Restless Legs Syndrome - RLS in Childhood (en Inglés) - Khosro Hekmat

When a child cannot settle at night.

About 2% of children have restless legs syndrome, and in the largest population study only about 11% of them had previously been diagnosed. One reason lies in the language: children rarely speak of an "urge". They talk of ants in their legs, of legs that want to kick, or of growing pains - and are often classified accordingly.

This volume translates what children actually describe and shows how the diagnosis is made at this age. It sets out the unresolved question of whether growing pains and RLS are the same condition, looks at why RLS is so often confused with ADHD, and explains the new diagnosis of restless sleep disorder.

The treatment section begins with iron, the first-line treatment in the guidelines, although the controlled evidence in children is limited. Iron treatment requires medical supervision and a blood test first, with ferritin and transferrin saturation. The volume then turns to what parents can do at home and to medicines, none of which is licensed specifically for the treatment of RLS in children.

WHAT IS IN THE BOOK

- How children really describe their symptoms

- How common RLS is in children and why it is so rarely recognised

- What RLS means for sleep, school and mood

- Diagnosis in childhood: criteria, questions, severity

- Growing pains: the same condition or a different one?

- RLS and ADHD, and why the two are so often confused

- Which investigations make sense, including ferritin and transferrin saturation

- Iron as the first-line treatment, and what is known about medicines in children

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

For parents whose child cannot settle in the evening, for families with RLS among their relatives, and for everyone who works with children and wants to know when something else lies behind growing pains or fidgeting.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Volume 18 of 52 in the book series on restless legs syndrome, part "Stages of Life". Every volume can be read on its own. The statements in this volume rest on 126 professional sources, each one listed individually in the reference section.