How Strep Affects the Brain [Understanding PANDAS]
If you’re a parent, chances are high you’re familiar with strep infections. Strep bacteria enter the nasopharynx (throat and nose area) and cause a bacterial infection. This usually manifests in symptoms like sore throat or sinusitis. Unfortunately, a sore throat isn’t the only complication that…
My Child’s Doctor Thinks PANDAS Syndrome is a Hoax: Is It?
PANDAS syndrome (and the related PANS) is a controversial diagnosis for a few reasons: It's a fairly new condition It can only be clinically diagnosed (lab tests cannot definitively confirm a diagnosis) Symptoms can change rapidly or appear and disappear A 2018 article published in The Journal of…
PANDAS Syndrome: Understand & Support Through Rage Attacks
Caring for a child with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) or Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) comes with many challenges. Rage attacks are a common behavior for children with PANDAS. They may be triggered by many…
Lyme Disease & PANS: What’s the Connection?
After a fun family hike in the woods, every parent checks for the big 3 — sunburn, poison ivy, and ticks. Plucking ticks from skin once arriving home from a hike isn’t such a big deal. However, should ticks be attached to the skin for a longer period of time before being removed, they can leave…