to horror stories. Children of this age have greatly improved their language skills and thinking ability, and their imagination has become rich. Therefore, these stimuli will make them have a variety of dreams, which may lead to night terrors in the night of the child or these nights. There are also some emotional stimuli, such as the sudden death of a loved one (especially the elderly who live with him since childhood) or separate (the situation of father and mother on business trips), such as single-parent families, these psychological and emotional stimuli It tends to be more subtle and deeper, and it will give the child more stress and tension. Then there are parents who are too demanding or fierce in their demands on their children, and they will make their children feel anxious and disturbed at night.

(3) A sustained night terror may be caused by some pathological factors. Such as insufficient supply of brain neurotrophic nutrients, abnormal brain development, poor coordination between brain organs such as cerebral cortex, thalamus, and pituitary, obesity caused by endocrine and other causes, and severe calcium deficiency, which may lead to night terrors. The pathological cause of the attack. This requires going to the hospital for a doctor.

an examination

Related inspection

Electrocardiogram

Children suddenly screamed in their sleep, crying with horrified expressions and movements, direct eyes, hands and feet, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, dilated pupils and other autonomic nervous symptoms. It usually occurs in a short time after sleep at night, and each episode lasts about 1-10 minutes. It is difficult to wake up, and the consciousness is in a state of paralysis. After waking up, I am conscious and disorientated. I can't tell the content of the dream. I can't recall the episode.

Differential diagnosis

The patient screamed repeatedly from sleep, accompanied by intense anxiety, physical activity, and autonomic hyperactivity (such as tachycardia, shortness of breath, and sweating). Lack of response to other people's attempts to calm the night's episodes, followed by at least a few minutes of disorientation and continuous movement. Forgetting afterwards, even if you can remember, it is very limited. Elimination of febrile seizures caused by organic diseases (such as dementia, brain tumors, epilepsy, etc.) also need to rule out febrile seizures and seizures.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.