SSRI and Children's Depression
There is a raging controversy about SSRIs and child depression. While one set of researchers feel that SSRI’s as drugs are good for children’s others fiercely oppose the effectiveness of SSRI’s on children because the brain of the child could be affected.
The first question that will come to your mind naturally is, ‘what are SSRIs?’ The expansion of the acronym SSRI is, ‘Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibitors. Many regions of the brain are impacted by Serotonin. Brain activities like mood arousal, anxiety, impulses and aggression are often the result of an abnormal and quick re absorption of serotonin by the neurons or brain cells that release them while sending energy from one neuron to another. SSRIs effectively slow the re uptake of serotonin and thus regulate and normalize the activity of the brain.
The next question which may cross your mind is why SSRIs are used for children. The myth of the happiest days of our lives being childhood is not a psychiatric reality. Psychiatrists have found that all the brain activities that adults experience are not unknown in a child. Child depression is a common and worrying problem faced by parents today. One million children receive prescriptions for Pluoxetine, (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Paroxeline ( Praxil), Fluvoxamine ( luvox) and Escitalopram (lexapro) and other drugs as treatment for depression and other psychiatric disorders.
Now that the possibility of your child being prescribed an SSRI for treatment of psychiatric disorders is established, the next worrying question is, whether the prescription is approved of by the FDA. The FDA has not given sanction to the effectiveness or purity of SSRI drugs. Reported child and teenage suicides after the use of SSRI drugs has made the FDA skeptical of their safety and all SSRI drugs have a black box warning that they may cause suicidal tendencies in the child. However, clinical trials and studies at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology have shown that use of SSRIs did not result in suicidal tendencies in children and teenagers. However, the FDA is waiting for more stringent research and documentation before closing it s doors on the controversy surrounding use of SSRIs on children and sanctioning SSRI drugs for use for children.
Many studies have shown that children with depression are helped significantly by the prescription of Prozac and their overall brain activity has proved to be healthy. FDI has approved the use of Prozac for children of 8 years and older. However, medical monitoring is required and doctors and parents should weigh the potentials and the risks after monitoring the use of SSRIs in children for a few days or months.
Using SSRIs come with side effects. Some children have reported a suicidal tendency which has made the use of SSRIs an area of concern. Other children find a change in their appetite, sleep agitation and sometimes retardation. As Prozac and Luvox form the ingredients of breast milk a lactating mother should not take SSRI's and harm the infant. Pregnant woman may harm their unborn child if they take SSRI's.
Be sure that you read all that you can on the various SSRI side effects and speak with a qualified medical professional. Do your research into some of the various SSRI alternatives. | |||||
