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Causes, treatment and prevention of seizures in infants. How to understand that a child has seizures Seizure syndrome in newborns symptoms

In the first days of life, a baby (even a child under five years old) can often experience seizures. Sometimes spasms indicate that a child under one year of age has serious pathologies. Let's consider the most characteristic causes up to one year of life, signs and possible ways treatment.

The phenomenon often occurs in premature babies - up to three to five years of age. Statistics say that every fifth premature baby is subject to some degree of seizure syndrome. To mothers who gave birth premature baby, you need to be attentive to his health.

In children under one year of age, in older children (up to three and five years old), seizures show a different character. The latter is associated with the peculiarities of the functioning of the brain and nervous system (the nervous system of newborn children is at the stage of formation). Doctors divide seizures into three years into a number of types.

Is it possible to independently determine the nature of seizures in a newborn and a child under three years of age?

The manifestations of seizures in children under one year of age are ambiguous and differ in a particular case. Parents will not be able to independently medical care determine the nature of the child’s seizure, relying solely on own experience or on information gleaned from medical sources. Not in every case, rhythmic muscle twitching is considered a seizure.

Seizures in a newborn and a child under three years of age are determined exclusively in a hospital setting. Doctors use using the latest methods diagnostics, in particular, electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging. In the presence of small seizures, it is difficult to observe the dynamics of changes in brain activity.

It often happens that seizures do not respond to anti-epileptic drugs. The latter means that the previous diagnosis was made inaccurately, the child needs to be re-diagnosed.

Causes of neonatal seizures

There are many reasons for seizures in young children. Let's look at the common and typical ones.

Metabolic disorders of various etiologies. These primarily include hypoglycemia and hyponatremia. With hypoglycemia, there is a decrease in the amount of sugar in the blood. The condition often leads to seizures in the child. Remain attentive to the child's condition, in some cases hypoglycemia leads to irreversible consequences in the cerebral cortex. Low calcium levels in the blood (hypocalcemia) also negatively affect the functioning of the brain and lead to seizures.
Encephalopathy. Brain damage manifests itself as acute or chronic failure oxygen in the blood.
Meningitis and encephalitis pose a huge danger to the newborn’s brain and are considered a serious cause of seizures.
Damage to the blood vessels of the brain, often found in premature infants. Threatens cerebral hemorrhages.
Insufficiency of magnesium or pyridoxine (vitamin B6) in the child’s body. Often pathologies develop simultaneously.
Birth trauma.
Congenital brain defects in children.
When treated with psychoactive drugs, seizures occur as a withdrawal syndrome.

Symptoms of seizures in children of the first year of life

Conditions that cause seizures in newborns are often life-threatening. There are cases where children with seizures in the neonatal period subsequently developed without any special complications. If seizures occurred due to low glucose levels in the baby’s blood, the child also did not develop complications in the future. If the spasms occurred as a result of meningitis, a high risk of developing all kinds of neurological complications is subsequently revealed.

By clinical symptoms convulsions are classified as partial, localized, and generalized. In the first case, they spread to a specific muscle group. In the second case, a general convulsive seizure develops. A generalized type of seizures develops when both hemispheres of the brain are involved in the painful process.

If there is a recurrence of convulsive seizures, they speak of convulsive status. Breathing disturbances occur with symptoms of hypoxic cerebral edema. When edema spreads to the brain stem, a disorder of the respiratory, vasomotor center occurs, pathological breathing, vomiting, fever (even up to 39 degrees), bradycardia, collapse.

A generalized tonic-clonic seizure develops suddenly. Disturbing motor excitement, depression of consciousness up to loss. Characterized by tilting the head back, bending the arms in elbow joints, leg extension, facial tension. Possible apnea (stopping breathing), the face becomes pale and blue. Vomiting is observed. Holding your breath lasts no more than a minute. After the end of the seizure, the body is completely restored, and the same happens with consciousness. The child does not remember what is happening at all. The prognosis noticeably worsens if paresis or paralysis is observed along with convulsions.

Often, infants experience short-term generalized tonic-clonic seizures. They are typical in children under one year of age, but can occur in older children. It happens against the background of a rise in body temperature. The duration of convulsions is no more than three to five minutes. The prognosis is favorable, not accompanied by neurological disorders. The nervous and mental health of children does not suffer, does not lag behind, and is completely appropriate for their age.

With a lack of calcium in the blood, tetanic convulsions and seizures occur sudden stop breathing. Specific symptoms are noticeable:

Contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle;
Contraction of the angularis oris muscle;
Abduction of the foot when tapping the forearm or shoulder;
Laryngospasm.
Vomit.

The child bends his arms at the elbow joints and is unable to straighten them. The brushes go down and acquire characteristic appearance"the hands of an obstetrician."

With a decrease in magnesium concentration, there is an increased nervous excitability, muscle tremors, cramps. With hypoglycemia, weakness, sweating, muscle tremors, a significant increase in heart rate with possible stop breathing. The state of hypoglycemia threatens the child with the development of a coma.

The main principles of treating seizures in infants

Successful treatment of any seizure in a newborn becomes such once the cause is discovered. General rules treatment of convulsive conditions in children:

If hypocalcemia is the cause of a convulsive state, the child is given a solution of calcium gluconate in a glucose solution (slowly and intravenously).
For hypomagnesemia (magnesium deficiency), a solution of magnesium sulfate is injected intramuscularly.
In case of hypoglycemia, a dextrose solution is first administered, then a glucose solution is administered in a stream and intravenously. It is necessary to monitor temperature and vomiting.
The first step is to effectively relieve fever.

