Question
My daughter had a seizure after a fever due to a cold, with the temperature dropping to 37.5 degrees after the seizure. When she was nine months old, one day it was very cold outside, and she had a seizure for over a minute after suddenly stepping into the corridor. When she was eleven months old, due to irritability, she wet her diapers at night and had a fever, which led to a seizure. The next day, after urinating, she had another seizure, and her temperature was 37.4. The EEG and CT scan of the brain were normal. Calcium levels were normal but slightly low; all other levels were normal. Is it epilepsy? There is no family history of hereditary diseases.
Answer
The situation you described is indicative of pediatric febrile seizures! Seizures involve sudden, involuntary contractions of skeletal muscle groups throughout the body or in specific areas, often accompanied by consciousness impairment. This temporary disruption in neurological function and abnormal discharge of nerve cells is usually caused by an excessive amount of central nervous system impulses, or by a reduced threshold for peripheral nerve muscle stimulation, such as low levels of free calcium in the blood. The incidence of pediatric seizures is 10 to 15 times higher than that of adults, and febrile seizures are one of the main causes of pediatric seizures. Statistics show that 2% to 3% of children under the age of 5 have experienced febrile seizures. Febrile seizures often recur. After the first seizure episode, approximately 25% to 40% (on average, 33%) of children will have recurrence during subsequent febrile illnesses. Among children with febrile seizures, one-third will have a second seizure, and half of those will have a third episode. The overall recurrence rate is 9% or more. Therefore, predicting recurrence is crucial for assessing the prognosis of febrile seizures. The prediction of recurrence is mainly based on the onset…