Convulsions in children

[RoseCake]

Dd is 6, nearly seven. She's a sensitive child and has a tendency to feel anxious but not overly so. She is doing well at school but has missed her friends during lockdown. I'd say she is happy in herself on the whole.

3 weeks ago she started having what I think are convulsions. At first she had 3-4 a day but now they have become increasingly frequent and now she has up to 50 a day. They last for about 1-2 seconds and her body tenses up and twitches, sometimes her eyes blink rapidly but not often.

I am so worried about this and am going to contact the GP tomorrow. We have no history of epilepsy in the family but could it be neurological or is it possibly an expression of anxiety and tension? Has anyone experienced anything similar? Really worried!

Take her to the docs ASAP!!

Why londongirl12?

@RoseCake

Why londongirl12?

Because we aren't doctors!

Why have you waited 3 weeks to take her to a dr?! If you thought she was having a convulsion you should have taken her to a dr or a&e straight away...

Because it's not normal. I wouldn't have waited 3 weeks. Hopefully it's nothing. But what if it was something serious?? Why wait to find out??

You say you're worried, so why haven't you done anything before?

www.nhs.uk/conditions/epilepsy/

You should definitely get her seen asap. Multiple seizures in a row require a 999 ambulance according to NHS advice.

Don’t wait. Each time she has one she could be causing damage to her brain. Put her in the car now and go to a&e

If you are really worried why have you not taken her to be seen by a medic? 3 weeks is a very long time to do nothing.

I would call your out of hours or 111 ASAP.

Any chance you could video some episodes before you go? and keep a daily diary of the ones you see - when, what, how long, context

What does she say about them? Is she aware they are happening? Does she have any control over them?

This post has made me really angry. What has to happen to your child to seek medical attention? Collapse and be unconscious??

I have a nearly 7 yo and tbh would have taken him straight to doc after the first one tbh. Def wouldn’t be waiting 3 weeks for them to get worse. Please call tomorrow at the latest.
OTOH a friends son had convulsions for years can’t remember the cause but apparently they were harmless and he eventually grew out of them. But by age 5 or so I think

Agree if you can get a video that would help the doc a lot.

I also say get her to your gp or to hospital where they can carry out checks. My daughter started at that age with just vacant stares. The consultant told me to actually try and record them on video. As it’s quite difficult having to describe them to doctors. Having a video allows them to see what is physically happening.
My older daughter had full on tonic clinic seizures for a few years but we were told when she was upset, stressed or scared she somehow subconsciously held her breath and her consultant said it was her brains way of restarting its self again.
Then she learnt to recognise triggers and would breathe better. She Has never had another one since.
But defo record them, time them and more the frequency she has them and what she is doing prior to her behaviours coming on and how she reacts a few minutes before, does her skin get paler can she have a conversation, wet herself etc. As it’s all the questions we were asked everytime by every doctor.
Was much easier once I realised showing them a record and video’s and quickly helped show what was happening to my oldest and how it wasn’t anything to worry about at all.

Just re read your post you should call 111 or go to a&e today.

Sorry OP, this is straight to doctors.

My DD had seizures which caused brain damage. I have no idea why you have waited and potentially risked this outcome for your DD.

Any chance you could video some episodes before you go? and keep a daily diary of the ones you see - when, what, how long, context

This is bad advice. The child needs to be seen ASAP. Encouraging OP to keep a daily diary is just putting her off taking the child to a doctor today.

Sorry, it is good advice generally going forward, and I'm quite sure the doctors will suggest it, but the child must be seen ASAP.

She is completely normal in herself apart from these convulsions / twitches / tensions.

Maybe convulsions is to too strong a word, her body twitches for a second or 2. Will call 111.

I was going to say video before you go to gp.
You dont know what damage this is doing to your dd and her brain

My dc had gefs+ which is abnormal febrile convulsions and also did physical damage to themselves. They had broken teeth, black eyes, bloody noses cut heads etc.

Bloody hell OP. Why wait 3 weeks? I'd be in the phone as soon as I thought convulsions were a possibility!

I did say to go to the gp or the hospital but if as the OP state her child is having upto 50 a day there will more than likely be an occurance. That can be recorded. Then this can be shown as her child might not have them whilst being observed in hospital. Though I’m fully aware there are biomedical markers in blood and eeg that can show if brainwaves are affected.
From my youngest child having severe epilepsy due to underlying health issues a diary of ongoing episodes and videos is incredibly helpful as the condition can change. Learning triggers extra or noticing when/if the child gets an aura first as a warning sign is helpful. There are other things that can cause seizures and in long term a diary and videos really can help with managing it.
It’s very hard to describe what is happening to your child when the moments the consultant wants you to describe you are emotionally all over the place.

But as I said she first needs to get urgent medical care. Also if the seizures are constantly straight after each other an ambulance needs to be called and not strapped in a car seat in the car.

@rosecake my youngest daughters seizures started around 6 years old and her only outward sign initially was she would become very pale, and stared into space or straight through you and her eyelids twitched slightly. At first it lasted less than a minute. It was only because it happened in front of her endocrinologist it was picked up. I had assumed it was a autism quirk she had.
It very quickly progressed in the course of a few month.
The first time it was seen we were admitted to Hospital for a lot of tests.
Her seizures were due to a tumour in her brain.

They could tell you it’s nothing and just a childhood twitch or tic but isn’t it better to be safe and get your child’s health checked?

Spoke a 111 clinician. She said based on my description she'd think these are tics rarther than convulsions.

She told me to google tics in children and watch some youtube video on and that she would call me back. All i can find on youtube when searching for ticks is Tourett'es

Not sure how helpful I am finding this video search suggestion.

Just saw a couple of videos on Tourette's tics but that is not what my dd has.

It's more like a brief 'electric shock'

What my dd has is more brief 'electric shocks'