369: PANDAS: When Strep Inflames Your Child's Brain, with Andrea Jones, Rn, BSN, FHP
About this episode
The episode discusses PANDAS, a condition triggered by strep infections that can dramatically alter a child's behavior and nervous system.
Rage that comes out of nowhere. A glassy, far-away look in your child's eyes. Bedwetting after years of dry nights. Sudden separation anxiety in a kid who used to walk into school without a backward glance. These aren't always "just" neurodivergence — sometimes they're signals of something medical happening in the brain and nervous system. I'm bringing back nurse and functional medicine practitioner Andrea Jones for a conversation about PANDAS, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep. We discuss what it actually is, what it looks like day to day, and how it can hijack a child's nervous system almost overnight. Andrea's own daughter was diagnosed with PANDAS after a strep infection triggered a sudden shift into rage, OCD-like behaviors, noise sensitivity, and a total loss of skills she'd already mastered. Andrea walks us through the strep connection, the tests that can help confirm a diagnosis, and treatment options ranging from antibiotics and IVIG to homeopathy, and why recovery is measured in years, not weeks. We also talk about what it means to parent differently when your child's nervous system has been altered by illness, how the goal has to…
More episodes of Beautifully Complex
- 373: Overcoming The Wall of Awful, with Brendan Mahan, M.Ed.
- 372: The Neurodivergent Learner, Emily King, Ph.D.
- 371: How Honesty (Not Reassurance) Is What Gets Your Kid Through Middle School, with Dr. Kim Pinckney
- 370: When Silence is Louder than Sound, with Luke Williams
- 368: Preparing for the Back-to-School Transition, with Penny Williams
- 367: Systems that Work with the Brain, with Angela Kingdon, Ph.D.
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