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Pavor nocturnus
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- A severe fright reaction, mostly in preschool children, occurring during deep stages of sleep
- The child is quite difficult to waken from the night terror, due to Stage IV sleep.
- The awakened child usually has no memory of the night terror, in contradistinction to a nightmare.
- Thought by some authorities to be a normal developmental behavioral condition and not a disease state
- Worsens at times of physical illness or emotional distress.
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- A sleeping child cries out with extreme fear while asleep; an extremely loud scream; and is noted to have marked tachycardia; tachypnea; and moving about in bed.
- Mental confusion if forcefully awakened, and usually does not recall the episode
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- The patient matches the description and symptoms above. There is no definitive way to diagnose night terrors.
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- None known, but the same patients who have sleepwalking, may also have night terrors.
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- Reassurance to the child that he or she is in a safe environment.
- Minimize the risk that the child will fall out of bed.
- If the night terror occurs at the same time each night, awakening the child shortly before that hour might avert an episode.
- Medications are not a proven safe and effective treatment for night terrors.
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- None known, but possibly is followed by other behavioral disturbance in later years.
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- If the condition persists, consult a physician.
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- Nightmares
- Sleepwalking (somnambulism) would be another disorder occurring during deep sleep, but the symptoms are, of course, different.
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