How does epilepsy manifest in children? Treatment of epilepsy in children

For the first time, Hippocrates, a well-known scientist and progenitor of medical basics, spoke about epilepsy attacks as a disease, and not manifestations of a higher divine sign. He was one of the first doctors of antiquity to draw a parallel between the frightening, incomprehensible to dark minds symptoms and deep brain damage, while making conclusions that became the basis of all subsequent research. Through his own efforts, a mass of disparate facts about this disease was brought together and divided into groups according to signs. Thanks to this information, we know that epilepsy is a focal neurological disease chronic properties, characterized by recurrent convulsive seizures. In other words, it unites numerous varieties of this serious illness, only the final stage of an attack is a seizure.

Doctors divide the types of epilepsy into two successive stages: the direct growth of the focus and the positive response of the brain to neural stimulation emanating from the focus.

For the occurrence of an epileptic syndrome, a head injury or surgery, an infectious disease, or a cystic formation in any segment of the brain is enough to develop a favorable environment for the excitation of nerve fibers.

Irritant signals quickly diverge from the affected area, which entails the onset of an epileptic seizure.

Another question is how quickly the brain responds to stimulation of neurons; the degree of convulsive readiness, which has a two-phase scenario of the event, is already responsible for this. If the readiness threshold is low enough, the patient during an attack not only retains consciousness, but also fully comprehends what is happening. On the contrary, at a high threshold, the brain responds with an immediate reaction, and an epileptic seizure, as a rule, proceeds with a deep syncope.

Epilepsy itself is at least 30 varieties of diseases with dissimilar symptoms, divided into the following categories:

• Local, for their part, distinguishing two forms: simple and complex. The first entails a minimum of consequences and does not change the person's perception of the world around him; the second is accompanied by disorientation, a long recovery period and, in addition, contributes to a significant violation of the functionality of the brain.
• Primary generalized covering both hemispheres of the brain.
• Secondarily generalized, which are already formed in the ongoing process of partial seizures.

Combining the obtained data, which is also based on the results of the EEG examination, it is possible to compile the following classification of forms and syndromes:

• A partial form, which is based on metabolic disorders and blood supply to a particular segment of the brain.
• Generalized epilepsy, which developed for reasons both established (scars, cysts, etc.) and not established.

Causes

The occurrence of epilepsy is tied to several reasons, and although there are significant statistics of cases due to undiagnosed circumstances, it is believed that the existing base fully explains the causes of epilepsy:

• Complications after hypoxia () in childbirth, birth injuries, problematic intrauterine period - in children up to a one-year-old threshold.
• Encephalitic, with damage to the central nervous system - in children older than infancy.
• In addition, the cause of epilepsy in a child is often the result of concussions and persistent stressful conditions.
• Epilepsy in adults is a much more friable factor, since it may be based on alcohol addiction, stress suppression, as well as the development of GM tumors, and, of course, any head injuries.

The only symptoms and signs of epilepsy by which one can recognize a person prone to seizures are the actual signs.

That is, the attack itself, which always begins suddenly, out of time and place where the patient is located and some previous symptoms of epilepsy, individual for everyone, but having some similarity: headache, loss of appetite, insomnia.

The course of an attack also has only an approximate pattern, which is not mandatory for everyone.

As a rule, in a few moments after the seizure, one of the types of aura appears (they are divided into motor, mental, sensory, autonomic, auditory, olfactory, visual, sensitive). Submitting to involuntary movements, or arising sensations of cold, etc., a patient with experience can already recognize an approaching epileptic attack and protect himself from a sudden fall.

At the end of this state, the active phase immediately begins - the patient falls, conscious or not, and, under the influence of spasmodic muscle contractions, inarticulately screams (yells). At the same time, in incessant convulsions, his body is reduced to an arcuate state, his breathing is interrupted, and his complexion goes from deathly white to a bluish tint.

If during an epileptic seizure the patient wheezes, then one should try to hold his head in such a way that the tongue does not get between the teeth or, on the contrary, does not sink into the throat.

First aid for an attack of epilepsy does not end there. Of course, it is not so easy to cope with a person who has fallen in an epileptic seizure alone, because, in addition to the head, it is necessary to keep both arms and legs. Therefore, if another person is nearby, call him for help.

