Causes of rapid fatigue in a child. The child gets tired quickly. What could be the reason

Unusual fatigue is a frequent reason for contacting a pediatrician: sometimes the child himself complains that he gets tired quickly and often, sometimes parents notice various manifestations child's fatigue - a decrease in his overall activity, loss of interest in games, reluctance to play sports. A child, coming home from school, throws himself on the sofa, often immediately falls asleep and sleeps until he is woken up to feed him. And sometimes school teachers They note that the child’s academic performance has suddenly deteriorated, he has become distracted, cannot concentrate, and is overly excitable.

At 4 - 5 years old, at 10 and in early adolescence, fatigue is expressed differently. A four- to five-year-old child may suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the day; during afternoon classes in kindergarten, he is inattentive and inactive. The fatigue of a ten-year-old schoolchild becomes immediately noticeable because he begins to receive bad grades in those subjects in which he has studied well until now, and generally becomes more lethargic.

A thirteen-fourteen year old teenager shows both apathy and irritability; when he returns from school, he falls into a chair, doesn’t want anything, snaps in response to any remark, and the only thing you can hear from him is: “Get rid of it, I’m tired!”

All of the cases listed above force parents to contact a pediatrician in the hope that he will prescribe some kind of miraculous “general strengthening” that will immediately return their child to normal tone and normal vital activity.

In fact, the problem is much more complicated, because its occurrence is dictated by a number of interrelated reasons, and to treat a student’s fatigue it is required full examination conditions of his life, education, environment in which he is located.

Of course, everything is interconnected, and physical fatigue, which is explained by weakness after an illness, in particular, the flu, can also lead to mental and intellectual fatigue. Therefore, you need to look very diligently for the reasons for any physical fatigue. Many diseases are well known that lead to weakening of the body and the appearance of a feeling of inescapable fatigue: hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, some types of influenza - these are the most typical examples, but with such diseases the gradual and then complete disappearance of fatigue - sure sign the beginning of recovery.

Even the mildest anemia can also cause fatigue and therefore requires treatment. The role of the doctor is, first of all, to detect, if it exists, purely medical reason child's fatigue.

But fatigue associated with illness is not the most common case, and you need to persistently and actively look for its true cause.

One of these reasons may be lack of sleep, and the TV is not always to blame. Some little children of four or five years old are woken up too early by their mothers because it is time for these mothers to go to work. By half past seven or eight in the morning, such children are delivered to the nanny, who then takes them to kindergarten. The “working day” for the baby lasts until half past six in the evening, the hour when mother picks them up from kindergarten, where during all this time they did not sleep for a minute. Naturally, having got home in the evening, they do not feel any desire to go to bed at half past eight, but on the contrary, they want to enjoy the presence of their parents, in particular, their father, whom they have practically not seen since yesterday, and perhaps longer. A life that causes fatigue, nervousness, reluctance to go to bed on time, a life associated with the absence of parents for the whole day, for small child is harmful and does not lead to anything good. Of course I understand that material conditions The conditions in which their parents are placed force them to live this way. But I also know families who force their children to lead such a life for weeks, while mothers could easily move to another job where they would be busy only half the day.

Another reason is the child’s overtiredness. It is most often observed in well-to-do families, who have the opportunity to load their children with a wide variety of activities. Every hour of the child is scheduled: in addition to school, there is also music, sports, the law of God, and so on. Every minute from Monday morning until midday on Saturday is recorded, and on Saturday, immediately after lunch, the unfortunate person is put into a car and driven somewhere to “have fun” until midnight on Sunday, after which everything starts all over again. Perhaps such a life is acceptable for adults, but it is no good for a 20-year-old boy, even less so for ten-year-old children, and even less so for six-year-olds.

A whole week passes, but there is not a single hour in it when the child could be alone with himself, dream, live out his fantasies, tell himself some exciting story, but every child, even if he does not talk about it himself does not suspect this, he really needs just such a pastime.

School overload causing concern, which become a reason for excessive anxiety, especially when the child wants at all costs to prove himself as best as possible in front of a very demanding teacher, also cannot be neglected when talking about the characteristic causes of children's fatigue as in primary school, and in high school.

