10/09/2026
Today is PANS/PANDAS awareness day. What is PANS? Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric syndrome. It causes a sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms or severely restricted eating, along with other changes that can affect a child’s emotions, behavior, sleep, learning, and everyday skills. They can have an onset when they get sick with a simple cold, allergies and so on.
Researchers are still studying the exact cause. One theory is that an abnormal immune response causes inflammation in the brain, disrupting how it functions. Children may develop intense anxiety, sensory difficulties, irritability, or a loss of skills they once had. These symptoms can be frightening and overwhelming for the child and their family.
The hardest part of having a chronically ill child is when your chronic illness isn't recognized by much of the medical community. Only a few hospitals in the US treat PANS/PANDAS, insurance coverage for standard treatments like IVIG is denied in most cases, and parents have to become researchers, advocates, fight with insurance companies, and manage life all while children are in severe crisis.
PANS/PANDAS presents as mental illness, so kids often get shunted into mental health pathways. That's why I will forever keep educating about this illness. A brain that is ravaged by autoimmune inflammation is not the same as an otherwise healthy person who might be suffering from depression or anxiety.
They say PANS/PANDAS is rare, but it's not rare, it's rarely diagnosed or understood. If you know my son and our story you know they can be helped. Landon gets IVIG infusions every 3 weeks for 8 hours. It has been life changing for him for the past 5 years. He has almost no symptoms now. He will need them for the rest of his life, but we are OK with that because it is life changing and calms his immune system down and inflammation.