If possible, you need to unclench the patient's teeth and put tissue rolled up in a tight tourniquet into the jaws. Immediately, after the initial measures, call an ambulance and stay next to the patient until the brigade arrives. As a rule, the attack does not last long, and after about a few minutes, the spasms become less frequent, the patient's body goes limp.

Disorientation after especially severe attacks leads to frequent falling asleep of a person immediately after relaxation.

Diagnostics

Any paroxysmal syncope of epilepsy requires urgent diagnosis to identify the causes and prescribe treatment. The diagnosis of epilepsy can only be made after an EEG (electroencephalography) examination.

Also, the diagnosis of epilepsy provides for the following types of studies:

• Ophthalmological examination;

The child has

Epilepsy in children is not as severe as in adults, and often has the character of "disconnection" from reality.

Epilepsy attacks in a child can be repeated 2-5 times during the day and look, in most cases, like a "fade", and the child, waking up, does not remember that for several seconds he did not completely react to the environment.

Quite often, a convulsive syndrome is mistaken for a child’s epilepsy, and in such a situation, special treatment is not required and the therapy passes quickly enough. Another thing is if the etymology of the disease is not recognized, and the number of attacks does not decrease, or they begin to be malignant - such manifestations have to be treated for a long time and hard.

Treatment

When it comes to the treatment of epilepsy, many adults begin to resist the amount of examinations that a doctor prescribes for a more accurate diagnosis. But in vain, because, having identified the cause of the origin of the disease, the doctor will give much more guarantees that treatment will pass successfully and time will not be hopelessly lost.

Standard therapy involves taking tablet drugs that are not commercially available and are dispensed from a pharmacy only on prescription. Medicines have pronounced side effects, similar to the effect of strong sedatives, but interrupting their intake means worsening your condition many times over.

It happens that the only indication for a complete cure is a brain operation - for example, removal of a tumor.

The most severe and, unfortunately, the most common type of epilepsy subject to surgical intervention is considered to be temporal epilepsy - not only the most painful in the course, but also steadily inclining the human personality to degradation.

With any form of epilepsy in a patient, the main task of the attending physician is not only to identify the root causes of the disease and prescribe the course of treatment, but also to make sure that the patient does not feel pushed into the margins of life by a complex diagnosis. An important role in maintaining a person's healthy interest in the world around him is played by conversations with the doctor, his calm understanding of the patient's feelings and sensations.

An obligatory part of such conversations are recommendations, the observance of which is not harmful for a healthy person:

• The advantage of dairy, vegetable, vitamin;
• Complete ban on alcohol and tobacco products;
• Restriction in tea, coffee drinks.

Problems of socialization

Unfortunately, the big question is still the problem of a normal, or relatively normal, lifestyle for a person with this disease without an open disability. Very often, he is denied employment without explaining the reasons, but, implying this particular diagnosis in the medical certificate.

It turns out that having a specialty related to physical effort, installation work, or driving vehicles, the patient is forced to radically change his work activity, which is far from always possible, especially if the disease is supported by retirement or pre-retirement age.

Disability, as a rule, is obtained by patients with a characteristic personality change towards degradation, or subject to frequent, unpredictable seizures.

Epilepsy in children is a chronic pathology of a neurological nature that develops against the background of increased electrical activity of cells in the brain, and externally manifests itself in various seizures. Most often, epilepsy in a child acts as a secondary ailment that develops against the background of other pathological conditions. Anomalies in the development of the brain and burdened heredity contribute to the congenital form of the disease.

The leading clinical manifestations are epileptic and convulsive seizures, complemented by impaired consciousness, severe headaches and sleepwalking.

Due to the presence of a specific symptomatic picture, there are no problems with establishing the correct diagnosis. However, instrumental procedures are necessary to determine the type of disease.

Pathology can be cured only by complex application conservative and neurosurgical techniques.

According to the international classification of diseases, epilepsy in children has its own significance. ICD-10 code - G40.

Etiology

The main provoking factor of such a disease is the occurrence of pathological electrical impulses directly in the brain, but the sources of their formation remain not fully understood.

Nevertheless, it is customary to distinguish the following causes of epilepsy in children:

• genetic predisposition - the probability of developing an ailment, in the presence of a similar pathology in one of the parents, is 10%;
• severe course of chronic infections;
• infectious lesions of the brain transferred in infancy, which are also considered neurocysticercosis;
• benign or oncological tumors with localization or metastasis to the brain;
• injuries received during the birth of the baby;
• traumatic brain injury.

