What are convulsions in babies and the symptoms that parents should watch out for ================================================================================= Seizures in infants are actually a series of brain disorders that cause symptoms such as involuntary movements. These seizures can be potentially dangerous for infants in a way that affects the child's future activities and growth, and this issue has become one of the concerns of mothers. For this reason, the Neurology and Epilepsy Clinic decided to address the issue of seizures in infants, its symptoms and treatment in this article. The brain is the command and control center of the body and all body movements are controlled through electrical signals sent by the brain. Neonatal seizures occur when brain function is suddenly and momentarily disrupted by abnormal electrical transmissions. Neonatal seizures are a common but dangerous event that affects about 100 out of every 100,000 babies. Sometimes it is difficult even for parents to recognize seizures in babies and it can become dangerous. What is a baby seizure? Neonatal seizures are caused by abnormal, sudden and excessive electrical activity of the brain that occurs during infancy. This condition mostly occurs in the first 28 days of a baby's life, and premature or low-weight babies are more prone to neonatal convulsions. Some neonatal seizures are short-term and mild and will not have a negative impact on the health of the baby. On the other hand, long-term and untreated seizures cause permanent damage to the brain, which is caused by a decrease in oxygen supply to the brain and excessive activity of brain cells. So babies who have seizures should receive medical and specialized care. When a series of abnormal electrical activities occur in the brain, these activities temporarily disrupt the brain's electrical signals. According to Professor Adam Hartman, a member of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, "A seizure is actually a series of short circuits in the brain." Epilepsy is one of the most common causes of seizures, but many other things such as trauma, brain disorders, and disrupting the chemical balance of the brain, even a stroke can cause seizures. In most cases, even a doctor cannot find a reason for a seizure. ### Video of baby's mild seizure When a person has a seizure, everyone thinks that the person has abnormal movements. For example, the body shakes and the person loses consciousness. But these symptoms appear differently in babies. Seizures in babies may be in a form that you do not notice. Seizure symptoms in babies are even in the form of a small movement in the hands during sleep. Watch the video of a baby's mild seizure here or on our Aparat channel. Please note that the baby's mild seizure video is at the end of the video. In addition, you can see the second movie in a few lines below. There are different types of seizures. The types of these seizures are classified depending on the part of the brain that is damaged and the level of damage it causes, two main categories of seizures are proposed. - Simple focal seizure - Complex focal ### Types of infant seizures There are different types of seizures in babies, which are divided based on the severity of the nutritional interruption, the physical response caused by the seizure, and the area involved in the brain. In the various types of infantile seizures, there is almost always a brief loss of consciousness. #### 1. Focal or partial seizures (Focal Seizures) This seizure occurs when abnormal brain function involves one or more specific areas on one side of the brain. Before a seizure, the baby has symptoms such as mental confusion, fear, and changes in vision or hearing. Focal seizures are divided into the following two categories: - - **Simple focal seizure:** Depending on the part of the brain that is affected, the baby will experience different symptoms. This seizure often involves the occipital lobe and causes spasms in the arm and leg muscles. In this type of seizure, the baby may experience sweating, fever, vomiting, muscle spasms, or stiffness in a group of muscles such as the fingers, arms, or legs, you may witness the baby jump from sleep, suck the lips or part the lips from each other, cry and scream, the baby is pale and also confused (not aware) are among these symptoms, in this type of seizure, the occipital lobe is disturbed. **Complex focal seizure:** The temporal lobe of the brain is involved and the baby faints or temporarily loses consciousness. Seizures occur in different parts of the brain. But when the seizure is in the control of emotions and memory; (It is called the temporal or temporal lobe) the child faces the symptoms of seizures in this area. He may lose his senses. In such a situation, even though he is awake, he has unusual behaviors, such as crying, laughing, biting his lips, or shouting. Your child may be tired or sleepy after the seizure ends, these states are called the postictal phase. ### 2. Absence seizures or petit mal (Absence Seizures). This convulsion is a state in which the baby's consciousness usually changes and his eyes remain open in a fixed and unnatural look. This seizure lasts only 20 to 30 seconds and may occur several times during the day. Occurrence of this seizure in babies is rare, because it usually starts from the age of 4 to 5 years. ### 3. Tonic Seizures During this seizure, the baby loses its muscle strength very suddenly and dramatically and becomes something like a rag doll. In fact, the baby's muscles have lost their position and the head and arms fall down and do not react. ### 4. General tonic-clonic seizures (General Tonic-Clonic Seizures). This type of seizure is also known as grand mal and is usually staged. In this convulsion, the muscles of the arms and legs or other parts of the body contract, and the body will continue to tremble. Finally, the baby's convulsion ends with the clonic phase, when the muscles gradually relax and return to their normal state. ### 5. Infantile spasms This type of seizure occurs in babies less than 6 months old and is rare. Infantile spasms occur when the baby is awake or sleeping. This seizure is characterized by sudden spasms in the neck, legs and other parts of the body, and may even occur more than a hundred times in a day. This type of seizure will bring very serious and dangerous consequences for the baby's health. ### 6. Seizures caused by fever (Febrile Seizures) or febrile One of the most common convulsions that occurs in infants is known as febrile convulsions or convulsions after fever. In this type of seizure, which is fortunately treatable, there is not much problem for the baby. Fever occurs as a result of fever, for example, vaccine injection fever. Between three and four percent of children suffer from this seizure and it usually occurs in a fever above 39 degrees Celsius. This type of seizure occurs after a high fever in a baby, which is usually caused by an infection. There is no connection between febrile seizures and underlying neurological diseases and problems; But babies with brain damage are more prone to seizures after high fever than other babies. **** **Generalized seizure symptoms ** Generalized seizures occur when both sides of the brain are affected, The child loses consciousness and is tired after a seizure, types of this type of seizure are: Absent seizures - Atonic - Tonic General - Myoclinic seizure ### **Seizure symptoms absent** - - In this type of seizure, the child suddenly remains staring. - His intelligence decreases - You may see gestures like blinking or chewing These states are usually not more than thirty seconds and after that the child will not remember what happened. Maybe these symptoms happen several times a day, usually this type of seizure is not in babies and it is between 4 and 12 years old. which are usually involved in it. Pay attention to this video ### **Atonic seizure symptoms** This type of seizure is also known as atonic seizure or falling seizure, in which - - Muscle strength is suddenly lost - if the child is standing, suddenly falls to the ground - or suddenly his neck muscles fall down and during convulsions the body is touching. ### **General tonic convulsions** - This type of seizure, which is also known as grand mal seizure, is exactly the same idea that the general public has about seizures. - vibration - muscle contraction - arm and leg movements; Tonic seizure occurs in 5 stages, the first stage is the contraction of the muscles of the arms and legs, which become contracted, then the stretching stage, in which the arms and legs become stretched and straight, and the limbs tremble at the same time. The phase is after the seizure and the person may have feelings such as headache, body pain or fatigue. ### **Myoclinic seizure symptoms in infants** This type of seizure in babies is - Jumping of organs happens And the muscles suddenly jump, which may happen several times a day. ### **What factors and causes cause convulsions in babies and children** Seizures can be caused by one of the following - Chemical imbalance of nerve messenger (neurotransmitter) - Brain tumor - stroke - Brain damage from diseases or trauma Also, a combination of these cases can also cause seizures, but in many cases, the cause of seizures cannot be identified. Dr. Majid Kihani Fard's neurology clinic has decided to continue serving our dear compatriots with the necessary training to deal with these patients. You can also contact the office numbers and make an appointment for face-to-face consultation.