"Dear Dr. Smith, We have a three-year-old son who beats (bangs) his head. He started at about ten months of age in his crib. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth into the solid ends of the crib. He used to only do it when we first put him down for the night; sometimes it would go on for an hour. Then he began to do it in the middle of the night when he wanted to be changed or he needed a bottle. He never seemed to be awake when he was doing this. Our doctor said not to worry. We padded the ends of his crib with two inch foam and waited for him to outgrow it. He didn't! He pulled the foam down so that he could make good contact with the wood. In a few months he had splintered the wood. We had to tie it together because the screws were not holding.
"He had developed a finger-like ridge at the area where he was banging himself. It felt hard as a bone. Another doctor said he was doing this because he wanted attention. We always gave him plenty. He had us try phenobarbital but that knocked him out and he seemed drunk and unsteady during the day, so we quit that.
"We tried not to say anything to him, but when it sounds like your kid is coming through the wall, you get nervous that there is something serious going on. And now the ridge is about three fingers wide and 1/2 inch high, running from his forehead to the crown of his head. Help us."
My findings are that these children -- and adults -- who need to do some rhythmical act to calm themselves are low in calcium and magnesium. A key question: "Did you, mother, have back and leg aches during the pregnancy with this child?" ("Yes," is the common answer, as it was with the mother of this boy.)
These children often have growing pains; as adults may need sedatives or booze to calm themselves. I am hoping that health facilities, and especially chiropractors, would remember to ask their patients about rhythmical activities, cramps, muscle irritation. Along with adjustments and a massage, add some calcium (1000 mg) and magnesium (500 mg) to the treatment protocol. Children and adults get the same dose, usually given at bedtime.
This mother solved her child's problem with these supplements, and the ridge disappeared as he grew.
I discovered an interesting phenomenon recently because I now know what to ask. "Do you like vinegar, pickles, and sour food?" These people are often in alkalosis, so the minerals they are getting from the milk and the vegetables are not soluble enough to keep muscles from cramping. The above-referenced boy will often drink the pickle juice right out of the jar. Many of them crave dairy products, but because of the alkalinity of the tissues or a concomitant milk sensitivity, they cannot get the calcium from the dairy sources.
Ask those achy people that are your patients about growing pains, vinegar cravings, and rhythmical habits. Apparently, you have to be the mother to these people as well as their doctor.
Lendon H. Smith, M.D.
Portland, Oregon
Editor's Note:
Dr. Smith offers a fascinating and often hilarious, information-packed monthly newsletter available via subscription for $8 US, $10 US (Can), $14 foreign (other). Just send your check payable to:
THE FACTS
P.O. BOX 427
PORTLAND, OREGON 97207