Symptomatic is several times less common, that is, it is formed against the background of an already ongoing brain lesion. The following diseases can contribute to this:

• hyperglycinemia;
• mitochondrial encephalopathy;
• leucinosis and other metabolic disorders;
• fetal alcohol syndrome;
• complicated course in newborns;
• intrauterine infection or fetal hypoxia;
• and typhus;
• rheumatic damage to the nervous tissue;

Also, the formation of epileptic seizures is affected by severe during the period of bearing a child, the development of post-vaccination complications and poisoning of the body with toxic substances.

It is extremely rare to find out the causes of such an ailment is not possible, even with the use of the latest neuroimaging techniques. In such cases, a diagnosis of "cryptogenic epilepsy in children" is made.

Classification

Since such a violation is nothing more than a consequence of a violation of the functioning of the brain, one of the main classifications implies its division according to the place of localization. So there is:

• temporal epilepsy in children - is expressed in loss of consciousness without convulsive seizures, but with a sharp violation of mental and motor activity;
• frontal epilepsy in children - the hallmark is that it has a typical clinical picture, with the presence of convulsions, fainting and sleepwalking
• parietal epilepsy in children;
• occipital epilepsy in children.

The last two varieties of the disease are quite rare, but have a mild clinical picture. The frequency of diagnosing temporal and frontal epilepsy reaches 80%.

If there is a lesion of one of the brain regions, then it is customary to talk about focal epilepsy in children, and if several - generalized.

Division of pathology based on the etiological factor:

• symptomatic epilepsy in children is extremely rare in patients of this age category;
• idiopathic epilepsy in children is considered as such if it develops due to changes in the functioning of neurons, namely if their activity and degree of excitability increases significantly. Factors of occurrence are burdened heredity, congenital anomalies of the brain and neuropsychiatric ailments;
• cryptogenic;
• post-traumatic;
• tumor.

Rolandic epilepsy in children is a separate type of idiopathic form of the disease. It got its name because it is localized in the Roland groove adjacent to the cerebral cortex. It often occurs between the ages of 3 and 13. It is noteworthy that it passes by the age of 16.

Another common type of pathology - absence epilepsy in children, manifests itself in the interval from 5 to 8 years. The overwhelming majority of girls are prone to this kind of illness. Characterized by non-convulsive seizures.

There are also rare types of ailment:

• West syndrome;
• myoclonic epilepsy in children;
• Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

The most common and unfavorable variety of this pathological condition is called sleep or nocturnal epilepsy in children.

The pathological process can also have a benign or malignant course. In the second case, the symptomatology progresses even against the background of adequate treatment.

Epilepsy is divided into:

• typical;
• atypical, i.e. with erased symptoms or inconsistency of EEG changes with the clinical picture.

Classification depending on the time of onset of the first symptoms:

• forms of newborns;
• infant;
• children's;
• youthful.

Symptoms

The clinical picture of such a disease is diverse and is dictated by its nature. The first signs of epilepsy in children are:

• headaches;
• sleepwalking;
• nightmares;
• intermittent sharp increase heart rate.

Rolandic epilepsy in children is characterized by the following symptoms:

• facial numbness;
• myoclonus or spasms of the body, upper and lower extremities;
• violation of speech function;
• no fainting;
• profuse salivation;
• nocturnal epileptic seizures.

The clinical picture of absence epilepsy includes:

• the baby freezes for about 30 seconds;
• freezing of the gaze;
• stretching the lips with a tube;
• frequent head nodding
• smacking.

Characteristic features of West syndrome:

• the development of seizures at 1 year of life of the baby;
• nodding head movements;
• frequent recurrence of symptoms, especially in the morning.

Symptoms of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome:

• manifestation at the age of 2 to 4 years;
• nodding movements;
• sudden fall of the child, which occurs against the background of a sharp weakening of muscle tone;
• non-convulsive seizures.

Myoclonic type of pathology appears in:

• development at the age of 9 to 12 years;
• sharp contractions of the muscles of the arms and legs by the type of startle;
• falling children;
• inability to hold objects in hands.

Sleep epilepsy has the following clinical manifestations:

• convulsions lasting up to half an hour;
• fainting;
• incontinence of urine and faeces;
• headaches;
• nightmares or complete lack of sleep;
• personality changes.

