- Paroxysmal+Torticollis
Benign paroxysmal torticollis is a benign, non-epileptic disease that progresses with recurrent attacks of sudden disintegration in the neck. Recurrent attacks can often begin in the first months of life. It regresses on its own after four or five years of age. Posture and position changes such as bending the neck and shoulders to one side are typical.
During these attacks, vomiting, restlessness, imbalance, drowsiness, pallor, and in some children, bending the trunk to one side may be accompanied. Families usually come to the doctor in a panic.
They complain that their children have neck pain that lasts for 2-4 hours and sometimes for a few days. Neck and brain MRIs are usually taken for these patients. The cause of the disease is still unknown.
It is more common in girls than boys. Many children may have a family history of migraine. As age progresses, the frequency and duration of attacks gradually decrease and improve. Diagnosis is made clinically, that is, by examination. Side effects of some medications and rare neurological diseases can cause a similar picture. For this reason, it would be appropriate for each patient to be evaluated by a child neurologist and to investigate other possible underlying diseases. There is no definitive drug treatment for this disease.
No treatment is usually required. The disease will heal on its own. Sometimes, when the frequency of attacks is high and the clinic is severe, antihistamines (allergy syrups) such as diphenhydramine and cyproheptadine or anti-epileptics (drugs used for epilepsy) can be used to prevent attacks.
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