A local mother has shared her family’s story dealing with a rarely diagnosed autoimmune disorder.
Sarah Donoghue’s 10 year old son began experiencing symptoms such as panic attacks, tics and obsessive and compulsive behaviours in Spring of 2023, and after seeking specialist treatment in London, was diagnosed with PANDAS Syndrome.
PANDAS Syndrome describes a group of conditions thought to affect select children who’ve strep infections, such as strep throat or scarlet fever.
Sarah has since written to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, asking for awareness to be raised about the condition, and guidelines to be prepared within the HSE for dealing with PANDAS.
Speaking on KCLR, she described what can cause flare-ups in the disease.
“So as our Paediatrician described it to us, every time our son gets an injury, a sprained ankle, or gets a cold or a flu, unfortunately all those things can cause a flare reaction, and symptoms of PANDAS then can recur, and require treatment, but the good thing about it is we know about it now, so when you know about something and you have a plan in place to treat it, that’s really helpful.”
