Children and Young People

This article has been extracted from the free Information booklet that FMA UK provides. To have this information presented in a professional A5 booklet, as well as the other articles please request one from the office. The material in this booklet is from an older version of the booklet, please check the link above for current content.

The aim of this section is to provide basic information about fibromyalgia in children and suggest some management and coping skills. Parents and other care-givers can assist young people to manage a social life, continue with their education and plan for the future despite this troublesome condition.As with adults, fibromyalgia affects children in different degrees but is not life threatening.

Why Insist on a Diagnosis?
If an illness is not identified, a child may be suspected of laziness, school phobia or of faking an illness to get attention. As a parent you may be accused of keeping your child away from school without good reason.You know better than anyone else if your child is faking an illness. A child that is too tired to play with friends or eat their favourite food is not faking.

With a diagnosis a parent or other care-giver can counter any such notions.You may have a child who has displayed a confusing combination of symptoms for several months, and it may have been difficult to get a diagnosis. If the main symptoms have been pain, muscle stiffness and fatigue and standard laboratory tests have proved negative, then the diagnosis is likely to be fibromyalgia.