Infantile spasms

[MZB]

My 6 month old baby boy sometimes shakes his arms and legs and then he goes 'stiff', his face goes red and it looks like he wants to cry. They last only a few seconds (what seems like ages to me) and he comes back as if nothing happened.
But before that I noticed that sometimes he would make a face, like if he had eaten something sour and he would get a quick shudder.  I fear that that has developed to the arm and leg shakes he gets now.
My sister in law has epilepsy which makes me even more worried. Could he be developing epilepsy, or could they be infantile spasms?
He is a great and happy little boy who has reached all his milestones for his age -according to the 'What to expect the 1st year' book.
Thank you for the advice.
MZB

[JainMD]

Hi,
If you are getting blood investigations done, I would recommend you to do his Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium level in blood.
You also can do complete blood count to see for any sepsis.
CSF analysis is must to rule out any brain infection.
Does he continue to have abnormal movements? If yes, I think before going to Johannesburg you should stop abnormal jerky movements in your town.
Keep me informed about what doctor has to say.
Bye.

[MZB]

Thank you very much for your comment Dr Jain.
I live in Southern Africa and am getting pretty worried so I called a  Dr. in Johannesburg who said just what you say re the EEG so my son and I will fly to South Africa next week and get checked by a specialist, I will contact again the Dr in South Africa and see if he can refer me to  a pedriatic neurologist like you recommend.
I will let you know what they say.
Again thank you very much for you comment.
Regards, MZB

[JainMD]

Hi MZB,
How is your son doing?
There can be subtle signs of seizures in infants like lip smacking, eyes uprolling, twitching and jerky movements.
These signs need to be picked up and should be reported to pediatrician at earliest.
I think your son might be having seizure as there is positive family history.
It needs to be proved with help of EEG and blood investigations.
I think you should consult a pediatric neurologist at earliest.
Keep me informed if you have any further queries.
Bye.