Schooling now begins quite early, and a child of six years old is required to constantly concentrate attention for 5-6 hours every day. This is too much for him!

When children get older, in the third or fourth grade, they already have six or seven lessons a day, and they again require constant concentration and increased dedication. But this is so tiring even for a teenager of 13-14 years old, what can we say about those who are younger! In addition, after 3-4 hours of intense activities, the child’s attention inevitably decreases, and the idea that he can work seriously and effectively for another 3 hours is nothing more than an empty illusion.

By the end of the third quarter school year, in other words, by February-March, many children feel tired - not only due to overload at school, but also due to weather conditions, - and it is precisely this fatigue of the end of winter that can be quite successfully treated with the help of “general strengthening” means.

Underload at school.

School education can be organized completely incorrectly. Sometimes high school students, boys and girls aged 16-17, have to work less than their younger, thirteen-fourteen year old comrades, for whom the transition to high school seems to be a very difficult and responsible task. Unfortunately, very often this transition actually becomes a serious test, because here there is a certain screening, selection into specialized classes, and all this falls heavily on the child, since his future depends on this.

But in high school everything is completely different: the amount of homework depends to a huge extent only on the quality of the teaching staff and their goodwill. It turns out that some children are clearly not loaded enough, and then the cause of their fatigue is boredom and doing nothing, while others, on the contrary, are too busy.

Then there is parenting fatigue. When a mother is somewhat depressed, when she complains several times a week about her own fatigue or overwork, this cannot but affect the child’s condition and lifestyle: he involuntarily begins to complain too and really feels tired, which in this case manifests itself as a lack of inclination to do anything and - even to a greater extent - in severe fatigue.

As you can see, the causes of fatigue are often psychological. When a doctor finds no obvious reason for the fatigue of a child who does not have any physical ailments, but he is sometimes sad, he does not want to play, go to visit friends, go to the cinema, theater or circus, this makes him think about depressed state, repression is no exception even for children 8-10 years old and deserves to be dealt with very, very seriously.

I hope you now understand how difficult it can be to detect the real reason the child's fatigue and rapid fatigue. However, the doctor does not have the right to write prescriptions blindly. He should always try to find this cause and treat it, he should always try to understand the very essence of the child’s individuality in order to figure out whether in this case fatigue is a consequence of internal discord, aversion to school, some difficulties in classes, contradictions in relationships with loved ones or what is called the child’s fearfulness, disorganization, and looseness, caused by loss of spirit.

We often hear from parents that their child constantly complains of fatigue. And the parents shrug their shoulders: why? The child, in their opinion, does nothing anyway: does not help his mother around the house, does not bother to conscientiously complete homework. Let's try to figure it out. Meanwhile, the reasons why does a child get tired quickly, can be very different.

1. Lack of vitamins and nutrients. In this case, the child may be bothered by headaches, sleep disturbances, and may suddenly become capricious, irritable, and painful. Parents should provide their child proper nutrition: purchasing the necessary products, correct eating regimen. Be sure to consult your doctor and start taking vitamins!

2. Excessive busyness. Schedule modern children sometimes it becomes so overloaded that you involuntarily wonder: how can a small person exist in such a regime? Even an adult would have a very hard time here. Judge for yourself: a six-hour day at school, various electives, preparing lessons at home, attending sections or clubs, helping mom around the house, walking the dog. And this is not the whole list. Perhaps it’s worth relieving the child of his workload and reviewing his daily schedule?

Help the student plan his daily routine in such a way that there is time for games and entertainment, to prepare homework. Children also need rest.

3. Presence of chronic diseases. If something is bothering your child, or he suffers from some chronic illness, be sure to show him qualified specialist! The doctor will advise you and your child, you will know what you can and should count on, and what you should refuse.

4. Excessive impressionability. If your child worries about every bad grade he gets at school, then this speaks not only about his desire to study well. Increased mental excitability may be associated with his lack of self-confidence. Overload nervous system leads to rapid fatigue and inability to concentrate. In this case, it is better to show the child to a child psychologist.

By understanding the cause and eliminating it, you can return joy to your baby. full life, in which there will be time for both learning and relaxation.

