HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

Is Memory Issues In A Costochondritis Patient A Concern?

Posted on Tue, 27 Sep 2016

Question: My 14 year old granddaughter has been diagnosed with costochondritis. The symptoms listed are right in line with how she is feeling. The doctor put he on a steroid package for a week. She is taking pt and using ice packs. Some days she feels better and other days seems to go backwards. She was diagnosed about 2 weeks ago. Last night she was having trouble recalling simple words. Like pass the "salad dressing" or the name of a near by town. I just want to know if this is a concern or if she is just over exhausted with all of this and this is common to have some short term memory block.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
just give her some time to settle down and keep her under supervision..

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXX, Welcome to HCM,
I've gone through your query and understand your concern for your grand daughter,

Now condition like costochondritis doesn't warrant a prolong steroid therapy, hence should be tapered off within few days only (which I believe is already done as per your description)..

If there's too much pain, then please discuss with her treating doctor regarding putting her on mild analgesics like PARACETAMOL/DICLOFENAC combination for another 1 week.. Please note that excessive pain/ fear of pain can also cause those symptoms in children..

Good to know that she's applying ice-packs, please continue it, PT should be done under strict supervision of the PT-therapist to avoid any recurrence of pain..

Yes, certainly anxiety due to all these conditions play a big impact on children's mind, keep her cheerful, don't let her think about the disease condition, keep her as much busy as possible(with indoor, out door activities), and at the same time keep an eye on her progress..

Do keep checking for the memory eg. starting from simple current affairs, names of the neighborhoods, relative's names, places etc. and observe how she's responding to them..

Give it some time to settle down, perhaps another 2-3 days, if despite following all these, you notice any blank response, mismatch in her responses, then simply take her to the pediatrician for a detailed clinical examination (which I don't think will be necessary)..

Don't worry, just be vigilant and let me know how she stays in the due course..

Take Care
Kind Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee