Leg cramps...

[ummmm]

Is there any cause of this? My 15 year son is suffering with them badly.

[jamesnan]

Not sure of the cause, but eating a banana every day helped my husband when he had the same. When the cramp occurs in a leg, standing on a cold floor with bare feet is an old fashioned remedy which seems to help.

[ummmm]

Banana a day. That'll be nice and easy if it works :-)

Thanks...

[Kiki-frog]

My mother used to drink tonic water for leg cramps. Apparently it's the quinine in tonic water that's the effective ingredient.

[RATTER15]

Talk to your GP, he may be able to get some quinine sulphate. Drinking tonic water has helped I know but the manufacturers of Tonic water will tell you themselves that the quantities of quinine in tonic water is so minute that it can not possible have any medicinal effect.

I know bananas have helped some people but again only a few, placebo effect I think. I think it is a case of try it and see, if it works then its great news. :)

[ojread2]

tonic water has such a small content on quinine now it would be useless to medicinal use

It could be growing pains for which there is no cure, unfortunately

[ummmm]

Okay. I'll take him to the GP then. He was suffering really badly last night.

[EvianBaby]

Is there actually such a thing as growing pains or is that just a mythical explanation for pain that can't be explained?

[Sqad]

Cramps in a 15year old is unusual.

A banana will work as it contains potassium and potassium loss is often the cause of cramps in people taking diuretics..........NOT in a 15 year old boy.

Again quinine may be effective..............UNLIKELY in a 15 year old boy.

Is he well otherwise? When and where do these "cramps" come on?

[Sqad]

Evian.....a myth.....no such things as "growing pains"

[ummmm]

Perfectly healthy besides this. He's been getting them for months but they're getting steadily worse. Happens in the evening and mainly in his calf muscles. Last night one actually made him scream...

[Cockney_si]

Has he been running or anything?

A common cause of this is running without proper running shoes.

Another one is growing pains, I know I suffered teribly with growing pains when I was this age.

[ummmm]

No, he's not been running. Up til about a month ago he was playing football twice a week. He's always done that though. He does a paper round 7 days a week and walks to school, which is 2.5 miles away. So he's fairly active.

[Sqad]

ummmm.....odd.....I would give him Ibuprofen 200mgms last thing at night and make an appt. with your GP.

[ummmm]

Okay...will do x

[ojread2]

There is a term used to unexplained pains in young children
"Growing pains is an accepted medical term, though the pains are not due to growing. The typical case of growing pains occurs in a healthy, clinically normal, young child, in the middle of the night, causing intense pain for 10 to 15 minutes in both legs (knees, thighs, calves or shins). Management is simple analgesic measures for the child, and reassurance for the parents that a serious condition is not present."

C&P because I can - it's a term that has been used by my GP and my mum's GP for pains both my sister's had in their legs as kids but for which there was no obvious injuries or treatments available. Pain killers were recommended

[ummmm]

These are actually muscle cramps. My niece had growing pains and she complained of pains in her bones...

[RATTER15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growing_pains

[Sqad]

ojread

\\\\Growing pains is an accepted medical term,\\\

Not by me it's not.....and many other medical practitioners.

////and reassurance for the parents that a serious condition is not present." ///

How do you do that?

I would like a £1 for every child that has been diagnosed as "growing pains" and have had diagnosed or misdiagnosed with Perthes disease of the hip.

Any child or young adult should have an X-Ray of the hip before the diagnosis of despair...growing pains is made.

In my opinion.

[Sqad]

RATTER....I disagree with Wikipedia..........