children s health issues
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Symptoms
Typically, symptoms of OCD develop gradually, and most children can hide their symptoms at first. Children are often obsessed with worries or fears of being harmed—for example, of contracting a deadly disease or of injuring themselves or others. They feel compelled to do something to balance or neutralize their worries and fears. For example, they may repeatedly do the following: Check to make sure they turned off their alarm or locked a door Wash their hands excessively, resulting in raw, chapped hands Count various things (such as steps) Sit down and get up from a chair Constantly clean and arrange certain objects Make many corrections in schoolwork Chew food a certain number of times Avoid touching certain things Make frequent requests for reassurance, sometimes dozens or even hundreds of times per day Some obsessions and compulsions have a logical connection. For example, children who are obsessed with not getting sick may wash their hands very frequently. However, some are totally unrelated. For example, children may count to 50 over and over to prevent a grandparent from having a heart attack. If they resist the compulsions or are prevented from carrying them out, they become extremely anxious and concerned. Most children have some idea that their obsessions and compulsions are abnormal and are often embarrassed by them and try to hide them. However, some children strongly believe that their obsessions and compulsions are valid. OCD resolves after a few years in about 5% of children and by early adulthood in about 40%. In other children, the disorder tends to be chronic, but with continuing treatment, most children can function normally. About 5% of children do not respond to treatment and remain greatly impaired. 