Seizures in children

[w0rriedsick]

Posting for traffic sorry.

My 16 month old has been unwell for a couple of days with what I suspected to be a viral infection then yesterday she had a seizure and was rushed to hospital. Waited about for hours then just as we were about to be sent home she had another one in front of the consultant and another doctor who told me it wasn't actually a seizure.

Kept in over night and observed and bloods taken - all normal, no explanation of seizure, no temperature or anything.

Now we've been sent home and I'm a nervous wreck, literally just have to constantly watch her in case she has another one. They won't do a brain scan until she has 3 or more.

Has anyone been through similar and it stopped at the 2 and everything was fine? I'm absolutely terrified that there's something wrong in her brain thanks to google, have asked the doctor these questions but they're not giving an answers.

The doctor told me that she didn't think the first episode was a seizure and just "some babies stop breathing" and laughed it off. The second doctor (consultant) told me it was and then she had another one in front of him. Sorry the last sentence in the first paragraph didn't really make sense

Slightly different but I had an unexplained seizure when I was a teenager. All my obs and bloods and everything were absolutely fine. Apparently sometimes it just happens

Yes. My first had a seizure at about 8 months. It was pretty horrific with foaming at the mouth, she was still out when the ambulance arrived. She was brain scanned twice then discharged, nothing like it happened again. Shes a (mostly) normal teen now.

My second had his first temperature related seizure at about a year and half then proceeded to have them regularly everytime he ran a temperature or had a bug until about age 8-9. But he has other significant issues independent from this. I got very good at spotting the signs of a temperature and getting the calpol in there quick.

Honestly feels awful now but it will be ok. The hyper vigilance will ease

Was it a febrile convulsion?

In your shoes I'd go and see the GP ASAP. You need to find out what was said and what hospital reported and I'd be asking for a referral to a neurologist.

You can do brain scans at any age but they have to be done under general which is why they are reluctant unless they feel absolutely necessary.

I don't like the way you have interpreted the doctor as ' laughing it off' - you must have picked it up wrong as professionals just don't do this, particularly with reference to neurology in children. My DS has severe epilepsy and had 42 seizures on Saturday as he has had a bad week. We have has nothing but excellent care over the past 4 years, keeping us informed and involved at every stage.

I hope your dd is fine but rest assured she's in the best hands.

I had as an otherwise healthy teen 5hrs of seizures of which I have no memory. No cause found and to this day never had another 🙏🏼 human body is a funny thing

I would book an appointment with your GP for tomorrow . It sounds unbelievable a doctor would laugh off a report of a seizure but I’ve known lots of people who got a similar response and told they were wrong, it didn’t happen or they were imagining things!

I was thinking febrile convulsion as well. They look scarey but aren't uncommon among babies and toddlers. They tend to happen when the toddlers are feverish and can't regulate their temperature.

My dd had two and the paediatrician said they weren’t seizures. To me they were, her eyes rolled into her head, went stiff as a board, started shaking etc. Both times she then became very ill with tonsillitis a day or two later. At the time of the incidents she didn’t have a temp. She had one one year and then one the next and then next year the tonsils came out. She hasn’t had any since.

DS had one seizure over a year ago, was an actual seizure but hasn’t had any since. He had an EEG done in the summer and came back all clear so hopefully he won’t be having any more.

It can be incredibly scary when it happens, even if it’s jot a seizure as such. I would make a gp appointment and they may refer you to community paediatrician

Febrile convulsion? Very very common in babies toddlers and young children. DS1 had two of them and the first one was very frightening but then I found out how common they were and I coped a bit better when he had the second, which was still frightening but not as much!

Sounds like it could be a febrile convulsion if she’s been poorly? How scary. I’ve always lived in fear of my dc having one of these, it’s something I’d not even heard of when my oldest was tiny. A few friends kids have had them and I think they recover and don’t cause any long term harm in most children.

Thing is there really isnt much point in worrying yet. Febrile convulsions are just so common, and mostly harmless

brain scans at that age can sometimes pick up abnormalities that are nothing but cause unecessary concern.(Although these days with the quality of scanners thats less common then when mine were little).

If you get the third then they will swing into action. But even then its unlikely to be an emergency, (unless it is and then they swing into action really quickly).

Its amazing how resilient the body is.

Thank you so much everyone

If the “seizure” happened in front of a consultant then I’d take their expert opinion.

It’s sounds virus related.