Question
My child is 6 years old and has been staring into space or showing little energy lately. They are on anti-epileptic medication every day. What are the symptoms of early recurrence of childhood epilepsy?
Answer
Precursor symptoms refer to the general discomfort, irritability, restlessness, depression, mood swings, or constant nitpicking and complaining that a child may experience several months or hours before a major seizure. Pediatric epilepsy prodromal symptoms are those that occur within seconds before a tonic-clonic seizure in a child with epilepsy, such as hallucinations, illusions, automatisms, focal myoclonic seizures, or other special sensations. Some psychomotor seizures may also present with similar precursor symptoms. The recurrence of precursor symptoms indicates that the patient may have another major seizure within a few hours or months.