How common are seizures in the UK?
There are 600,000 people with epilepsy living in the UK, around one in every 100 people. Every day, 87 people are diagnosed.
What is the most common child seizure?
Temporal lobe seizures, a category of focal seizures, are the most common type of epilepsy in both children and adults.
Are infantile seizures hereditary?
Children with certain genetic syndromes are much more likely to have infantile spasms, and we review the literature to propose a genetic classification of these disorders.
How can you tell if a baby has epilepsy?
What are the symptoms of a seizure in a child?
- Staring.
- Jerking movements of the arms and legs.
- Stiffening of the body.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Breathing problems or stopping breathing.
- Loss of bowel or bladder control.
- Falling suddenly for no apparent reason, especially when associated with loss of consciousness.
Can you have a normal EEG with infantile spasms?
Very occasionally when the EEG is done it is completely normal, even when the infant is asleep. This can occur even when the spasms seem to be typical spasms. These infants do not have infantile spasms or West syndrome and are said to have “benign infantile myoclonus”.
Which of the following is the most common cause of seizures in infants?
The most common causes of seizures in pre-term babies are brain haemorrhages and infections, although the cause is not known for all babies. Babies with a low birth weight seem to be especially at risk of seizures.
Do babies with epilepsy develop normally?
If the cause of the seizures is understood, the doctor will be better able to make predictions about the baby’s development than if the cause is unknown. Even if no cause can be found, however, and all diagnostic tests are normal, there is an excellent chance that the baby will develop normally.