Battling Your Child's Epilepsy

Epilepsy affects millions of people worldwide, with more than two million people in the United States suffering from the disorder. In the United States alone, about 400,000 children have epilepsy. Watching a child have a seizure can be a scary experience, especially for someone who has never seen a seizure before. Seizures are broken down into two major categories (generalized seizures and partial seizures) with a large number of subtypes. There are many different types of seizures. There are seizures that affect the entire brain. The seizures I listed below are seizures that are common in children: Absense seizures: Another name for these seizures is petit mal seizures. A child might suddenly stop what he or she is doing and stare off into space in these brief seizures. The child might pick at their clothes or slap their lips. They will not have any awareness of what they are doing. The seizure usually lasts several seconds, and the child will go back to their normal behavior right after the seizure. Atonic seizures (known as drop attacks): These seizures cause a child to lose muscle control and fall to the ground. The seizure usually lasts a few seconds to a minute. Clonic seizures: These seizures cause a jerking of muscles on both sides of the body. Myoclonic seizures: These seizures usually cause sudden and dramatic muscle spasms, and may cause a child to lose balance or fall. Tonic-clonic seizures or grand mal seizures: A child might cry out and their muscles tighten and go stiff. Then, as their muscles begin to tense and relax, his body will jerk and spasm. Your child’s breathing may become shallow, or even stop for a moment, and their skin may turn bluish. Usually, the seizure will last a minute or two. Emergency medical help is not necessary unless the seizure lasts more than five minutes, or unless one seizure immediately follows another seizure. After the seizure is over, the child will be exhausted and may sleep for hours. You should call your doctor afterwards to report the seizure to them. They may want you to come in for tests or they may want to adjust their medication. Partial seizures only occur in one part of the brain. Only the mental or physical ability controlled by that part of the brain is affected. Subtypes of partial seizures include: Simple partial seizures: These seizures cause different reactions depending on the part of the brain the seizure is occurring in. A person might make erratic movements, or have sudden, intense emotions -- like anger or fear. A person may also have strange perceptual problems, such as distorted vision or hearing. Other symptoms can include pain or nausea. People with simple partial seizures would not lose consciousness, but they may be confused or unable to speak until the seizure is over.Complex partial seizures: These partial seizures affect a larger part of the brain. They are more powerful than simple partial seizures. A person during one of these seizures may seem conscious, and may even speak or move around, the child is not really aware of what is going on. They may seem to be in a trance, speaking without making any sense. Usually, the seizure will end within a few minutes, although the person may be confused afterwards. During the seizure, try to keep your child away from anything that can hurt them, such as a desk, a table will a vase, anything that can hurt them. You may want to get a pillow and put it underneath their head. Do not try to restrain your child physically. Watching your child have a seizure for the first time is probably one of the most frightening moments of your life. My parents told me that is most terrifying experiences of their life. Their bedroom was next to mine. One night they heard some funny noise coming from my room. They both went into my room to find me with my eyes rolled back twitching, lips blue, mouth chattering and body shaking. Finding out that your child has epilepsy is a painful experience. When you have a child, you only want the best for your child. When your child gets a cold or a fever your stomach drops and you feel their pain. Can you imagine if you find out you child has epilepsy? There may be overwhelming feelings of sadness or depression, as parents grieve for what they perceive as the loss of their healthy child. They grieve for the life changes that will their child will experience having epilepsy and they worry that their child will not be able to accomplish their dreams that lies in their child’s future destiny. Feelings of grief are typical. Many parents as ask themselves "Why did my child develop epilepsy?" Some parents blame themselves and feel that it is somehow their fault or wonder if they could have done something differently to prevent the seizures their child is currently experiencing. Let me tell you now that you cannot blame yourself. Your child developing epilepsy is not your fault. There are so many causes for developing epilepsy that it is impossible to pin point. Parents may feel resentful about the new challenges and demands they will be facing, and then experience guilt for feeling this way. Those feeling are completely normal and all parents go through these emotions Anxiety is the most common feeling because parents will have a number of overwhelming worries. Some of them are: • Will my child die? • Will he be brain damaged? • Will my child experience problems with developmental skills? • Can I let children play by themselves? Do I have to supervise them all the time? • Can I send my child to after school activities? • How do I explain to my child that they have epilepsy? What do I say to him or her? Along with these worries, parents also struggle with the fact they do not know when their child’s next seizure will occur. You will probably feel angry, scared, and resentful that you have no control over what will happen. You may worry about whether your child is safe while away from home, that teachers or other adults will mishandle seizures, or make the situation worse by overacting. Parents will also worry about the potential side effects of their child's medications or the impact of missing school due to seizures and medical appointments. The future may suddenly seem terrifying and uncertain for both your child and your whole family. Your child having epilepsy is not as bad as it sounds. Medical research has found that most children who have a seizure do not have another one. The medical community has also found out that a majority of children who have epilepsy (which means that they have had more than one seizure) will outgrow their seizure disorder. Mostly all children with epilepsy are perfectly healthy and normal. Their intelligence level is not affected. They can participate in after school activities and any other activities that your child may enjoy. Right now, medical research tells us that 70 to 80 percent of children can control their seizures with medication. There is no a cure for epilepsy. Many doctors feel medication is the answer for children. Many doctors say all children need is medication because their seizures not as severe as adults are and with medication, the seizures may go away on their own. Once your child experiences seizures or epilepsy, it will probably change your family for life. A parent who has a child with epilepsy will have to obtain new responsibilities. You will need to make sure that your child is getting good medical care. You need to make sure that your child is seeing a doctor who knows a lot about epilepsy and is up to date with all the recent medical research and medications. The best doctors to see are epileptologist. These doctors focus only on the study of epilepsy. You can find a good epileptologist in your area by contacting an epilepsy clinic or your states epilepsy foundation. The main epilepsy foundation is in Maryland. They could probably direct you to the people you need to speak with. You will have to make sure that your child takes their medication. Skipping a dose can cause a seizure. You can buy weekly medication organizers, so your child does not miss a dosage. You should do your own research and find out as much as you can about epilepsy. Do not rely just on the doctors. Doctors are human. They can make mistakes too. You need to find out as much as you can about epilepsy and make sure you, your family and your doctors are doing everything possible to help your child. You may also have to become an advocate for your child, explaining epilepsy to family, friends, and teachers (you will have to inform the school. Incase your child has a seizure in school). It is not going to be easy in the beginning. You will probably feel overwhelmed, stressed and extremely upset. While it may be tough being the parent of a child with epilepsy sometimes, just remember that treatment works. Epilepsy is not nearly as scary as it sounds. Using the medical treatment for epilepsy will help your child, so they can live a healthy, productive life with few limitations.