While some childhood seizures may or may not indicate epilepsy, it’s important to determine the cause and / or reason if your child has ever experienced a seizure.

“If a child experiences seizures with a febrile (fever) illness and is less than five years of age, more than likely he or she does not have epilepsy,” says Dr. Ingrid Tuxhorn, a pediatric epilepsy specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute at Lakewood Hospital. “Furthermore, if a child has had a provoked seizure, which is a single seizure resulting from trauma, low blood sugar or low blood sodium; it is likely that epilepsy is not the cause.”

What is Epilepsy?

According to Dr. Tuxhorn, epilepsy is a common and treatable condition. If affects approximately one percent of the overall population, and may peak in childhood. Epilepsy occurs as a result of abnormal electrical activity originating from the brain. An individual with epilepsy experiences abnormal electrical signals or an “electrical storm” that produces seizures.

Children who have epilepsy will have seizures that occur randomly and usually without warning. Most seizures last approximately 1-2 minutes and will stop on their own. There are also less dramatic types of seizures referred to as absences, which appear as quick stares in a daydream-like state.

Once it is determined what type of seizures your child has experienced or if he has an epilepsy diagnosis, there are anticonvulsant drugs that may be prescribed. The medications available lower the seizure threshold and are widely used to control seizures.

Because some types of epilepsy are benign, it is possible for a child to outgrow the seizures and eventually stop taking medication. A common type of benign epilepsy that children outgrow is rolandic epilepsy or absence epilepsy. Other more severe cases of epilepsies, such as Doose Syndrome are more difficult to treat and may require a number of medication changes in order to gain good seizure control.

Dr. Tuxhorn is a Cleveland Clinic physician and specializes in pediatric epilepsy. Her medical interests and areas of expertise include managing a first seizure, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy syndromes across various age groups as well as epilepsy surgery and cognitive outcomes.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Tuxhorn at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute at Lakewood Hospital, please call 216.529.7110.