EEGs in children - what to expect?

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I guess the title says it all. My daughter is 2 and a bit (going on 12) and has been referred for an EEG to rule out epilepsey (sorry if that's spelt wrong).

Can anyone tell me what to expect? A very horrible woman at work has told me they'll shave her head to do it. Well the exact words were 'ooh that hair won't be nice much longer if she's having brain tests' (then goes on to tell me how perfect her children were healthwise etc).

I'm sure that's wrong and looking online it seems like it'll be resin attaching the elecrodes to her head, but can anyone give me a bit of info on what we can expect?

Thanking you in advance,

x

Well they didn't shave DS2's hair when he had it done!

Basically he had to sit in a chair in teh middle of the room. The nurse had to measure his head and then measure the 21 points out to stick the electrodes on. She marked them with a blue pen (which was a beggar to wash off afterwards!). the main thing at this point is getting the child to sit still so that she can measure it accurately.

Then during the actual test he had to keep as still as possible while they do different things like flash lights, asked him to breathe deeply/quickly etc.

DS2 was 5 when he had it done and was fascinated by it all. I thought he might have been scared, but he was really good. He asked the nurse for a printout of his brain waves and took it into school to prove to his teacher that he had a brain . he also reassured his classroom TA when she had to have one done a few months later.

The glue and pen is pain to wash off, and it is hard getting them to sit still for the 45 mins or so that the test takes. But other than that it was fine.

Oh good lord getting that minx to stay still..... Not to mention washing her hair afterwards, sounds like it's more traumatic for us! Do parents get sedated?

That sounds manageable, we can cope with that, thank you, that's a big help. It's just not knowing what to expect. Plus unhelpful comments from work 'mates' - why do it? Ah well.

Thank you x

I think your work colleague may have been watching too many films from the 1950's! I find a glass of wine after any procedure with my dc helps to sedate me. Sorry I have no experience of this, but thinking of you.

Sorry your work colleague was telling sories :(

As far as the paste goes, it seems easier to get out than it used to be. I had an (attempted and failed) EEG recently, but went straight to be videoed over the weekend so couldn't wash the paste out. A nurse got my hair damp (just using a comb) and combed shampoo through it, before combing through with water again (like spritzing really), and that made it feel much better - so no need for a full hairwash that evening if it's stressful.

I also found the EEG technicians were good a allowing some movement when they were putting the electrodes on - only held my head still at the points they needed to draw/apply, not the whole time.

Good luck!

Ds was nearly 3 when he had his. The biggest problem we had was that he was supposed to be kept awake for a few hours before they did the test. Not easy when you have small child in a car for 1 30mins journey toget to hospital.

The technicians were fab they provided him with colours etc to do whilst the put the electrodes so that he was fairly constant. most of the technicians have done this on hundreds of patients some more still then others. They will work round it.

As for marker pen - we found that the wonderful power of the wet wipe helped remove it fairly easily. As ds is a boy and we had just cut his hair the wet wipe removed the gel easily. However when i had my test it came out very easily.

I have a picture of ds with his electrodes being put onto his head somewhere. If it will help I could try to dig it out for you and stick it on my profile for a few days.

It will be fine though. The hardest bit for us was that I had to leave the room when they did the flashing light test as it set severe migraines off in me and waiting for the results. The test itself was very little bother.

My best advice would be to take a small bottle of drink and stuff to occupy in the waiting room as delays can clock up quickly and always prove lengthy.

I feel a lot better now reading these posts, a picture would be great if you really don't mind.

I shall be taking advice and having a nice bottle of red ready for when we get home.

My colleague is a deeply unhappy person personally and professionally and is incapable of making a nice or supportive comment about anything or anyone (we've carried out experiments, it's really true, even cake brings negativity). Sad to be like that really.

Thanks ladies, I really am very very grateful.

Will have a dig about for it tomo. Bit stiff and covered in paint atm. Need a strong drink and a think about where it might be.

This has just reminded me that they do (sometimes) rub at the scalp before putting the electrode on, particularly if they're not getting good readings from the electrode - it wasn't uncomfortable, just a bit of a strange sensation...and I'm sure they'll explain it in an age appropriate way/use distraction.

Good luck!

I'd agree with what domesticsluttery said.

My dd was about 1 when she had hers I think - maybe a bit younger. Getting her to stay still was difficult and she kept pulling electrodes off which did mean it all took longer. And the glue was a total pain to get out (but they didn't shave her hair thank god!). But the glue did come out eventually. They were pretty good at providing toys and stuff for her but definitely take some along yourself too. And be warned that you may have to sit still for a long time too - my dd was on my lap the whole time and I got very uncomfortable! And much to my surprise they videoed a lot, if not all, of the tests.

But it wasn't traumatic or upsetting at all. Not even stressful really.

hope it all goes smoothly for you.

Oh and if you don't already know you should perhaps be warned that the results could be totally inconclusive. Our consultant explained you can have a "normal" EEG but have epilepsy (or something else) or have an "abnormal" EEG but be completely healthy. It didn't help rule anything in or out in our case and we're just watching and waiting until she gets older...

Both my dd1 and ds have had EEGs, and neither had their hair shaved

It can be difficult keeping a child of this age sitting still and with dd1 the operator was quite annoyed with me for not keeping her still enough - someone telling me off was the last thing I needed and she didn't help the situation!

With ds the operators were a lot nicer and obviously used to dealing with children.

Good luck!