SPONTANEOUS CURE/ IMPROVEMENT WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF AGE
DR. M ABBAS SUBHANI
MBBS DCH
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Majority of the attendants of the sick children express concern and wish that their children get speedy and complete recovery. This becomes more marked when the illness persists longer or recurs again and again, e.g. asthma, infantile colic or febrile convulsions. They wish to hear, that the illness will be cured and not recur, and at what age this would happen.
Illnesses listed below subside spontaneously at a specific age and do not recur any more in the majority of the patients.
The physicians should institute confidence by assurance in their patients, but not unjustifiably (assurance should not lead to false sense of security). It is to be explained quite clearly that there are some unfortunate patients who do not get spontaneous cure
Please explain to the patients that there are high
chances of spontaneous cure after a specific age, or the severity and frequency of illness
would decrease considerably. This should be explained quite clearly that this (cure/
improvement) occurs in the majority of the patients but not in all of them.
Illness |
Age of spontaneous cure/ improvement |
| Infantile colic Seborrheic dermatitis Small cardiac defects ( congenital cardiac defects) |
At the time child starts sitting
On completion of infancy(1 year) At the age of 2 years |
| Febrile convulsions Enuresis Nephrotic syndrome ( minimal change type) |
At school entry(6 year)
At school entry(6 year) if it is not secondary to other illnesses or anatomical defects At school entry(6 year) |
| Eczema Asthma Constitutional short stature |
At puberty At puberty if it has started in toddlers or infants At puberty |