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Adults have a clear idea that a child is a very active little man, unable to sit in one place for a long time. Children love to run, jump, create, play, learn something new, their days are very busy and dynamic. It is completely normal that in the evening the child gets tired quickly and wants to lie down to rest for a while. Schoolchildren, coming home after classes, may complain of fatigue; this is also a variant of the norm. However, what if the child complains of fatigue all the time?

Fatigue in a child can be characterized by the following conditions:

• Drowsiness, inactivity;
• Decreased attention, lack of interest in favorite activities;
• Reduced performance;
• High irritability;
• Lagging behind in studies, development of new skills;
• , other sleep disorders;
• Low mood, tearfulness, apathy;
• Periodic headaches, tachycardia, etc.

Having noticed deviations from the child’s usual behavior and well-being, it is necessary to find the reason that provoked these changes.

Causes

The cause of severe fatigue in a child is a lack of energy. After a period of prolonged activity, energy deficiency is normal. Constant, repeated every day complaints of a child about fatigue indicate the presence of a disease.

There may be several reasons why a child gets tired quickly:

• Lack of sleep and rest;
• Unbalanced diet;
• Stress;
• Chronic diseases (disorders) of cardio-vascular system, endocrinology disorders);
• Hypoglycemia or;
• Temperamental characteristics;
• Dysfunctional family relationships;
• Long reception medicines etc.

Not all causes leading to fatigue are easy to identify and eliminate. If the child’s lifestyle and social status have not changed, the child may have health problems.

After the walk

If a child sweats a lot during a walk and feels tired when he returns home, there is nothing strange about it. Scientists have long found out that people vertically challenged requires more energy physical activity than tall. A child gets tired faster than an adult when walking because he has to take more steps.

In a study from the University of Massachusetts, scientists found that children have to spend twice as much energy to cover the same distance as an adult.

It’s just that the child’s steps are shorter, so he has to make twice as many movements. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Experimental Biology.

In case of illness

There are a number of diseases that can cause increased fatigue, constant fatigue and lethargy in children.

Cold

If your child begins to get tired quickly, this may be a symptom of the onset of colds. Later it appears, ears hurt, perhaps. The baby needs rest and peace, so it is worth freeing the child from stress as much as possible. After suffering from an acute respiratory infection or acute respiratory viral infection, fatigue can persist for 7-10 days.

Hypoglycemia

In some cases constant fatigue accompanied by weight loss. The combination of these symptoms may indicate a decrease in blood sugar - hypoglycemia. This disease is very dangerous, especially for children under one year of age, so at the slightest suspicion it is better to consult a doctor.

Anemia

If a child gets tired at the slightest exertion, this may indicate. Light form anemia is accompanied by weakness, lethargy, chronic fatigue, the ability to concentrate decreases. During physical activity, the child quickly sweats, shortness of breath appears, headache, noise in the ears. To exclude this disease, it is better to take general analysis blood.

There are a lot of conditions that can cause children to get tired quickly. It is the doctor at the appointment who is able to collect an anamnesis of the disease and prescribe a full examination to identify the prerequisites for the lethargic, dejected state of the little man.

What to do?

First, it is worth analyzing your child’s behavior. If the baby has always been equanimous, calm, and phlegmatic, perhaps he just has that kind of temperament, personality type.

If a usually active, restless baby suddenly becomes lethargic, quickly becomes overtired, and sweats frequently, such changes cannot occur without a reason.

It is better for parents to contact their pediatrician and tell them about their daily routine, diet, physical and mental stress child. Eliminate possible acute and chronic diseases The child has. Go through a series of tests, in some cases you will need ultrasound diagnostics or electrocardiogram.

Exist general measures What parents should do to improve their child’s well-being:

• Organization correct mode day. Plan the day so that your child has enough time for sleep and rest, do not overload him with numerous extracurricular extracurricular activities, clubs, sections;
• Daily walks outside. Breathing is very beneficial for children fresh air, but walks should be calm;
• Creating a good, cozy, calm environment in the family. Children see when parents argue with each other and experience these moments very deeply, so only peace, tranquility and love should reign at home;
• Physical activities adapted for the baby. Get your child used to daily morning exercises, gymnastics, learn breathing exercises. Sports and correct breathing will help saturate the blood with oxygen and increase blood flow to the brain;
• Organization of balanced nutrition. It is very important that in growing children's body everyone came essential vitamins and microelements. Monitor your child's diet and offer food if necessary.

