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Neurology (Expert Forum)
13 y/o with first seizure
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13 y/o with first seizure
by pims, May 02, 2004 12:00AM
My 13 y/o daughter recently had an incident on a trip to Australia where she was unconscious with drooling and twitching for a very short time and was seriously altered for about 15 minutes afterward. She had an EEG, which we just learned was abnormal -- she has sharp waves. She is having an MRI this week, but we can't see a pediatric neurologist for several more weeks. The circumstances of the likely seizure is that she was jet lagged, got little sleep the night before, spent the day on a river in a small boat, and it was very sunny tho cool and very windy, had little to drink, and was menstruating. My general questions are: do sharp waves always indicate a seizure disorder; can other stresses on the body (dehydration, menstruation, etc.) make one more vulnerable to a seizure; does a seizure of this short duration (2 minutes or less) cause damage to the brain; is it uncommon for a child of her age to develop a seizure disorder and are there specific types of seizure disorders that pop up at her age? I am very worried and a bit short on answers right now. Thanks for any general info you can provide.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS, May 04, 2004 12:00AM
A single seizure of less then 5 minutes duration should not cause permenant brain damage. Physical stress and sleep deprivation may lower a persons seizure threshold, and make it more likely they will have a seizure.
There are some benign sharp waves which can be seen in children. Otherwise sharp waves are described as being focal (coming from one area of the brain) or generalized (coming from all over the brain) and can indicate an underlying tendency for recurrent seizures. Without looking at the EEG I can not differentiate this. It is not uncommon for children with focal or generalized seizures to start at her age. Without taking her history and examining her I can not tell you if this was a seizure or what type of seizure it may have been. If she is diagnosed with seizures, we have many medications which are effective and safe for children. The pediatric neurologist should be able to clarify this further. If there is any concern after that, then I would recommend seeing a pediatric epileptologist. Good luck.
There are some benign sharp waves which can be seen in children. Otherwise sharp waves are described as being focal (coming from one area of the brain) or generalized (coming from all over the brain) and can indicate an underlying tendency for recurrent seizures. Without looking at the EEG I can not differentiate this. It is not uncommon for children with focal or generalized seizures to start at her age. Without taking her history and examining her I can not tell you if this was a seizure or what type of seizure it may have been. If she is diagnosed with seizures, we have many medications which are effective and safe for children. The pediatric neurologist should be able to clarify this further. If there is any concern after that, then I would recommend seeing a pediatric epileptologist. Good luck.
