Antidepressants for children

It has become fashionable to complain about depression. How often do we hear from the interlocutor that he is depressed. Moreover, this means anything - from ordinary stress and bad mood to increased anxiety. It is not uncommon for parents to claim that their child has had depression and are looking for an effective cure for it. Let's try to understand what real childhood depression is and how safe it is to treat it with antidepressants.

Depression, including childhood depression, is a painful condition of a psychosomatic nature. According to statistics, a depressive state occurs in almost 40% of modern children and adolescents, but it is temporary and, as a rule, recedes. If we talk about the most real - clinical depression, then it actually affects about 3% of children and 8% of adolescents.

If this disease is not treated in childhood, it can develop into serious mental disorders, children begin to practice deviant behavior. They often commit suicide attempts. Sometimes these attempts end in the death of the child. The growth of depressive states and the natural tendency of adolescents to them are actively used by the organizers of the so-called "death groups" on the Internet.

Only a psychiatrist can diagnose clinical depression. But any mother can distinguish a real illness from a depressive state.

Symptoms of Childhood Depression

Scientists used to think that children were never depressed. Recent discoveries in psychiatry and psychology suggest the opposite.

In infants and children under 3 years old depression may be due to intrauterine fetal hypoxia, other adverse factors during pregnancy, to a certain extent depression can be inherited.

In babies, it can be recognized by its atypical behavior. While the little ones are learning to smile, walk and learn about the world, children with clinical depression exist “cyclically” - their periods of crying alternate with periods of complete apathy. Babies do not gain weight well, even with regular and adequate feeding.

Almost all the time when the baby does not cry, he lies with his eyes wide open, his look is meaningless. Sick children do not show any interest in bright rattles, toys, do not try to follow them with their eyes and reach out with their hand. Older babies (starting from 10-12 months) can rhythmically swing in their crib from side to side, not responding to the attempts of parents to establish contact.

Children suffering from depression begin to sit down, walk much later, and are lagging behind in development in many ways.

In children from 3 to 6 years old clinical depression manifests itself differently. This is the instability of emotions.

The child is actively looking for love and affection, then dramatically changes his mood and begins to show anger, aggression, irritability. At this age, depressed children are rarely withdrawn. In their behavior, attentive parents may also notice a certain “cyclicality” - periods of euphoria and hyperexcitation are replaced by quiet crying. Gradually, the child stops playing, showing interest in cartoons and fairy tales. They may begin to lose hygiene skills.

Primary school age (7 to 12 years old) depression can manifest itself in different ways. Almost always the disease is accompanied by sleep and digestion disorders. Children become isolated, isolated, refuse to communicate and play. They have low self-esteem and high levels of anxiety.

From 7-8 years old, the child can talk about his self-esteem himself. Often, with clinical depression, children begin to suffer from enuresis, constantly bite their nails and show no interest in learning.

In adolescence (12-15 years old) clinical depression is often disguised as various school phobias. The child has a decrease in body weight, it is difficult for him to communicate, he is angry and depressed.

Depression can lie in wait for anyone, at risk of children from disadvantaged families, families where parents have recently divorced, children who have experienced severe stress.

So, you can think about depression if your child:

There was a weakening of interest in any activity.
He is often agitated or inhibited, and this manifests itself on the physical level (sharp chaotic movements are replaced by slow ones).
He is almost unable to concentrate attention, his memory has weakened.
He is aggressive and often talks about fatigue.
For a month, the child has lost more than 5% of body weight for no apparent reason.

If you notice such symptoms, this is not a reason to immediately "record" the offspring as sick. This is just an excuse to visit a child psychiatrist or neurologist in order to detect the problem and begin timely treatment, if necessary.

Treating childhood depression

Treatment for clinical depression in children includes psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. Moreover, doctors often try to prescribe psychotropic drugs rather than avoid them.

The traditional approach is that doctors are trying to "play it safe" when it comes to the health and safety of the child. Prescribing antidepressants to yourself or your baby on your own is life threatening! A specialist will help you choose the right drug, taking into account the individual characteristics of the child.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are psychotropic medications, the main vocation of which is to restore the balance of "happiness hormones" and "stress hormones" in the body.

The "happy" ones include dopamine and seratonin. The hormone of stress (rage) is norepinephrine. Antidepressants reduce stress levels and stimulate serotonin and dopamine production. It is a small number of them that doctors consider the main cause of depression.

Benefit or harm?

The insidiousness of antidepressants is that more than half of young patients are absolutely resistant to them, i.e. unresponsive. This usually becomes clear after two weeks of taking the drug. Then the doctor changes the antidepressant. If again there is no positive effect, the medicine is changed again.