If you notice that your child begins to get tired quickly, do not be alarmed. First, analyze what events preceded this state. Perhaps the baby was simply overtired during the day, was recently ill, tired of large quantity extracurricular activities, experienced a little stress, does not get enough sleep, and lacks vitamins. Seek help from a pediatrician, neurologist or psychiatrist. Qualified doctors will help identify the cause of increased fatigue and suggest ways to solve the current problem.

Fatigue is understood as a quickly occurring feeling of tiredness, drowsiness, and muscle weakness. For some children, fatigue is natural. Over-energetic children often lose most of their energy while reaching adolescence, which is quite normal.

Unreasonable fatigue in a child usually means that he is starting to get sick (for example, he has caught a cold). Take a closer look at the child and take the temperature. Look into his mouth, is his throat red? Usually, after being ill, the child regains his activity level, but after some illnesses the recovery process can take several weeks. Hormonal shifts happening in adolescence may cause increased fatigue.

Sudden fatigue in a child who is also constantly thirsty, drinks and urinates more than usual, unfortunately, raises suspicions of diabetes, especially if the baby has a stomach ache and weight loss. See a doctor immediately!

Persistent fatigue lasting more than three weeks may be due to viral infection. There is usually no treatment for this; There is no need to overload the child, let him do as much as he can. This will go away in a few weeks or, rarely, months.

Emotional problems - children suffer from them no less than adults, and they cause a whole bunch of symptoms, including increased fatigue. The child may be overexcited, have problems sleeping and lose the desire to go to school, etc. Lack of sleep itself can also cause increased fatigue.

For some ages, fatigue is natural. In preschoolers, periods of vigorous activity are often replaced by periods of depression, and vice versa. Highly energetic children often lose much of their energy as they reach adolescence, which is quite normal.

Some medications cause increased fatigue as side effect. Therefore, you should consult your doctor about every medicine your child takes.

Fatigue can sometimes be caused by anemia, although sometimes anemia does not cause a sudden drop in activity. Contact your doctor, he can confirm or refute your suspicions by doing a blood test.

Also, the cause of increased fatigue may be constant, sluggish infections; fatigue and slow growth may be their only manifestations. This is how some kidney and lung diseases manifest themselves (for example, tuberculosis).

Contact your doctor if: your child gets tired easily and the red conjunctiva under the lower eyelid is white; the child has other symptoms of the disease, such as fever, rapid breathing, loss of appetite, stopping weight gain, etc.; he is too tired and depressed compared to his peers. A simple exam and blood tests may be needed, but sometimes other tests may be needed.

Call your doctor if your child's fatigue lasts more than a week or is accompanied by:

• temperature rise
• swollen lymph nodes
• sore throat
• pain in joints, muscles
• loss of appetite and weight
• night sweat
• constant thirst, severe hunger
• frequent urination
• numbness or tingling in the fingers
• blurred vision
• unusual pallor
• the appearance of bruises in unusual places

The site administration does not evaluate recommendations and reviews about treatment, drugs and specialists. Remember that the discussion is being conducted not only by doctors, but also by ordinary readers, so some advice may be dangerous to your health. Before any treatment or taking medications, we recommend that you consult a specialist!

COMMENTS

Zhuzha / 2015-05-17

my son is 18 years old (it seems like he’s already an adult, but for me he’s a child)). The Unified State Exam is expected any day now. The stress is incredible. We consulted a doctor, he recommended taking a course of Noben. The course is already ending, my son feels great. calmed down, memory improved, activity and energy appeared. in general, my son is mentally ready for the exams one hundred percent)

Grace / 2015-05-17

Thank you for the article. This topic is very relevant for me.

Zina / 2016-01-15

And my son is 14 years old, and you know, he’s also Lately severe fatigue appeared. We even went to a neurologist because the child became really lethargic. It turned out that VSD was to blame. They prescribed Eltacin. The condition has improved significantly. The child literally stood up straight to his feet. And the energy is just in full swing. Finally!

Causes of increased fatigue:

• Excessive activity.
• A common infection.
• Diabetes or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Chronic infection and anemia.
• Other reasons.

