What Causes Epilepsy In Children And Teens- A Touching Note From Dr. Arif’s Desk
“My boy suddenly fell on the ground while playing football. He hurt his head badly and this is the second time he fell out suddenly. What is this?” One parent anxiously asked Dr. Arif -answering which he pointed out to Epilepsy disorder.
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes recurrent and unprovoked seizures. The seizures are caused due to electrical impulsiveness or abnormal electrical activity in the brain, due to which the person sees episodes of seizures, teeth clenching, unresponsiveness, continuous laughing, etc as some symptoms.
Doctors diagnose epilepsy if two or more unprovoked seizures are caused for unidentifiable reasons.
Symptoms
Typically, there are two types of seizures: Focal seizures and Generalized seizures.
Focal Seizures –
A focal seizure or partial seizure may or may not involve loss of consciousness. The one that happens while you are conscious involves
- Dizziness
- Changes in sensations of taste, hearing, touch, smell, or touch
- Twitching in limbs(feeling like receiving electric shock)
The one that happens unconsciously involves:
- Unresponsiveness
- Laughing continuous unknowingly
- Performing repetitive movements
Generalized Seizures
It affects the whole brain and manifests the following symptoms:
- Loss of consciousness
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Biting tongue
- Shaking
- Body stiffening
What Causes Epilepsy in Children?
In half population diagnosed with epilepsy, the source cause is unknown. However, the following factors actively contribute to causing epilepsy in children.
- Deoxygenation of the brain during birth
- Stroke
- Brain injury or trauma
- Intracranial bleeds
- Post-traumatic epilepsy(caused after physical, mental or emotional trauma to brain)
- Brain tumor
- Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
- Brain malformations due to seeking maternal drugs
- Genetic, developmental or neurological disorder.
Some Stats and Facts
The tabulated data will show the prevalence of epilepsy in both adults as well as children, how children are more susceptible to epilepsy, and what complications or social stigma they face due to seizures or epilepsy.
Factsheet
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What is Dr. Arif’s Unique Approach to Epilepsy treatment
Dr. Arif believes that though Epilepsy is not curable, it is treatable. Almost 70% of epilepsy cases can be treated with medications and once the child has stopped getting seizures, the treatment can be stopped. Unfortunately, 30% of seizures called refractive seizures, cannot be managed with medication, and hence another treatment modality is applied for epilepsy treatment.
Three decades ago epilepsy was found in 1/1000 children, but today every 1 in 60 children is epileptic. The reason for the increased number is increased awareness about epilepsy, and not the increased rate of disease. Purple day or Epilepsy day is an awareness day dedicated to changing the perception of the public towards epileptic children and embracing them normally in society.
Today, several types of epilepsy are found, for e.g., childhood absence epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy, juvenile epilepsy, etc, and the treatment depends on the type of epilepsy.
Dr. Arif spends good twenty-thirty minutes time interviewing the child and parents, asking details about the history of seizures, and relying on an eyewitness who saw the child during seizures. Only after he confirms the case with epilepsy, does he demand further diagnosis that includes EEG, MRI, Brain CT scan, and metabolic testings, for learning about the type of epilepsy and its advancement.
After a detailed diagnosis, he outlines a defined treatment route and explains to parents the treatment prognosis, the treatment module, and the expected time for recovery. Every Epileptic case is different, and so is the treatment approach. The treatment aims to control the seizures with medications, and once the child sees no more seizures, the treatment can be stopped.
For refractive epilepsy, when the medications are not helpful, a different treatment modality is used that includes a ketogenic diet for an epileptic child, Vegas nerve stimulation, or surgery. If the case of Epilepsy can be treated with brain surgery, Dr. Arif recommends the child to a venerated team of surgeons for surgery.
“Parents play a vital role in breaking their child’s epilepsy. But they have to take a steep learning curve, understanding how to behave with their epileptic child because their positive attitude and compassion can reflect positive results of epileptic treatment.” – Dr. Arif Khan. |
He also states that epileptic children often face social stigma and neglect that lowers their self-esteem. Today, Purple day or epilepsy day is creating awareness for epilepsy and epilepsy treatment that has opened avenues for a child to live a normal life, so we can change our perspective towards them and bring a positive change.
Epilepsy is diagnosed in advanced stages with multiple symptoms in several cases. In such cases, recession becomes difficult or time taking. Therefore parents and teachers must be open-minded and aware of epilepsy symptoms and reach out to only experienced pediatric neurologists with expertise in epilepsy treatment when needed. Reach out to Dr. Arif Khan, the best pediatric neurologist in Dubai with vast experience in treating children with neurological disorders.