Typical forms of epilepsy in children have the following symptoms:

• partial or generalized convulsions;
• weakness and weakness;
• tingling and burning sensation on the skin;
• abdominal pain;
• bouts of nausea;
• increased sweating;
• increase in temperature indicators;
• increased heart rate;
• change in all kinds of sensations;
• mental disorders.

Ignoring the symptoms and prolonged lack of therapy leads to irreparable consequences.

An epileptic attack in a child involves the provision of first aid aimed at:

• providing fresh air to the room where the victim is located;
• placing children in horizontal position, namely on the side;
• turning the head to one side, to prevent the tongue from sinking, and also so that the child does not choke on vomit;
• house call of the medical team.

It is also worth noting what is strictly forbidden to do when providing emergency care:

• try to contain seizures;
• disturb the patient;
• perform mouth-to-mouth breathing and indirect massage hearts;
• crush the child's teeth.

Diagnostics

Establishing the correct diagnosis requires an integrated approach and, above all, is aimed at the implementation of such manipulations by a pediatric neurologist or epileptologist:

• familiarization with the medical history of both the patient and his relatives;
• collection and study of an anamnesis of life;
• a thorough physical examination of the patient;
• assessment of neurological status;
• a detailed survey of the patient's parents - to clarify the frequency and duration of the seizure, as well as the intensity of the severity of clinical signs.

Laboratory studies are limited to:

• blood biochemistry;
• immunoassay blood;
• tests to determine the chromosomal karyotype.

Instrumental methods for diagnosing epilepsy in children include:

• roentgenoscopy of the skull;
• CT and MRI;
• daily ECG monitoring;
• ophthalmoscopy;
• brain PET;
• lumbar puncture - for sampling and subsequent laboratory study of cerebrospinal fluid.

Such a disorder should be differentiated from:

• convulsive syndrome in children;
• febrile myoclonus.

Treatment

Both conservative and surgical methods are involved in the treatment of this disease. Inoperable treatment of epilepsy in children is:

• decline physical activity;
• ensuring proper sleep patterns;
• the patient's work with a psychiatrist;
• compliance with the rules of dietary nutrition;
• the use of biofeedback therapy;
• oral administration of anticonvulsants and nootropic drugs;
• elimination of the underlying disease in symptomatic epilepsy.

Neurosurgical therapy of the disease involves the implementation of such operations as:

• hemisfactory;
• anterior or limited temporal lobectomy;
• extratemporal neocortical resection;
• stimulation vagus nerve using special implantable devices.

Possible Complications

Epilepsy is a dangerous pathology that very often leads to the development of the following complications:

• injury during a fall during an attack;
• backlog in mental development;
• mental disorders, for example, emotional instability;
• retraction of the language;
• suffocation, which occurs against the background of the fact that the child can choke on vomit;

Prevention and prognosis

To date, specific preventive measures to prevent the development of epilepsy have not been developed. To reduce the likelihood of an illness, parents should:

• ensure adequate sleep and healthy nutrition for the child;
• treat diseases in a timely manner infectious nature;
• prevent injury to the head of children;
• to monitor the adequate course of pregnancy;
• regularly show the child to the pediatrician.

The prognosis of the pathology is relatively favorable - with the help of conservative medicine it is possible to control seizures, but not completely avoid them, however. Children can lead quite normal lives.

Symptomatic epilepsy in children has an unfavorable outcome, since there may be a severe course of the underlying disease and the appearance of its consequences, which aggravate the course of epileptic seizures.

Is everything correct in the article from a medical point of view?

Answer only if you have proven medical knowledge

Epilepsy in children is a chronic neurological disease that is manifested by recurrent seizures or their equivalents (sensory, mental, vegetative). The occurrence of epileptic seizures is associated with a violation of the synchronous electrical activity of the nerve cells of the brain.

According to medical statistics, 2-5% of children suffer from epilepsy. In 70-75% of adult patients suffering from this disease, its first signs appeared before the age of 16 years.

Both benign and malignant (therapy-resistant, progressive) forms of the disease occur in children and adolescents. Often epileptic seizures in children, they proceed with an erased clinical picture or atypically, and changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) do not always correspond to the symptoms.

The study of the problem of childhood epilepsy is carried out by epileptologists - neurologists who have undergone special training.

Causes

The main factor underlying the pathological mechanism of the onset of the disease at an early age is the immaturity of brain structures, which is characterized by a predominance of excitability over inhibition. This leads to disruption of the formation of correct connections between individual neurons.

