Dysautonomia and Autonomic Issues
Commentary
Our son Isaac turned 27 months old this last week and what a roller coaster of a ride he's been on! When we informed his neurologist of one simple fact, that his central sleep apnea is far more exaggerated when his body temperature is higher than 98 degrees Fahrenheit, we entered both the world of temperature instability and a possible mitochondrial disorder.
The relationship between his temperature and apnea initially puzzled our neurologist, because until this piece of information came sneaking up on us, temperature instability had not even been an issue. A grand experiment began! Every time we changed his diaper, planned an outing, or came back from an outing, we were to check his temperature to see if we noticed a trend. Guess what? We did.
This Month's Focus: Dysautonomia and Autonomic Issues
What on Earth is the Autonomic Nervous System? Dysautonomia and Autonomic Dysfunction
Most people have never heard of the Autonomic Nervous System, even though it controls most of the fundamental functions within the body. And when something goes wrong with the Autonomic Nervous System, most people have no idea how devastating that can be, and the wide range of symptoms that can occur.
This edition focuses on Dysautonomia and Autonomic Issues, a subject that affects a wide range of children who are medically complex, but is neither well understood nor discussed as often as it should be by the medical community. This article will attempt to provide a basic overview of how the Autonomic Nervous System works and the types of primary and secondary conditions that can affect Autonomic Nervous System function, causing Dysautonomia or Autonomic Dysfunction.
Dysautonomia: A Minor Inconvenience Becomes a Devastating Disease
by Alison B.
Meet Andrew. Andrew is nine years old and will be ten very soon. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and lovely fair skin. He is a good looking young man with an amazing sense of humor, a laugh that is unbelievably contagious and a disease that is slowly, but steadily, taking him from us. This disease is a form of Degenerative Dysautonomia.
Unusual Skin Symptoms in Autonomic Dysfunction: A Pictorial Essay
This article is a collection of pictures with descriptions showing skin symptoms in children with various types of autonomic dysfunction.
Specialty Articles
Other Specialties
Interpreting Your Child's Lab Results
When you get a list of labs back from your doctor or hospital, your eye is drawn immediately to the starred or highlighted results that came back abnormal. Knowing that any of your child's results have come back abnormal can be disconcerting. Much of the time, however, there is no need to worry. But how do you know when abnormal results indicate a little problem, a big problem, or not a problem at all?
Infections and Immunity
Keeping Your Central or PICC Line Safe: Using Chlorhexidine Products to Prevent Infection
When your child has a central line or PICC line, the greatest worry is line infections and sepsis caused by bacteria, fungus, or yeast in the line or the bloodstream. Not only can these infections kill children, but they can also cause injury to the liver or other organs. They also sometimes necessitate removal and replacement of the line, adding additional surgical procedures for children. Finally, children can run out of locations to place a line when lines must be pulled and replaced frequently.
Preventing infections is an absolute must for any child with a line. In this article, we will focus on the role of Chlorhexidine products in preventing infection. These products may be used in three ways in home care: cleaning the skin around the line access point during dressing changes, using a chlorhexidine-impregnated disk around the line access point at all times, and cleaning the hubs and exterior catheter whenever the line is accessed or the cap is changed.
Interpreting Your Child's Lab Results
When you get a list of labs back from your doctor or hospital, your eye is drawn immediately to the starred or highlighted results that came back abnormal. Knowing that any of your child's results have come back abnormal can be disconcerting. Much of the time, however, there is no need to worry. But how do you know when abnormal results indicate a little problem, a big problem, or not a problem at all?
Infections and Immunity
Keeping Your Central or PICC Line Safe: Using Chlorhexidine Products to Prevent Infection
When your child has a central line or PICC line, the greatest worry is line infections and sepsis caused by bacteria, fungus, or yeast in the line or the bloodstream. Not only can these infections kill children, but they can also cause injury to the liver or other organs. They also sometimes necessitate removal and replacement of the line, adding additional surgical procedures for children. Finally, children can run out of locations to place a line when lines must be pulled and replaced frequently.
Preventing infections is an absolute must for any child with a line. In this article, we will focus on the role of Chlorhexidine products in preventing infection. These products may be used in three ways in home care: cleaning the skin around the line access point during dressing changes, using a chlorhexidine-impregnated disk around the line access point at all times, and cleaning the hubs and exterior catheter whenever the line is accessed or the cap is changed.
Feature
Caregiving
Solutions for Temperature Regulation Problems
Children with Autonomic Dysfunction typically have problems regulating their temperatures. Certain children must be always kept cool or they will experience rapidly rising fevers. Other children are naturally cold and need to be warmed up, especially at night. The majority of children experience problems in both hot or cold environments. Their temperatures rise in the heat and they experience fevers and other symptoms associated with heat intolerance, while temperatures drop in cold environments, leaving them uncomfortable with freezing cold extremities.
This article will provide a variety of strategies for monitoring body temperature in noninvasive ways and will also suggest products for maintaining a steady temperature.