Attention deficit hyperactive disorder and homoeopathy

Abhijit Dutta
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital
D.C Road, Doomurjala, Howrah-04, Westbengal, India
Contact: drabhijitdutta1@gmail.com

Abstract: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a Behavioral disorder affecting most commonly children and commonly teens characterized by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with the functioning or development. It becomes more frequent for some of the last decades. Its treatment in the present scenario is quite challenging and also multidimensional. Medicinal, Psychological, Nutritional etc., altogether makes a good treatment plan. Homoeopathic treatment along with other supplements can be a better approach of treatment for ADHD patients.

History: ADHD was first mentioned in 1902. British pediatrician Sir George Still described “an abnormal defect of moral control in children.” He found that some affected children could not control their behavior the way a typical child would, but they were still intelligent. It was originally called hyperkinetic impulse disorder. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) formally recognized ADHD as a mental disorder.

Introduction: ADHD is a common behavioral disorder nowadays. In The United States, Approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011. The percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis continues to increase, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011. Inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD. Some people with ADHD only have problems with one of the behaviors, while others have both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Most children have the combined type of ADHD. In preschool, the most common ADHD symptom is hyperactivity.

It is normal to have some inattention, unfocused motor activity and impulsivity, but for people with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe, occur more often and interfere with or reduce the quality of how they functions socially, at school, or in a job

No established cause of ADHD is still found. Like many other illnesses, a number of factors can contribute to ADHD, such as:

• Genetic pattern of the patient
• Cigarette smoking, alcohol use, or drug use during pregnancy
• Exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy
• Exposure to environmental toxins, such as high levels of lead, at a young age
• Low birth weight
• Brain injuries

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age at diagnosis is 7. ADHD is more common in males than females, and females with ADHD are more likely to have problems primarily with inattention. Other conditions, such as learning disabilities, anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and substance abuse, are common in people with ADHD.

Discussion: Children are the prime component in the development of the society. Nowadays there is a multi-dimensional concept of health that is the health depends on several dimensions like Mental, Physical, behavioral, social, spiritual etc. But if one or more dimensions become altered then the person gets unhealthy which affects the society and the country in gross manner. ADHD is one of the most common behavioral disorder affecting children. And its appearance and nature is variable in terms of symptoms. That’s why approaching it clinically is a challenging task for the physicians.

The present concept of approaching ADHD cases should be multi-directional. It to some extent depends on the ages of the patient. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines (2011) state that behavior therapy is the recommended first line treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young children, and should be tried before medication is prescribed.

Behavioral therapy consists of some important rules. A lot of behavioral therapy is just a common sense parenting.  When parents become trained in behavior therapy, they learn skills and strategies to help their child with ADHD succeed at school, at home, and in relationships. It should be given by parents with the help of teachers and doctors so that the children can better control their own behavior, improve functioning skill, and better response in maintaining relationships. Learning and practicing behavior therapy requires time and effort, but it has lasting benefits for the child.

Studies have shown that Nutritional supplements are also helpful in improvement. Like Foods rich in protein i.e. lean beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, soy, and low-fat dairy products along with vitamin B6, B12 can have beneficial effects on ADHD symptoms.

Last but not the least is medicinal treatment whose efficacy is entirely depends on a successful homoeopathic prescription. Sometimes it becomes necessary to do treatment on focusing to the particular symptoms like hyperactivity, sleeplessness etc. but for a better response we must have to focus constitutional treatment and for that a complete and thorough study of anamnesis is required. In the $5 of ‘Organon of Medicine, 5^th edition’, Dr. Hahnemann said that most significant points in the whole history of the disease are necessary for a successful treatment. So that in these cases it happens frequently that maternal history becomes very important. Otherwise the constitution, temperament of the patient, tendencies, and clarity of some presenting characteristics helps to understand the case. But every case has their variable approaches.

For diagnosing and also for post treatment follow-up of ADHD cases, some scoring tools like ADHD Rating Scale-IV( ADHD-RS-IV), Conners’ Rating Scales, NICHQ Vanderbilt Teacher Rating Scale and Vanderbilt ADHD Parent Rating Scale are very useful. One or two scale among them is sufficient for case screening.

So that a thorough understanding of the nature, appearance and therapeutic approach of ADHD cases can help us to treat them successfully. So that we can be able to give a new rays of hope and a better future to the present generation.

Reference:

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