Nightmare disorder usually does not require treatment. If treatment is required, cause-specific treatment may be given to clarify whether the nightmares are part of another somatic or psychiatric disorder that requires treatment.
1. Nightmare disorder usually does not require treatment, if the patient has a request for treatment, there is a clear need for treatment of physical or mental illness, can be given active treatment of the cause.
For example, if the breathing is not smooth due to rhinitis, the rhinitis can be treated; for example, those caused by bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin; those caused by allergy can be treated with drugs such as budesonide.
If the nightmare is part of mental illness, such as anxiety disorder, anti-anxiety medication such as buspirone can be given, and for schizophrenia, antipsychotic medication such as risperidone can be given, and so on.
2. Nightmares usually occur during the REM sleep phase, in order to reduce the onset of nightmares, drugs that reduce the REM sleep phase can be used, such as tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, new 5-hydroxytryptophan and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine and so on.
The treatment of nightmare disorder suggests contacting a psychiatrist to clarify the cause and give standardized treatment through detailed psychiatric examination and physical examination by the physician.