Increased convulsive readiness can also be provoked by various premorbid brain lesions of a hereditary or acquired nature.

It is known that if one of the parents suffers from the disease, the risk of its occurrence in the child is 10%.

Also, the development of childhood epilepsy can lead to:

• chromosomal abnormalities (Down syndrome, Marfan syndrome);
• hereditary metabolic disorders (hyperglycinemia, leucinosis, phenylketonuria, mitochondrial encephalomyopathies);
• hereditary neurocutaneous syndromes (tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis).

In the structure of morbidity in children, a fairly large part falls on forms associated with prenatal and postnatal brain damage. Prenatal risk factors for developing the disease include:

• severe toxicosis of pregnancy;
• severe neonatal jaundice;
• intracranial birth trauma;
• fetal alcohol syndrome.

The first manifestations of the disease caused by prenatal factors usually occur in babies at the age of 1-2 years.

In children aged 3–6 years and older, manifestations of pathology are usually due to:

• complications of infectious diseases (pneumonia, influenza, sepsis);
• transferred neuroinfectious diseases (arachnoiditis, encephalitis, meningitis);
• congenital pathologies of the brain.

In patients suffering from cerebral palsy (CP), epilepsy is diagnosed in 25-35% of cases.

Classification

Depending on the characteristics of epileptic seizures, several forms of the disease are distinguished:

Depending on the etiological factor, generalized and localized forms of epilepsy are divided into several types:

• cryptogenic;
• symptomatic;
• idiopathic.

Among the idiopathic generalized forms of the disease, the most frequently observed are benign seizures newborns, abanic and myoclonic childhood and juvenile epilepsy. The structure of morbidity with focal forms is dominated by:

• reading epilepsy;
• epilepsy with occipital paroxysms;
• rolandic benign epilepsy.

Symptoms of epilepsy in children

Clinical signs of epilepsy in children are quite diverse and are determined by the type of seizures, the form of the disease.

An epileptic seizure is usually preceded by the appearance of precursors, which can be attributed to:

• affective disorders (fear, headache, irritability);
• aura (mental, olfactory, gustatory, visual, auditory, somatosensory).

big fit

In a generalized (large) seizure, the patient suddenly loses consciousness, lets out a loud groan and falls. Immediately after this, the stage of tonic convulsions begins. Clinically, it manifests itself:

• muscle tension;
• clenching of the jaws;
• tilting the head;
• pupil dilation;
• stretching the legs;
• bending the arms at the elbow joints.

Tonic convulsions last a few seconds and are replaced by clonic convulsions that last 1-2 minutes. This period of seizure is characterized by the following symptoms:

• involuntary urination and defecation;
• biting the tongue;
• foaming from the mouth;
• noisy breathing.

After the attack ends, the patient usually does not respond to external stimuli and falls asleep. After the restoration of consciousness, patients do not remember the seizure.

Small fit

Absences or small seizures are characterized by a short-term loss of consciousness (up to 20 seconds). At the same time, the patient's gaze freezes, speech and movement stop. After the attack is over, he continues his work as if nothing had happened.

With complex absences, various phenomena are noted:

• motor (contractions of facial muscles, rolling of the eyeballs, myoclonic twitches);
• vasomotor (sweating, salivation, blanching or redness of the face);
• motor automatisms.

Absence seizures occur repeatedly during the day and almost daily.

Simple focal seizures

In children given form disease may be accompanied by:

• unusual sensations (somatosensory, gustatory, visual, auditory);
• twitching of individual muscle groups;
• mental disorders;
• sweating;
• nausea;
• abdominal or headache.

Complications

The consequences of a long course of epilepsy can be:

• behavioral disorders;
• learning difficulties;
• attention deficit disorder;
• hyperactivity syndrome;
• decline in intelligence.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of the disease is based on the study of anamnesis data by an epileptologist, neurological examination, laboratory and instrumental research methods. To make a diagnosis, the doctor needs to answer the following questions:

• what is the time of occurrence, duration and frequency of attacks;
• what are the features of the course of the attack;
• whether there is an aura or not, if so, what are its features.

Parents should tell the epileptologist in great detail about the nature of the seizures in their child. If possible, it is advisable to film the attack on video and show this recording to a specialist. Considering that young children, for example, at 3 years old, cannot always tell a doctor about their condition, such a video recording is very helpful in early diagnosis of the disease.

