Question
My child is 6 years old and weighs 30 kilograms. He had a fainting spell during a high fever in September 2005, and last October he experienced seizures. On May 10 of this year, he had another episode, similar to last year (the next day he got chickenpox). On June 9, he developed severe seizures due to encephalitis triggered by parotitis. This time, the situation was different from the previous two. I noticed that my child’s condition seems to have worsened. He was treated for encephalitis at Hebei Children’s Hospital on June 15. On June 21, he underwent a 24-hour dynamic EEG examination at the same hospital, showing that during wakefulness, the occipital area mainly had theta and alpha rhythms of 6-8Hz with amplitudes of 50-60uV, and they were symmetrical. Sleep waves and sleep cycles were generally normal, but during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, there were intermittent high-amplitude slow waves of 305-4Hz in the left frontal, central, and temporal regions, with occasional sharp waves in the left frontal area. The impression from the report was an abnormal pediatric EEG. The child was emotionally unstable during the examination, prone to anger.
Answer
Children may have seizures during high fever, but most are not epilepsy. Epileptic seizures typically occur without fever. EEG cannot determine the type of epilepsy. Now, it is important to observe whether the child has seizures under normal conditions, not just during fever. If seizures or consciousness disorders occur without fever, immediate hospitalization is required to determine the type of epilepsy and develop a treatment plan. Personally, I believe the child’s seizures…