Seizures and Babies - Under a year old??

Edward's Mommy wrote: Last night I was watching Veronica Mars or America's Next Top Model. Edward crawled into my lap and sat there while I watched tv. We have a wall mirror that I prop against the couch because he likes to look at himself. For some reason while he was on my lap, I looked into the mirror. And he looked like he was having a seizure. My cousin Holly had a bad form of epilipsy and when she was 6 months old, I was holding her once when she had a seizure. And how Edward was acting last night was how I remember Holly during that seizure. Now, I know that Holly and her sister Jordan are both considered handicapped because of a specific gene that my uncle has that made them how they are (that's what to doctor told him). And I think I remember hearing that it's a gene that the men carry. I heard that epilipsy was a disease that runs in family. I don't know any other relatives that have epilipsy except for Holly. Holly had mild seizures but they cause her right side to be non-functional and she hit people because she had no control over her body. I think she had other problems on top of the epilipsy. She had surgery to remove the part of her brain that causes the seizures, and she died from it. But could Edward still have epilipsy, maybe not like Holly, but still have it? I called my mom last night and asked her what a seizure looked like just incase, but she didn't tell me, and she came over and she told me that it was just a "twitch". When Chris got home at 10 last night, I described what I saw and how I remember Holly's seizure. Chris' ex-girlfriend had epilipsy and he said that what I was telling him sounded like a seizure. What would I do if Edward has a seizure when I'm feeding him? How do I keep him from choking during the seizure? I'm maybe a little paranoid, but since I've experienced it first hand, I'm more aware of the possibility.

luvmykids replied: Gosh I really don't know anything, but it must have been scary!

Edward's Mommy replied:
I was afraid to sleep last night because I thought was going to have a seizure in his sleep.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Did he or has he recently have a fever? Typically in children who are going to have them,febrial seizures start somewhere around age one. Several of my siblings had them. They cause no long term damage and are the way that those kids' body cools. Sometimes a parent is unaware that a fever is present because also in most cases their temp spikes rapidly-the seizure colls them and when you check No fever is present. I would check into epilepsy if it is in your family if it happens again but I know from our experience Febrial siezures are a far more common cause.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Febrile Seizures

I spelled it wrong but here is some info I just looked up. HTH!

Edward's Mommy replied:
I didn't check his fever because I was afraid to put him down and I remember Chris telling me if someone has a seizure to gently roll them onto their side so they don't swallow their tongue. Edward was sitting up and I was holding him. When he had this "seizure" he felt warm to the touch, but once it settled down, he was cool again.

Brias3 replied: You know, we experienced something similar once when Ryan was a baby. He was about ten months old at the time and my husband had just gotten home from work and was holding him at the kitchen table. He started having these small little spasms and was blinking on and off really fast and we freaked out and called the paramedics. Turned out he had a small seizure. To this day, they don't know the cause, even after he was put through many tests that night at the emergency room (including a spinal tap )

Honestly, even after that, I would still go blank if one were to happen, precaution-wise. I do know during more massive seizures, there is something that needs to be done to prevent the person from swallowing their tongue or something and also I believe they are to be kept as still as possible? Maybe this is totally backwards information, I'd have to look it up again. At any rate, in Edward's case, I'd probably place a call to his doctor just because of the epilepsy history in your family and see what he says.

Cece00 replied: You need to call a Dr.

I think there is a test they can perform within so many hrs to determine if there was actually a seizure.

Edward's Mommy replied:
I just called his doctor and they are on lunch and my only other option would be to call 911. I'll maybe have to wait until they come back from lunch.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Something else I just thought of...has he had any immunizations recently? Taylor had a seizure following her HebB vaccine. It was terrifying. I hope you are able to find the cause!

Edward's Mommy replied:
The last time was when he was 6 months and he's 8 months now. He's almost due for new ones.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
That would be too long....but it is something to keep in mind as so many kids will run fever after the get their shots. We always used to give the kids tylenol before they went in and kept it up for a couple days after at 1/2 dose just to keep it from happening.

Edward's Mommy replied: I forgot to mention that when he was having these episodes he had a red bump on the side of his face. And he wouldn't let me touch it. I called my mom, when she saw she thought I had hit him and I didn't of course. But by the time Chris got home and Mom left, it had gone down. And that bump wasn't there until he had that "seizure". He had bumped his head on the leg of the computer table, but it wasn't really bad, he didn't cry or anything and it was on the other side of his face, so I don't know what it was.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
The first time my sister had one she and I were rolling a ball back and forth (I am 9 years older) and she fell over flat on her back and started shaking. He may have had a small one and fallen over. Like I said before they can(and always did with us) come on in the blink of an eye!

redchief replied: Epilipsy is inherited, but could also be latent (in other words, there is no family history). Anytime something happens that makes you suspect a neurological cause, you should seek medical attention. Since your son has no history of seizures and seizures run in your family, I would definitely seek a professional medical opinion and, if suggested, testing.

