Convulsions

Seizures associated with irritation of the central nervous system( brain, spinal cord) and the corresponding nerves, include a number of reactions. There may be a risk of loss of consciousness, a condition similar to trance, inability to speak, urinary incontinence, biting of the tongue, unconscious rhythmic movement of the arms, legs or other parts of the body, headaches, confusion, body hardening for up to 20 seconds, insomnia after seizure,eye or involuntary frequent blinking.

Similar to convulsions manifestations of

Doctors distinguish between true convulsions and seizure-like phenomena, although the usual average parent will not be noticeable. Episodes that look like cramps, but are not they, are described below.

Temporary loss of consciousness or unconsciousness

This condition is usually preceded by dizziness or nausea. Often it occurs if the child has experienced severe stress, is hungry or has stood too long. As a rule, this phenomenon is not accompanied by unusual motor movements, there is no tendency to involuntary urination.

Prolonged respiration

The child becomes blue, and then loses consciousness. The child can act this way during an outburst of irritation.

Sneezing, twisting and other tics

All these manifestations can be like a spasm, but the child does not lose consciousness, does not occur and the clouding of the mind.

A child can suddenly jump up and scream, look frightened and pointlessly mutter. The child does not answer the questions, and often falls asleep again in a few minutes, usually in the morning, not remembering this case.

This symptom can cause confusion of thoughts or other deviation of mental functions. But the child will almost always complain about a headache in this case( usually other members of the family have the same disease).

Usually observed in response to stress in children from five years to adolescence, but they differ in several features from real seizures. First, such episodes are prepared gradually, and real seizures come suddenly. In addition, any movements of the arms and legs in these cases are more coordinated than with real seizures. In addition, urination usually does not occur in these cases, and the child quickly restores its functions without signs of a semi-unconscious state or insanity. These episodes are temporary and usually pass with age.

Possible causes of

Doctors distinguish seizures of newborns and seizures of older children primarily because the causes of seizures are different.

Causes of seizures in newborns may be infection of the brain or nerves, weaning from drugs or alcohol( with mother's milk), low blood sugar( hypoglycemia), metabolic diseases such as disorders associated with fatty acids in the blood, orsugar intolerance, low calcium content in the blood, thyroid or other gland diseases, imbalance of sodium content in the blood, and elevated temperature.

In older children( usually between the ages of 18 months and 3 years), seizures can be caused by infections not related to the nervous system, brain infections such as meningitis or encephalitis, brain hemorrhage, head trauma, poisoning, fever, various metabolic disorderssubstances in the body, epilepsy.

Although the actual cramps should be handled by a physician, parents who first encounter severe seizures should be familiar with some first-aid measures.

Whatever you do, the convulsion will continue, so it's pointless to restrain the baby. If you see that the child starts to choke, open his mouth, pushing the jaws apart, free the tongue. If there is vomiting, rotate the child on its side so that it does not suffocate vomit.

Do not put anything into your mouth during cramps. If the cause is high temperature, unbutton the clothes and flip the blanket. Wipe the child with a sponge with warm water, this will help lower the temperature. Do not put the child in a bath.

These first aid measures refer only to severe manifestations of the disease. In less serious situations, the child externally only for a few seconds disconnects or loses contact with reality, but there is no complete loss of consciousness. In such cases, the child should be closely monitored and, at the first opportunity, informed about the doctor.

The doctor will immediately take a survey to determine the cause of the seizures. In many cases, the disease can be relatively non-serious, for example, with convulsions associated with high fever. This type of seizure usually begins two hours after the appearance of high temperature.

Because it is difficult for parents to distinguish between different types of seizures, it is recommended that they never be considered as non-hazardous conditions. The only exception is that your child suffers from epilepsy, and you know what to do from previous experience and from the recommendations of a doctor.

You can decide at home what to do if the doctor has given you timely advice. But you must inform the doctor within a reasonable time if you notice anything unusual with cramps. For example, if the spasms lasted unusually long or if you notice a reaction that was not previously there.

Immediately call the doctor if you do not know what to do with seizures, or there are additional symptoms, such as fever.

Urgently , send the child to the hospital if it is difficult to breathe during seizures or there are other life-threatening symptoms.

The physician may also prescribe an electroencephalogram( EEG), which will in most cases be normal when it comes to convulsions associated with high fever. Minor convulsions associated with fever usually occur in children from six months to six years of age, and mainly if the incidence of such a condition has been noted in the family. Usually, there are no consequences at all.

If convulsions occur at high temperature, but the baby has convulsions and without fever, the situation may be more serious. There may be one of the diseases listed in the "Possible causes" section. In most cases, there will be deviations in the EEG.

The doctor will also want to conduct additional tests if the convulsions occur without elevated temperature. He can prescribe one or more of the following tests: a blood sugar test, the determination of the chemical and mineral content in the blood, a check on the liver and kidney function, a pH test( acid-base), a check for poisons or lead levels in the blood.

The doctor may also prescribe a lumbar puncture( spinal puncture, when a spinal cord sample for a laboratory analysis is taken from the spine with a needle).This analysis is especially necessary for checking the presence of meningitis or encephalitis( inflammation of the brain).In addition, radiographic examination of the skull, CAT scan of the head and other examinations can be prescribed.