Girl who sneezes 12,000 times a day is suffering from PANDAS, say docs

Washington, Dec 4 (ANI): An American girl, who sneezes up to 12,000 times a day, has been given an official diagnosis, with doctors saying that she is suffering from PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus).

According to WAVY-TV, Lauren Johnson, 12, from Virginia, had started sneezing constantly throughout the day after suffering a bad cold in November.

Doctors had referred to Lauren's condition as "machine gun sneezing", as the girl couldn't go more than a few seconds without sneezing, and the only time she got relief was when she was asleep.

"Now we can actually treat it as something," Fox News quoted Lauren as saying.

She had been unable to attend school because of her sneezing fits, but is now starting to feel better after her doctor started her on a course of antibiotics.

Dr. Rosario Trifiletti, a child neurologist who is treating Lauren, said PANDAS occurs following a streptococcal infection - the most common form being strep throat.

"Lauren is at risk of getting this again, so we're probably going to place her on some sort of . . .low-dose antibiotics for a long period of time," Trifilleti added. (ANI)