Epilepsy

After febrile seizures the next most common cause of seizures in children is epilepsy. Epilepsy can take two forms: general or tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures and absence (petit mal) seizures.

With an absence seizure your child suddenly “blanks out” for a couple of seconds and looks very pale and vacant. He won't fall down or become incontinent, but he'll be completely unaware of his surroundings. When he snaps out of it, he'll carry on as normal, as if nothing had happened. A child suffering from a general seizure will have similar symptoms to febrile seizures.

What to do

You should deal with all seizures with them in exactly the same way, then seek medical advice. Your child may have tests to assess the likelihood of the seizures recurring and will then receive medical treatment.

It is psychologically inadvisable to treat children suffering from epilepsy as “epileptic”. Treat him as normal, but take precautions; leave the bathroom door open in case he has a a seizure in the bath and keep a close eye when he's swimming.

Dr Miriam Stoppard

New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard

Posted 03.11.2010

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