Good luck!

LoganAndAubreesMommy replied: I've been worried about that a lot with Logan. When he goes to sleep while I'm breastfeeding him, his eyes roll back into his head. I can't tell whether it's b/c he's so relaxed or...you know. It LOOKS like he's just very relaxed and his eyes are just partially opened but since the accident with my daughter....well....I'm just a TAD bit paranoid. (THANK GOD MY MOM"S A NURSE!!) I DO know that when someone is having a seizure their eyes roll back into their heads and they convulse/twitch a lot. Look it up on the internet. See what the signs of an infant having seizures is. Hope everything's ok!!

LoganAndAubreesMommy replied: Something else to put your mind at ease......I know a lot of people who had seizures/epilepsy when they were younger and they are absolutely FINE now. I also know a lot of parents who have kids who had seizures and the kids are fine, too. My mom works with terminally ill children so I see/hear about a lot of things. Please, try not to worry and just do what you can....ie/ like calling the dr.

EvesMom replied:
That's not true. A person having a seizure will not swallow their tongue. But, directly after a seizure, vomiting may occur. Seizurs can be cause by a wide variety of things. From true epillepsy, low blood sugar, food allergies (wheat gluten). I would take him to the doctor without hesitation. Hope everything works out well.

Edward's Mommy replied: I have to call the doctor's office again because they wouldn't let me come in with out an appointment and you have to make one between 8 and 9 in the morning.

Chiflata2003 replied: I'm surprised yall didnt take him to the ER when that happened. My brother had one and had to take meds for 5 yrs. Even while on meds he had one more. Now he has been seziure free for over 12 years.

Edward's Mommy replied: I called my mom and by the time she got there it had pretty much stopped. She saw two but they were like just a single twitch. My mom told me that I was overreacting (I get that a lot with my family). But she thought I had hit him! He had a red bump on the side of his face when he was having these and my mom saw the bump and said that it looked like I hit him and I know it didn't. But I wasn't really sure. I've already had an incident when I called the cops because I thought DH was abusing him and the cops called social services on ME and told them that I didn't put my son first and that I neglect him. Since that point, I've been so paranoid that someone is going to take him away from me. (BTW I found out that DH was NOT abusing him, he was playing and I thought I was something different.)

Edited for typos!

luvmykids replied:
What the heck kind of pedi is that?! They apparantly didn't think it was urgent? Sorry you're so worried about him! Hope everythings ok tonight.

Edward's Mommy replied:
He's acting normal, but I'm so worried that I think he's not! I really hate his doctor's office. They are a medicaid office. I have Edward on health insurance and medicaid. I use the medicaid for emergancies like this when we don't have any money for a co-pay. I hope that doesn't sound like I'm cheating the system. Just trying to do what will get Edward the best when it's needed.

jcc64 replied: My 10 yr old has epilepsy. There are many different forms of epilepsy, from mild to severe, from some that kids outgrow, to some that last longer. I do know that there is a strong genetic component, so if it is somewhere in your family history, I would pay a little more attention to symptoms that appear to be seizure like. Seizures can take all forms- my son's seizures rarely look like what people associate with seizure behavior. They occur exclusively in his sleep- he makes weird coughing/choking noises, drools excessively, is very rigid from the neck up, and difficult to rouse to complete consciousness. It never lasts longer than a minute or so, and he just goes back to sleep. He has little to no awareness of it after the fact. It took 3 of these episodes for me to even realize they were in fact seizures. Your dh is right- all you can do is roll him onto his left side and make sure he can't hurt himself. Make note of the time, if the seizure goes beyond 3 minutes or so, call 911. We keep an emergency suppository of Valium here, which is the standard protocol for stopping an uncontrollable seizure. I think that tongue thing is an old wives' tale.
We wound up in a pediatric neurologist's office, and he ordered the standard epilepsy tests- a sleep deprived EEG and an MRI of his brain. The EEG revealed an abnormality in one region of his brain, which led us to a diagnosis of benign rolandic epilepsy- which he is expected to outgrow by adolescence with no lasting damage.
I am not certain what the protocol is with a child as young as yours. And I am not certain what if any the connection is with the red bump you mentioned. I know seizures can be brought on by a head trauma, but it's unclear if that occurred in this case. I would find a dr that wil take you seriously- make sure you mention the family history.

luvmykids replied: One more thing, when your child's health is at stake, if your doctor won't get you in then you have to do something else. If there is a next time, take him to the ER, they accept medicaid and even if they didn't have to begin testing at a minimum, and some treatment if necessary at that time.