Neurologist warned about the risks of prescribing antidepressants to children

Antidepressants in children are used only for clinically severe depression and require mandatory medical supervision. Olga Butenko, a pediatric neurologist at the Medin Medical Center, told Izvestia about this on April 14.

"According to modern approaches, antidepressants in childhood are, of course, acceptable, but not because of, for example, school fatigue," she noted.

According to the expert, for mild forms of depression, non—medicinal methods are primarily used - psychotherapy, normalization of sleep and wakefulness, reduction of academic workload, as well as work with the family. Drug treatment is considered for more severe conditions, when the symptoms become persistent and begin to seriously affect the child's studies, sleep, appetite, and social life.

The specialist stressed that the alarming signs are a prolonged decrease in interest in the usual activities, severe fatigue, irritability, sleep and appetite disorders, guilt, deterioration of academic performance and social isolation.

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The expert added that in some cases, children may experience manifestations of self-harming behavior, which requires special attention and timely treatment by a specialist.

According to her, antidepressants do not solve external problems such as family conflicts or school overload, so treatment should be accompanied by a change in the conditions in which the child lives and the active participation of parents.

The specialist also warned about possible side effects, including nausea, headache, drowsiness or increased anxiety at the initial stage of therapy. In rare cases, a temporary increase in suicidal thoughts is possible, therefore, especially careful monitoring is necessary at the beginning of treatment.

Timur Mutaliev, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Atlas Clinics, said on April 13 that prescribing antidepressants to children is possible if the symptoms of the disorder are expressed in such a way that psychotherapy does not work independently. Mutaliev also added that drugs are not prescribed at the first opportunity. If the problem is not critical, the first and main method of treatment should be to work with a psychologist or psychotherapist.

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