Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), are very similar to the signs and symptoms of drug detox in adults. The most common symptoms include tremors, irritability, excessive crying and diarrhea. Seizures can occur in about 2% to 11% of newborns born with NAS. Those listed are considered the initial phase.  The chart below illustrates the onset, frequency and duration of this syndrome depending on the type of drug the mother is using (Kocherlakota, 2014)

(Kocherlakota, 2014)

The duration of time the drug is in the infant depends on the last time of dose, how long the fetus was exposed and what type of drug being used. Different drugs have a different half-life and that also attributes to how long or short detox can be. When the infant goes through detox, the initial symptoms decline in frequency and intensity. However, after the initial phase, that can last weeks to months, the infant can go through long chronic and relapsing hyperirritability sleep disturbances, hyperphagia and other neurologic and autonomic signs (Kocherlakota, 2014). The symptoms that contribute most to the discomfort of the infants are the irritability, tremors and excessive crying. The infant is going through severe detox and will feel bad, the only thing that can help is proper medical care and time. (Doctors, 2011)

(Doctors, 2011)

The video above goes over common symptoms of NAS, what they look and sound like. The medical staff does what they can to decrease intensity of symptoms, but the infants need to clear there system before the effects of detox stop.

References

Doctors. (2011). Struggles of Drug Addicted Babies. Retrieved February 18, 2016, from

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c07RnhNYsPk

Kocherlakota, P. (2014). Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Pediatrics, 134(2).