Question
A child who is one year and eight months old suddenly clenched their fists, stopped moving their eyes, and closed their mouth while playing. Their breathing was weak, and they did not respond to calls. After about 20 minutes, they returned to normal. At the clinic, their temperature was 38.3 degrees Celsius, and their face was yellowish-green. What is happening?
Answer
Based on the description, the child may have epilepsy. The symptoms of epilepsy can include atonic seizures, where the child suddenly relaxes their muscles, falls to the ground, loses consciousness, and may only show signs like lowering their head, drooping shoulders, or opening their fingers; or absence seizures (petit mal seizures) which show as sudden stillness without falling, staring blankly with wide eyes, and sometimes rapid blinking of the eyelids or slight trembling of the hands. Usually, they return to normal in about 10 seconds, and the child is unaware of what happened.