Excessive activity

There is a difference between normal fatigue and abnormal fatigue. A child's level of activity can change dramatically - one moment children may be cheerful and full of energy, but the next moment they are already lying exhausted from fatigue. This stop-start behavior is typical for children between two and five years of age. And tiredness after active games quite normal. Also, if a child stays up late and doesn't get enough sleep at all, he will feel tired the next day. If something disturbs your child's normal sleep, such as a noisy sibling or an overnight trip with his parents on vacation, he will also be lethargic and tired.

Common infection

The second common cause of sudden fatigue is common cold or acute respiratory disease, when the throat becomes inflamed and the ears hurt. Sometimes this disease is caused by bacteria, especially hemolytic streptococcus, which can cause attacks of fatigue.

Diabetes and hypoglycemia

Sometimes fatigue is associated with weight loss, excessive thirst and excessive urination - all of these symptoms suggest diabetes. If you encounter similar case, consult a doctor immediately. Some children experience low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) the night before lunch or dinner, which manifests itself as recurring but temporary fatigue.

Chronic infection and anemia

There are many conditions that should always be taken into account in cases of increased fatigue in a child. These can be infectious diseases and anemia, when the blood's ability to carry oxygen is reduced. After a viral illness, a child usually gets tired faster than usual. But some viruses can cause long-term, debilitating fatigue known as post-viral fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis.

In this case, the child quickly gets tired, he develops muscle pain, coordination is impaired, and other abnormalities occur. Another cause of increased fatigue is infectious mononucleosis, a viral throat disease that leads to long period post-viral fatigue. A constant dry cough and increased fatigue in a child sometimes indicates pneumonia in one lung. But diseases such as tuberculosis, infectious kidney disease and dental disease rarely cause fatigue.

Other reasons

Basically, children are never tired for a long time, but if this happens, you must first make sure that they are not upset or preoccupied with anything that could cause this condition, for example, fear of going to school or sleep disturbance. We must also take into account the child’s individuality, since there are children who like to read books rather than race soccer ball all day.

Some children become lethargic because they are bored; others, mostly clumsy children, pretend to be too tired to avoid playing games that might expose their clumsiness to the ridicule of their friends. It has been noted that children in the process of puberty and those who are sexually mature may have periods of reduced activity. Finally, sometimes apathy and lethargy can be caused by medications prescribed by a doctor. In more severe cases of fatigue, the child may become difficult, irritable and even aggressive, becoming extremely distracted and sweating profusely.

What can you do?

If parents suspect that their child has increased fatigue, it is useful for them to keep a diary of the child's behavior. Then, perhaps, they will notice that the child’s severe fatigue is regularly replaced by periods of irrepressible activity. Determine for yourself what kind of character your child has - calm or not. Does he quickly get bored with everything, in what cases does he get excited, what happens when he becomes interested in something. Make sure your child goes to bed on time and does not wake up at night. After suffering from a cold, a child may be lethargic and apathetic for ten days. But if this lethargy continues, especially if the child has had an acute respiratory illness, then fatigue may be the result of hepatitis or myalgic encephalomyelitis.

If increased fatigue appears on the eve of lunch or dinner, it is likely that the child has low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). In this case, the child should have something to snack between main meals. It is much more dangerous when fatigue is accompanied by other symptoms, such as loss of weight, loss of appetite and abnormal thirst. In this case, the child may have diabetes.

If your child is very pale and also gets tired quickly, this may be a sign of anemia. Fever combined with difficulty breathing may indicate a viral infection.

In general, children don't feel tired for long, but if the fatigue lasts more than ten days or other symptoms occur, see a doctor.

What can a doctor do?

The doctor must establish an accurate diagnosis, determining the cause of increased fatigue. If excluded personal qualities, living conditions and environment, then you need to search physical reasons. If fatigue lasts more than ten days after a cold or ear infection, the child should be carefully examined. Diabetes can be determined by urine and blood tests, but for others infectious diseases More complex studies may be required.

If you don't know this yet, remember the following:

• Frequent fatigue in a child is considered normal.
• Often the cause of increased fatigue can be an acute respiratory disease or ear disease.
• If fatigue persists for a long time, especially in combination with other symptoms, further examination is necessary.