A child can go from typically developing to washing their hands a thousand times a day almost overnight, and the cause may have nothing to do with primary mental illness. Lara Barnes talks with Vicky Finlayson of The Happy Healthy Unicorn about PANS and PANDAS, autoimmune conditions where infections like strep, Coxsackie virus or impetigo trigger antibodies that mistakenly attack the brain’s basal ganglia, producing sudden OCD, tics, anxiety and behavioural regression. Vicky draws on her clinical work and her own daughter’s diagnosis to explain how leaky gut, histamine and immune dysregulation feed into these flares, and what diagnostic testing and natural interventions actually help. Listeners will learn the specific symptom patterns and infection history that point toward PANS or PANDAS rather than a standalone psychiatric label, which blood markers and panels can clarify a diagnosis, and practical dietary and supplement strategies parents can start using straight away. If your child’s behaviour changed seemingly overnight, this conversation offers a different lens worth hearing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Watch for a sudden, overnight onset of OCD, tics or severe separation anxiety rather than a gradual decline, since this abrupt shift is one of the clearest signals pointing toward PANS or PANDAS rather than a standalone psychiatric condition.
2. Review your child’s infection history for known triggers such as impetigo, scarlet fever, strep throat, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, or persistent sinus infections, since identifying the original infectious trigger shapes which treatment approach will actually help.
3. Address gut health as a first step, removing inflammatory foods, added sugar and refined carbohydrates while adding vegetables, protein and pro- and prebiotic foods, since a leaky gut is described as a major driver of the neuroinflammation behind PANS/PANDAS flares.
4. Request specific blood testing, such as ASO and DNase B strep markers or broader panels covering Coxsackie virus, Lyme, Epstein-Barr and immune activity, if you suspect PANS/PANDAS, since standard psychiatric evaluation alone often misses the underlying infectious trigger.
5. Try natural histamine-lowering and immune-calming supports such as nettle, quercetin, magnesium, inositol and Epsom salt baths alongside dietary changes, since mast cell activation and immune dysregulation commonly drive symptom flares in these children.

QUOTES

1. “There is hope, there is recovery from this condition.”
2. “Every mental health condition has a biological cause anyway.”
3. “The brain is just being hijacked, and it’s completely in a loop.”
4. “Everything is changeable in this realm.”
5. “Awareness is critical, early recognition and appropriate medical evaluation can really change outcomes.”

SOCIAL/IMPORTANT LINKS

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@braindevelopmentuk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/braindevelopmentuk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/larakelly/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https:/www.braindevelopment.co.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  HOST BIO

Lara Barnes a successful woman in tech found herself managing behavioural, learning and speech difficulties with her son, she learn functional neurology and how to change the brain to correct his symptoms and build his left brain. The Building the Brain Podcast is for parents needing to understand how to help their children and show them what can be done to change little lives to allow them to shine and be their best version.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