If epilepsy is suspected, the baby is sent for electroencephalography (EEG). If necessary, the doctor may recommend EEG monitoring (daily, night).

Auxiliary diagnostic methods include:

• x-ray of the skull;
• PET, MRI or CT of the brain;
• ECG and daily ECG monitoring.

Treatment of epilepsy in children

Children with epilepsy are given long-term, often lifelong, anticonvulsant (anticonvulsant) therapy. With a resistant form of the disease can be used alternative methods therapy:

• immunotherapy;
• ketogenic diet;
• hormone therapy.

To the scheme complex treatment include biofeedback therapy, psychotherapy.

If indicated, surgical treatment is possible. The following surgical procedures are most often used:

• vagus nerve stimulation with an implantable device;
• limited temporal resection;
• extratemporal neocortical resection;
• anterior temporal lobectomy;
• hemispherectomy.

Epilepsy - chronic illness, which without appropriate therapy threatens the development of complications. It is unacceptable to try to treat her folk ways. Only timely started therapy allows you to keep the course of the disease under control, and in some cases achieve long-term remission.

First aid

Parents of children with epilepsy should know how to give them first aid at the time of an attack. When harbingers appear, the child must be laid on his back, unfasten the collar and provide fresh air.

To prevent aspiration of saliva or vomit, as well as retraction of the tongue, the head is turned to the side.

How to suspect epilepsy

Childhood epilepsy often begins with non-convulsive seizures, and therefore it can be difficult to recognize the disease. Parents should closely monitor the development of their children. The following features in the behavior of the child may indicate the latent period of the disease:

• sleepwalking;
• pronunciation in a dream of the same type of sounds or words;
• systematic nightmares.

In children of one year of age, the first sign of the disease is the rapid forward tilt of the head (nod symptom).

Forecast

Modern pharmacotherapy allows to achieve control over the disease in most children. With a normal picture of the EEG and the absence of seizures, a gradual cancellation of anticonvulsants is possible after 3-4 years.

With an early onset of seizures, resistance to pharmacological therapy, the prognosis is less favorable.

Video

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Epilepsy is a chronic illness with sudden convulsive or other neurological attacks. This disease most often affects children and is usually detected between 5 and 18 years of age. Parents need to be aware of diversity clinical manifestations diseases in order to immediately notice the signs of epilepsy in children and seek medical help in a timely manner.

This disease, like most neurological ailments, has a complex mechanism of development. Neurons in the brain transmit impulses that send signals to different parts of the body. If a child has epilepsy, the established pattern is disrupted. Neurons form zones of constant excitation - epileptic foci. An impulse coming from such a zone causes a kind of "short circuit". The baby loses consciousness, his muscles involuntarily contract, arise. When neuronal activity declines, the child falls asleep and does not remember anything about the seizure.

Sometimes the disease occurs spontaneously, and the causes of epilepsy in children cannot be found out.

What are the main signs of epilepsy in children

The clinical picture of epilepsy in a child varies depending on the age of the patient and the form of the disease. Thus, in infants it is difficult to distinguish initial stage epilepsy from normal physical activity.

Parents should carefully observe the baby to notice that he has stopped swallowing, throws his head back and does not respond to external stimuli. The baby's eyelids may tremble, and the gaze can be fixed on one object. If such symptoms appear, it is necessary to show the baby to the doctor.

Symptoms of the disease in older children begin with loss of consciousness. The patient has convulsions (they can last 2-20 minutes). Arms and legs involuntarily bend at the elbows and knees. After the seizure, the child falls asleep. Short-term respiratory arrest, uncontrolled urination or defecation is possible. Children under two years of age usually do not have the last signs, and after a seizure they do not fall asleep.

Important! Symptoms such as foaming at the mouth or biting the tongue usually occur in adolescents. Sometimes convulsions occur only in the tongue or in one of the limbs.

What to do with epileptic seizures:

1. Move the baby to a comfortable place where he definitely cannot be injured.
2. Indoors, open a window to let in fresh air.
3. Turn the baby's head or whole body to the side so that he does not suffocate due to vomiting or tongue retraction.

Do not insert foreign objects into the baby's mouth, do artificial respiration or heart massage. If the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, you need to call an ambulance.

What are the other symptoms of epilepsy in children?

