Question
My child has leg twitches while sleeping, and sometimes they spit out bubbles. Could this be epilepsy?
Answer
There is a possibility that this condition could be epilepsy in children. It is recommended to go to the hospital for a detailed brain examination, such as an EEG (Electroencephalogram) to check for epilepsy waves (i.e., seizure discharges), which are important for diagnosing epilepsy. The diagnostic criteria for epilepsy include having recurrent seizures, showing epilepsy waves on the EEG, and the effectiveness of anti-epileptic medication treatment. However, an EEG is not the sole basis for diagnosis, as some epilepsy patients may have normal EEGs. Even with a 24-hour long-term EEG monitoring, the positive detection rate is only 80%.