Is this your child's symptom?
- Anxiety attacks (also called panic attacks).
- Symptoms are fast, deep breathing (hyperventilation), fast heart rate, feeling dizzy and many others. The body goes on "red alert." Patient feels like they are dying or losing control of their body.
- Normal anxiety, worries and fears also covered.
Anxiety Attacks: Facts
- Happens in 1-2% of people.
- Risk factors: anxiety attacks are genetic. They tend to occur in families.
- Age of onset: teens or young adults
- Cause: release of stress hormones as when "under attack"
- Triggers of attacks: life stressors, though many attacks are unexpected
- Length of attacks: 20-30 minutes
- How often attacks happen: no set pattern
- Side effect: patient avoids social settings for fear of having an attack
- Treatment, if frequent: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). SSRI meds may also be prescribed by a provider. They can turn down the volume on anxious thoughts.
Normal Anxiety and Worries:
- Anxiety is a normal response to stressful events.
- It also protects us from real dangers.
- All people feel anxious at times. It is a normal emotion that will always be part of you.
- But, anxiety can be managed so that it does not keep you from doing normal things.
- When your child is anxious or worried, help them talk about their feelings.
Behavior Scale: How to Judge Severity
- Mild Symptoms: symptoms do not keep the child from any normal activities. School, play, relationships and sleep have not changed. Treatment: parenting groups or books.
- Moderate Symptoms: symptoms keep the child from doing some normal activities. New behaviors mainly happen at home. They affect how the child and parent interact. They may also keep him or her from going to child care or school. Your child may not sleep well because of these symptoms. Treatment: most often, brief counseling from a mental health provider or your child's doctor.
- Severe Symptoms: symptoms keep the child from doing most normal activities. They affect the way the child acts with parents. Symptoms also impact relations with siblings and friends. Adults at child care or school may also be impacted by the child's actions. Treatment: these patients often need to be seen urgently by a mental health provider.
When to Call for Anxiety Attack
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Call 911 Now
- Not moving or too weak to stand
- You think your child has a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- Appendicitis suspected (pain low on right side, won't jump, wants to lie still)
- Severe constant pain (child not able to move or do anything)
- Can't walk or walks bent over holding the stomach
- Blood in the stool or vomiting blood
- Vomiting bile (green color). Exception: stomach juice which is yellow.
- Swallowed object (such as coin) suspected
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Pain low on the right side
- Could be pregnant
- Constant pain (or crying) for more than 2 hours
- Recent injury to the stomach
- High-risk child (such as diabetes, sickle cell disease, recent stomach or abdomen surgery)
- Age less than 2 years old
- Fever higher than 104° F (40° C)
- Your child looks or acts very sick
- You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Moderate pain that keeps from some normal activities
- Mild pain that comes and goes (cramps), but lasts more than 24 hours
- Fever is present
- Bladder infection (UTI) suspected (passing urine hurts, new onset wetting)
- You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Stomach pains are a frequent problem
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Mild stomach pain
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.