What is affective crossover disorder (habitual crossed leg rubbing action)?

  Emotional crossedness refers to the habitual action of rubbing the vulva in children and is a type of childhood neurosis. It can be seen in infants and children at the age of one week, and is most common in girls aged 1-3 years.  The clinical manifestations of habitual cross-leg rubbing are: (1) The lower extremities are crossed or tightly attached to each other and rubbed up and down in a leg rubbing action; (2) Sometimes the bath towel or sheet is sandwiched between the two legs and both hands hold the end of the bath towel or sheet, the lower extremities do stretching and rubbing action, the perineal muscles contract, and the perineum produces discharge.  (3) The child’s face is flushed, his eyes are staring, his breathing is ragged, and he has a sense of masturbation, mostly carried out by himself in secret, refusing adult intervention, and this rubbing is sometimes very stubborn. It usually lasts for several minutes or longer before it stops. After the seizure stops, there seems to be a feeling of fatigue and sweating on the forehead and the whole body.  (4) In older girls, the seizure may involve repeated rubbing movements with the legs riding across the back of a chair, the edge of a chair, or other objects. Even in class or at home can be in the prominent corners of furniture, such as behind the seat of a bicycle, the corner of a chair, sofa armrest on their own rubbing, seeking pleasure, and even to the extent of “can not extricate themselves”.  (5) Similar situations occur in adolescent boys and girls. Because parents and children do not know much about this “disease”, often resulting in a strong inferiority complex, this psychological barrier, affecting the healthy development of adolescent children.  (6) During the seizure, the child is always in a clear state of mind, reacts normally to the surroundings, and can be controlled by his or her will. The seizure can often be terminated when the child is picked up from bed or changed position, or distracted in other ways. Seizures usually occur under the same conditions, such as rubbing one’s vulva before going to sleep or shortly after waking up or while sitting, or sometimes in the mother’s arms.  (7) The EEG is completely normal at the time of the seizure or during the interictal period. The child has no signs and symptoms of organic damage to the nervous system. The prognosis is generally good and the intelligence is normal. Sometimes the diagnosis is usually made on the basis of the above clinical manifestations, without the need for EEG examination.  The diagnostic criteria for children with habitual leg rubbing are: (1) the onset of the attack with legs crossed or pressed against each other, legs in flexion and extension, hands clenched in a fist or forcefully grasping something; (2) the onset of the attack with red cheeks, eyes staring, and slight sweating on the forehead; (3) vulvar congestion, increased secretion and/or increased labial pigmentation; (4) the attack can be terminated by external stimulation; (5) normal intelligence and no brain grid epileptic waves are issued.  In toddlers and children, this maladaptive habit is mainly induced and distracted to make it go away. Some children are triggered by itching due to local irritation and must be given active treatment to correct this bad habit. Washing the vulva every night before bedtime, good personal hygiene and giving psychological comfort to the child makes him/her fall asleep happily. It can initially be caused by local diseases such as pinworms, eczema of the pubic area or too tight pants, but later it becomes a habit. In a few children, the onset may be related to excessive douching (stimulation) of the vulva, so care should also be taken to avoid excessive douching (stimulation) of the vulva.  When a child has this habit, he or she should not be scolded, but should be coaxed and distracted, wear loose pants, go to bed not too early at night, and treat local diseases as early as possible. If there are pinworms, they should be treated promptly. For adolescents, they should give patient persuasion and education, strengthen physical exercise, do not look at unhealthy images and books, parents should maintain their children’s self-esteem, and keep secrets for him or her. Parents should maintain the child’s self-esteem and keep the secret for him/her. They should not talk about it in front of people and should not ridicule it, which will affect the child’s physical and mental health.  Medication: Most children, as they grow older, relieve themselves. A few children are more stubborn and can be treated with a trial of medication.  Haloperidol 1-2 mg per day, divided into two oral doses, along with an equal dose of Anthem for three days. Medication must be taken under the supervision of a primary care physician. It should never be taken without permission or used indiscriminately to prevent serious adverse reactions to the drug.