Epilepsy attacks do not necessarily go away noticeably and are accompanied by convulsions. The disease can manifest itself in various forms:

Important! In children, epilepsy often begins with nightmares, sleepwalking, severe headaches for no reason - to nausea and vomiting. Doctors call such symptoms an aura. Also, a temporary speech disorder and sensory hallucinations warns of the development of the disease.

What types of epilepsy are distinguished by specialists

The forms of this disease are numerous: their division is carried out depending on the cause, nature, localization of the pathology.

So, the location of the focus of excitation contributes to the allocation of four types of disease:

• Temporal. It is characterized by the absence of convulsions, but by loss of consciousness, motor and brain activity.
• Execution. Has a variety of symptoms, including convulsive seizures.
• Parietal and occipital. They appear differently, but to a lesser extent.

In 80 percent of cases of children, an ailment of the frontal and temporal type is determined.

Symptomatic epilepsy in children is manifested as a result of neoplasms or diseases of the cerebral vessels, past infectious diseases, severe poisoning and hypoxia, and traumatic brain injuries. It rarely happens in children, more often it is noted in schoolchildren.

The occurrence of the idiopathic form of the disease contributes to a genetic predisposition, congenital malformations and illness of the mother during pregnancy. A cryptogenic type of epilepsy is diagnosed if the causes of the pathology cannot be identified.

A variation of the idiotic form is rolandic epilepsy in children. The focus of excitation here is formed in the Roland sulcus of the brain. This type of disease is manifested by numbness of the lips, cheeks and tongue, strong salivation, convulsions of the face and limbs, problems with breathing and speech. Attacks occur at night in children 3-13 years old. By the age of 16, the disease usually resolves.

Focal epilepsy in children is characterized by damage to one of the parts of the brain, and generalized - the spread of the process to both hemispheres. Each of these types of ailment can be systematic, idiopathic and cryptogenic.

How the disease is diagnosed

If a pediatrician suspects this ailment, he sends a small patient for examination to a pediatric neurologist or epileptologist. The specialist finds out whether there were problems during pregnancy or childbirth, how often seizures occur, how they are characteristic, whether the aura of the disease manifests itself.

Then hardware and laboratory diagnostics are required. The most commonly used methods are:

• Electroencephalography;
• X-ray of the skull;
• Computer, positron emission and magnetic resonance imaging;
• Biochemical and immunological examination of blood.

A lumbar puncture may be required, as well as an ophthalmoscopy consultation with an ophthalmologist. These studies will help to identify the cause of the disease, the epileptic focus and the type of disease, so that you can accurately prescribe a course of treatment.

With a diagnosis of epilepsy, a child can receive a disability of group III. If seizures occur frequently, there is a violation of brain functions, the patient will be assigned a II group of disability.

Is it possible to cure a sick child

Epilepsy in babies is highly curable, and seizure activity can be quickly reduced to nothing. In older children, with the help of medications, absolute control of seizures is achieved. If there are no seizures for more than three years, anti-seizure drugs are canceled. In most young patients, seizures do not recur.

In addition to therapy, the child needs a special regimen, including limiting stress, overload and a special menu. So, a sick child should not play sports that involve serious loads, sunbathe for a long time, walk under the sun with his head uncovered and take a bath on his own.

The ketogenic diet for epilepsy in children is based on the predominance of foods high in fat. The menu counts for 1 gram of protein and carbohydrates as much as 4 grams of fat. The diet is prescribed and controlled by a doctor. It is also recommended to reduce the amount of salt and liquid.

Treatment of epilepsy in children with pharmaceuticals is carried out for a long time according to an individual therapeutic course. The doctor may recommend Oxcarbazepine, Lamotrigine, Levetiracetam, Convulex, Tegretol, Luminali, Gluferal, Diazepam and other drugs against seizures, as well as hormones and immunomodulators. From non-drug means, psychotherapy and a course of biofeedback are effective.

If the epilepsy is caused by a brain tumor, surgery is necessary. Also, neurosurgical techniques are used in particularly difficult cases of the disease.

Although it is impossible to completely protect the baby from the disease, it is important to prevent all risk factors as much as possible. Preventive methods include correct behavior future mother during pregnancy, timely treatment of infectious diseases, healthy sleep and good nutrition.

Remember that only a doctor can make a correct diagnosis, do not self-medicate without consultation and diagnosis by a qualified doctor. Be healthy!