Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffChildhood schizophrenia isn't an illness that you or your child can treat on your own. But you can do some things for your family and your child that will build on the professional treatment plan:
- Take medications as directed. Try to make sure that your child takes medications exactly as prescribed, even if he or she is feeling well and has no current symptoms. If medications are stopped or infrequently taken, the symptoms are likely to come back and your doctor will have a hard time knowing what the best and safest dose for treatment is.
- Pay attention to warning signs. You and your child may have identified things that may trigger his or her schizophrenia symptoms, cause a relapse or prevent your child from carrying out daily activities. Make a plan so that you know what to do if symptoms return. Contact your child's doctor or therapist if you notice any changes in symptoms. Addressing schizophrenia symptoms early can prevent a situation from worsening.
- Avoid drugs and alcohol. Alcohol and illicit drugs can worsen schizophrenia symptoms. Make sure your child isn't using drugs and alcohol. If necessary, get appropriate treatment for a substance abuse problem.
- Check first before taking other medications. Contact the doctor who's treating your child for schizophrenia before your child takes medications prescribed by another doctor or before taking any over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals or supplements. These can interact with schizophrenia medications.
References
- Masi G. Children with schizophrenia: Clinical picture and pharmacological treatment. CNS Drugs. 2006;20: 841.
- Minzenberg MJ, et al. Schizophrenia. In: Hales RE, et al, eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008. www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Oct. 7, 2008.
- Schizophrenia. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/complete-publication.shtml Accessed Oct. 27, 2008.
- Jibson MD, et al. Schizophrenia and related disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders: Schizophrenia. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Oct. 30, 2008.
- Dyer JG, et al. Update on early intervention in schizophrenia. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. 2008;46:19.
- Turkington D, et al. Cognitive behavior therapy for schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2006;163:365.
- Treating schizophrenia. A quick reference guide. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/. Accessed Dec. 9, 2008.
- Schultz SH, et al. Schizophrenia: A review. American Family Physician. 2007;75:1821.
- Kennedy E, et al. Antipsychotic medication for childhood-onset schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 2007;33:1082.
- Ross R. New findings on antipsychotic use in children and adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2008;165: 1369.
- Frazier JA, et al. Treatment of early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders (TEOSS): Demographic and clinical characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2007;46:979.
- Wall C. (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minn. Dec. 12, 2008.
- Treatment of patients with schizophrenia, Second Edition. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/. Accessed Dec. 9, 2008.
