What You Need To Know About Seizures In Children

Seizures, which take place when the brain works abnormally, usually result in a change in movement, attention, as well as level of consciousness. Various forms of seizures may happen in various parts or sides of the brain. They may affect only a certain type of the body or the whole body. There are many reasons for the occurrence of seizures particularly in children.

The types of seizures experienced by newborns may not be the same with seizures that occur in toddlers, school-aged children, and youngsters. Seizures experienced by a child who never had one can be alarming to the parents or the caregiver. Among the types of seizures experienced by children are:

Febrile seizures
This kind of seizure occurs when a child got an illness that’s accompanied by fever. Among such are colds, ear infection, or chickenpox. Two to five percent of children experiences febrile seizures some time in their childhood so it is recognized as the most common seizure type that takes place in children.


Neonatal seizures
Such seizures take place within the first 28 days of birth, most of them occur shortly after the baby is born. These can be caused by a wide range of conditions. It’s hard to know if babies are having seizures because they don’t experience convulsions. Seizures are then determined if the newborn tends to look in various directions. He or she may also experience lip smacking and his/her breathe may not be regular.

Partial seizures
These seizures involve only a certain area of the brain so these affect only a part or certain parts of the body. This type of seizures is further subdivided into two categories:

• Simple partial seizures – involve a motor component in one part of the body. Children experiencing such seizures stay alert and awake. As the seizure progresses, the movement abnormalities can transport to other body parts.

• Complex partial seizures – this is similar to the former type except that the child having such seizures is unconscious. Kids with this type of seizures tend to repeat certain activity throughout the seizure. Their memory is either impaired or lost during seizures.

Generalized seizures
Such seizures involve a larger part of the brain. They are also classifies into two:

• Convulsive seizures – characterized by uncontrollable jerking of muscles that lasts for less than five minutes. Seizures are followed by a phase of drowsiness dubbed as postictal period. After 15 minutes, the child should go back to his normal self. It is normal for him/her to feel tired. The child normally experiences incontinence and loss of memory.

• Nonconvulsive seizures – such seizures are then divided into subcategories including tonic seizures, infantile spasms, and absence seizures. Tonic seizures can cause constant muscle rigidity and contraction, while tonic-clonic seizures are characterized by alternating tonic activity including regular jerking or muscle groups. Infantile spasms are coupled with mental retardation and abrupt spasms of muscle groups. Absence seizures, on the other hand, are short-term seizures that happen when the child stares blankly and unconsciously.

Status Epilepticus
These seizures last for more than 30 minutes and are recurrent, without the patient returning to normal in between seizures. These are common in children that are below two years of age. This is a very serious form of seizures so patients usually require immediate medical attention.