Some antidepressants, in addition to acting on the receptors responsible for stimulating the production of "happiness hormones", in parallel act on the opioid receptors of the nervous system. This causes a mild narcotic effect, and, therefore, addiction. After stopping the medication, withdrawal may begin.

Also, doctors note another big disadvantage in taking antidepressants - the likelihood of toxic liver damage increases.

Types of antidepressants

All existing antidepressants are divided into several types:

Tricyclic antidepressants. They are not suitable for the treatment of children, since they have very serious side effects, and at the physiological level, they can lead to heart block.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors. They are also quite strong psychotropic drugs that they try not to prescribe to children. These include "Tranylcypromine", Pyrazidol, Fenelzine, Moclobemide.
Antidepressants are atypical. These drugs can in some cases be prescribed to children and adolescents, but they should be taken in a hospital setting under strict medical supervision.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These are psychotropic drugs most suitable for a growing organism. The most famous today and relatively safe.

How to give to children

For children, psychotropic drugs are usually prescribed from the age of six. In rare cases, they are used for younger kids, but such a doctor's decision should be more than justified. In the instructions for antidepressants, children under the age of 18 are almost always indicated as a contraindication, which is why one cannot do without consulting a doctor.

Consider a few of the drugs that are most commonly used to treat mental health problems in children.

"Fluoxetine" ("Prozac")

The most famous of the "children's" antidepressants. Available in tablet form. The starting dosage starts at 20 mg once a day in the morning. The dose can be increased after 4 weeks. The list of side effects is quite large - from dizziness to epileptic seizures. Withdrawal syndrome lasts 1 to 7 days.

Sertraline (Zoloft)

A very popular drug all over the world. It is used to treat children's depression and anxiety, a number of phobias. Typically, the starting dosage for patients over 12 years of age is about 25-40 mg. The tablets are taken once a day, in the morning or before going to bed. The maximum daily dosage is 200 mg. Withdrawal syndrome with a gradual reduction in dosage lasts 1 to 2 weeks.

"Paroxetine" ("Adepress")

These tablets are not recommended for children. Adolescents are assigned at the discretion of the attending physician. The usual dosage is 1 tablet daily with meals.

"Fluvoxamine" ("Fevarin")

The doctor can prescribe this antidepressant to a young patient if he is already 8 years old. The daily dose starts at 50 mg and can be gradually increased with insufficient action. The course of treatment is quite long - six months. The list of "side effects" is great, among them - headache, lethargy, fear, growing anxiety, change in body weight.

There are also herbal preparations that have an antidepressant effect:

"Glycine"

An amino acid that significantly improves chemical reactions in the brain. The drug is prescribed for children over 3 years old on a tablet 3 times a day. Children under 3 years old - half a tablet three times a day.

"Deprim" ("St. John's wort", "Gelarium Hypericum", "Life 600")

It is an extract of St. John's wort. Children over 12 years old need 1 tablet three times a day. Chadam from 6 to 12 years old - under the supervision of specialists, 1-2 tablets twice a day, excluding evenings. St. John's wort extract is not prescribed for children under the age of six.

"Novo-Passit"

Suitable for children over 12 years old. These are extracts of dry herbs (St. John's wort, lemon balm, etc.). It is prescribed for anxiety, sleep disturbances, neurasthenia.

A number of homeopathic remedies or "Glycine" are recommended for infants and crumbs under 3 years old.

Helping antidepressants

Medication alone in treating depression and other mental disorders in children will make little difference.

Complex treatment is required.

First of all, the doctor will hold a conversation with the parents. He will try to convince them of the necessity and justification of taking psychotropic drugs. Explain how to take the medicine correctly in order to smooth out the “withdrawal syndrome” as much as possible and avoid side effects.
Then the specialist will prescribe a course of psychotherapy, during which the child's behavior and way of thinking will be corrected, "family" mistakes will be corrected - the relationship between household members will be corrected.
The psychotherapist will teach the child to create motivation for learning and communication, as well as to effectively solve problem situations. If the patient is still too young, then he will be prescribed play therapy.

Many doctors believe that antidepressants are great for managing mental health problems in children and adolescents. Despite this, the detailed effect of psychotropic drugs on the child's body is still not fully understood... There is a warning about this in the instructions for each antidepressant.

Some scientists are inclined to believe that these drugs destroy the structure of the child's psyche more than the existing disease. For example, some antidepressants have long become "table" medicines for children in the UK, USA. Taking them in these countries is as natural as taking vitamins.

At the same time, there is a growing number of child suicides, cases of incredible aggression and cruelty, when a schoolboy shoots a whole class and teachers, for example. Opponents of treating children with antidepressants claim that there is a direct connection between these two facts.