Other Flashcards
What are examples of somatisation
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Abdominal pain
- Back ache
- Dizziness
How common is somatisation?
- ¼ of children and young people
- 59% of adolescents have experienced at least one health complaint/week
What gender and age is somatisation most common in?
- Females
- Increases with age
What must we always look for when suspecting somatisation?
Exclude organic causes first
What are the consequences of somatisation?
- Impairment of daily functioning
- High levels of distress
- Poor school attendance
- Isolation from peers
- Significant use of healthcare
- Strongly held belief that there is an underlying physical disease
What are the physical symptoms in somatisation exacerbated by?
- Emotional upset: bullying, performance anxiety …
- Can start with an illness, surgery, injury, but continues beyond expected healing period due to propagating psychosocial factors e.g. school anxiety, lack of feeling cared …
- Some painful conditions e.g. migraines can be exacerbated by stress
What is important to ask in the history when suspecting somatisation?
- Identify symptoms of organic illness
- Use HEADS for psychosocial evaluation
- Compile a timeline
- Interview child on their own
- Report from school may be helpful
What is HEADS?
- Home life
- Education
- Activities
- Drugs + Diet
- Sexual health, Sleep. Suicide/Affect, Safety, Social Media
What can you gain from a physical examination when suspecting somatisation?
- Rule out organic caise
- Provides opportunity to gain further info on the nature of the symptoms- Apley’s rule: the further the pain is from the umbilicus, the more likely it is due to an organic cause.
Why shouldn’t we do investigations in somatisation?
- May cause secondary harm from unnecessary medical investigations and propagation of illness belief
What is the initial tx for somatisation?
Initial treatment – Primary care management with regularly scheduled visits
o Schedule regular outpatient visits
o Acknowledge somatic symptoms
o Communicate with specialists who are treating the patient –patients with somatic symptom disorder consult one doctor after another (“doctor shopping”).
o Evaluate for and treat diagnosable general medical diseases.
o Limit diagnostic testing and referrals to specialists.
o Reassure patients that grave medical diseases have been ruled out.
o Explain that the body can generate symptoms in the absence of disease, that psychological and social issues (e.g. stress) can affect the body.
o Assess for comorbid psychiatric disorders
o Stop unnecessary medications.
What is the tx for tx resistant somatisation?
• Treatment resistant patients – continue to meet regularly with the patient and also:
o Discuss the case with a psychiatrist
o Meet jointly with the patient and family members
o Administer relaxation training
o Provide formal psychoeducation
o Prescribe antidepressants for patients with prominent comorbid symptoms of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, or obsessive-compulsive disorder
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What additional vaccines are given to at risk groups?
Also, for at risk groups, BCG at birth AND HBV for babies born to Hep B infected mothers, 1 month, 2 months and 12 months