Night terrors in children, does any one else have kids who suffer from night terrors?

Question

my son used to get fibrile fits (from heat) when he was about 19 months old-till 3half yrs old. he then started getting night terrors lasting up to 1hr 20 mins. we changed his diet n cut out preservatives, artificial colours etc n this helped a lot. he had a night terror the other night, i think it was due to the heat wave we have been getting. its very stressfull and hard to handle. does anyone else have these problems? i took him into the bathroom with lavender oil burning n that seemed to snap him out of it a bit which was great but does anyone have any suggestions that may help? my partner n i oftern get very stressed out during n after them, as we fear he will have another one. no one i know has a child who has this prob. any suggestions would be apprectiated??

Answer 1

Sweetie, I totally empathise with you! My ten year old twins had awful night terrors from 2 to 6 years old.

Our doctor told us that they are genetic; their dad's mom confirmed that he had suffered with nt's as well.

Basically, we waited them out. They are not aware that they're being comforted so talking to them makes it worse. I know; you can't just roll over and ignore him either, so sit there and make sure that he doesn't hurt himself. He will grow out of them.

I know it's tough but hang in there! You have my best wishes.

Answer 2

The best thing is to remove all objects that he can hurthimself on by cutting or hitting self on such as tables, shelfs, other objects. I find that dumping a glass of water on someone who is having night terrors helps them come around. Also don't sit or stand too close otherwise they may become violent (subconsciously).

Answer 3

My brother had night terrors as well.  Our doctor explained that talking to him can make it worse as sounds and vision are distorted during a night terror.

The best solution is to put him in a bright room or a cold bathtub.  Also to prevent them, we were told to make sure he doesn't wear socks to bed. (why?  I don't know...)

You might find, as we did that they grow out of it.  My brother had them for 6 months at a time, usually around high stress times (hockey tryouts, start of school, hockey playoffs, etc.).  It lasted for about 3-4 years with the night terrors lasting 2-3 hours each (until we saw a doctor).  He's been 3 years without a terror, so we think they're gone.

Good Luck, and if nothing here helps, try seeing your doctor, s/he might refer you to a specialist that can give you some tips specific to the child.

EDIT: Keep in mind, he may become violent toward you or your partner due to the fear.  Also, he won't remember them in the morning, as I'm sure you've noticed.

Answer 4

Put an alarm on the bedroom door where he sleeps, make sure he doesn't have objects in his room that he could hurt himself with and that there is a clear floor area.  Check on him when you hear him screaming but don't touch or move him.  When a child is having a nightterror they are not really with you at all, they are locked in their "own little world".  They will not know who you are or where they are and everything scares them.  They can look right at you and still be screaming for you because they honestly don't see you.  I have been dealing with nightterrors with my 5 year old since he was 6 months old.  Sleep study shows a short REM cycle but nothing else but he continues to have them.  Make sure your son is going to be when he first gets tired, the more tired they are when they fall asleep the more likely they are to get locked into the other "world".  It is a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes it according to sleep study's I have read.  It has nothing to do with how hot they get, that would just cause a regular nightmare.  If your son isn't aware that you are even there and if he screams when you go to touch him then he is having a nightterror, if he is aware you are there and you can calm him down then it isn't a nightterror.  I use to have them to as a child but I don't remember them because no child ever remembers what they seen in a nightterror according to the studys.  Nightmares they will remember but not nightterrors.

Answer 5

we suffered from this too.  We did two things that seemed to help.

1. we put a window AC unit (a small one) in his room and ran it on low to keep him room on the cooler side. we also turned the radiators down in his room as well so it never got too hot.  this seemed to help because body temp does play a role

2.  have a sleep study done on him. turns out that exhaustion causes them too.  our son had a sleep disorder we were unware of  - his serum ferratin levels were extrememly low and he needed iron supplements in his diet which really helped his sleep which in turn helped reduce the bad nights tremendously -

good luck with everything

Answer 6

Has your child been checked for a seizure disorder?  There are some seizures in the temporal lobe that are often mistaken for night terrors; they do not manifest like typical seizures.  

I would bring it up to you pediatrician.  There is a test called a sleep deprived EEG that can isolate brain waves that may indicate a seizure disorder.  It's painless... well... more or less... because the child must be kept awake for most of the night before the test (sleep deprived) which means the parent has to be awake too!  

It's an idea to look into, if other things have failed.  At the very least, it rules out a seizure disorder

Answer 7

My daughter had night terrors for a few years - this was over anxiety.

I think you are pretty much doing all you can about it.  They can't really be prevented as far as I know.  If it is a heat thing then I guess just leave a fan in his room to keep it cool.

You need to be very careful about waking them up suddenly as this can make it worse.  All you can do is just gently speak their name and hold them tight.  Remember that most of the time they are screaming they are still asleep - even when their eyes are open, so if they say or do anything violent or aggressive it's not personal.

I understand how stressful they are as the child isn't just crying they're screaming and it can last for hours.  It's frustrating because your child is upset and you can't fix it.

I can tell you that most children grow out of them completely by about 5.  I know that probably won't be much comfort now, but they do become less regular as the child gets older.

Best of luck to you and your family.