What is Epilepsy in Children?

Epilepsy is one of the common childhood conditions. Seizures and epilepsy is more common in infants and children than any other age group. It is estimated that about 50 million persons are affected worldwide
Epilepsy is more than twice as common in children compared to adults (about 700 per 100,000 in children under the age of 16 years versus 330 per 100,000 in adults)

The type of epilepsy, possible cause and other associated conditions must be identified, because incorrect diagnosis and treatment can lead to persistence of seizures.
Seizures are caused by abnormal electrical signals fired by the brain cells. The older terms for seizures are convulsions or fits. Seizures may not show any visible symptoms or they may be dramatic with violent shaking of the entire body and falling down with momentary loss of consciousness
Having a single seizure does not indicate a diagnosis of epilepsy. Many persons just have a single seizure which may not recur again.
Seizures caused by external factors such as high fever, low oxygen levels or low blood sugar levels are termed non-epileptic seizures and are not considered epilepsy

The frequency of seizures in epilepsy is highly variable. Some persons may have seizures every day whereas in certain cases years may pass between two seizures. In most patients, the frequency falls somewhere in between these two extremes.
Epilepsy can be generalized involving the whole body or focal (partial) involving only a specific part of the body.
The word “tonic” seizure refers to involuntary muscle contraction occurring during a seizure. Similarly the word “clonic” refers to jerky movements of the body during a seizure. Both these phenomena can affect the whole body (generalized) or a part (focal) of the body
The family/carers of young children with epilepsy should be provided information about the condition, available treatments and the prognosis

References:

Seizure Information for Parents - (https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/epilepsy-center/seizure-information-for-parents)
Epilepsy in Young Children: What Is the Treatment? - (https://uichildrens.org/health-library/epilepsy-young-children-what-treatment)

Published on Oct 25, 2018
Last Updated on Oct 25, 2018

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Dr. Lakshmi Venkataraman. (2018, October 25). Epilepsy In Children | Seizures In Children - Causes, Complications, Types, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention. Medindia. Retrieved on Jun 25, 2022 from https://www.medindia.net/patientinfo/epilepsy-in-children.htm.
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Dr. Lakshmi Venkataraman. "Epilepsy In Children | Seizures In Children - Causes, Complications, Types, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention". Medindia. Jun 25, 2022. <https://www.medindia.net/patientinfo/epilepsy-in-children.htm>.
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Dr. Lakshmi Venkataraman. "Epilepsy In Children | Seizures In Children - Causes, Complications, Types, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/patientinfo/epilepsy-in-children.htm. (accessed Jun 25, 2022).
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Dr. Lakshmi Venkataraman. 2021. Epilepsy In Children | Seizures In Children - Causes, Complications, Types, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention. Medindia, viewed Jun 25, 2022, https://www.medindia.net/patientinfo/epilepsy-in-children.htm.