Newborns diagnosed with seizures are admitted to the intensive care. The nurse's job is to carefully monitor the baby's condition. An electroencephalogram is also performed there to determine the state of the brain and the functioning of the organ. Based on electroencephalography indications, therapy adjustment is recommended.

If a baby under one year of age has convulsions that frequently recur and become persistent, the use of barbiturates – derivatives of barbituric acid – is indicated. Barbiturates have a hypnotic and sedative effect, necessary for the development of seizures. The use of short, medium and long-term medications depending on the case. Long lasting barbiturates are required for the treatment of severe epileptic seizures.

In case of respiratory failure, loss of consciousness, fever and periodic vomiting, it is recommended to maintain artificial ventilation lungs, blood pressure. Pressure is maintained using special medications. It is necessary to constantly stop convulsive paroxysm due to the considerable danger to the heart. Respiratory disorders and persistent impairment consciousness – absolute readings for urgent etiotropic therapy combined with symptomatic anticonvulsant treatment.

Due to the fact that in the neonatal period of a child’s development (especially at the age of several months) it is difficult to detect the real reason development of an epileptic seizure, a third of children die. Death is associated with severe complications of seizures: ischemic encephalopathy, ischemic stroke. At meningococcal infection the prognosis is extremely poor. If convulsive syndromes are caused metabolic disorders, usually have a good prediction.

The child must be under the supervision of a pediatrician from the first month of life for at least a year. It is necessary to conduct a complete and comprehensive examination of the functioning of the baby’s nervous system in order to prevent the development of serious neurological disorders.

Convulsions in newborns are recognized as an object close attention parents and doctors. It is extremely important to immediately determine the cause of seizures in order to begin effective treatment. And although certain types of seizures are not entirely favorable forecasts, they give in effective treatment. Especially if the parents consulted a doctor at an early stage of the disease.

Do your feet often swell and hurt? The bone is near thumb started to stand out noticeably? It may be worth seeing a doctor, because these are signs of cartilage disease and bone tissue. Who should I contact and how to treat arthrosis of the foot? Read more about this fairly common disease further in the article.

Osteoarthritis of the foot is a disease of the joints and bones of the foot. It most often affects interphalangeal joints toes, joints on metatarsal and surfaces ankle joint. The so-called bone on the thumb is formed. The progression of the disease leads to inflammation of the periarticular soft tissues, and inflammation begins. All this can be accompanied severe pain when walking and especially strong during an activity such as running.

Deforming osteoarthritis of the foot is a fairly common disease nowadays. There are no obvious reasons for its manifestation as such. But we can identify a number of factors that can lead to such a foot disease. All risk factors lead to circulatory disorders, especially in lower limbs. So, this includes the following:

Congenital and acquired diseases of the legs. For example, flat feet and arthrosis are inseparable. This group also includes people who have obvious deformation of their toes or asymmetry of the limbs.
Excessive loads. People who often carry heavy loads end up here. In addition, people may be considered overweight. Here, under heavy loads, the knee and foot bones are often injured. All this will inevitably cause arthrosis of the small joints of the foot over time.
Uncomfortable shoes. Deforming arthrosis of the foot is often diagnosed in people who wear uncomfortable shoes. Shoes with high heels or those that tightly squeeze the sides of the leg are considered uncomfortable.
Injuries. For the most part, this includes athletes. Due to constant training, there is a constant load on different joints legs, including feet. All this over time can cause arthrosis of the foot joints.
Factors leading to circulatory disorders. This may include hypothermia, etc.
Also arthrosis calcaneus and other joints of the foot will easily cause some kind of disease of the endocrine system.

Symptoms of foot arthrosis depend directly on the degree of progression of the disease. In total, there are 3 degrees of development of the sore. Based on this, we can say that:

Arthrosis of the 1st degree of the foot is weakly expressed. Most often, this stage is simply not noticed, thinking that the pain in the foot is simply due to fatigue. After all, when you rest, they quickly pass. Not a single joint is deformed yet.
Arthrosis of the 2nd degree is already hard to miss. The pain is much more pronounced and appears even with light loads. Arthrosis of the metatarsophalangeal joint or the so-called “bone” near the big toe also forms. An inflammatory process begins in the foot.
At the third stage, the deformed “bone” is clearly visible. The mobility of the thumb is severely limited and it is constantly down. The patient begins to transfer weight when walking from the diseased area of the feet to the healthy one. In this case, lameness or club feet are observed. The bones of the heel joint are injured, and arthrosis of the talonavicular joint begins to develop.

The entire process of such deformations is accompanied by severe pain, regardless of whether the patient is resting or not. In addition, increased fatigue appears.

So, how is diagnosis carried out and which doctor treats arthrosis? First, let's answer the second question. It's not as simple as it seems. The fact is that osteoarthritis of the foot can be treated not by one or two doctors, but by several. An initial diagnosis can be given to you by both a local physician and an orthopedist and surgeon. As the examination progresses, you may be referred for additional consultation with a rheumatologist.

All these specialists, without any particular difficulty, can establish a diagnosis such as arthrosis of the heel or other parts of the foot, starting from the second stage of development of the disease. After all, then the deformed and protruding bone on the big toe will be clearly visible. The mobility of the toes will be quite limited.

But in front of everyone visible signs, the treating doctor should examine the limb as carefully as possible. This is done to exclude any other diseases, for example, flat feet. Next, the patient is sent for radiography. Her photographs will clearly show which joint has begun to deform and which has not. Additionally assigned general analysis blood. Arthroscopy will also not be superfluous, but it is not always prescribed.

Rapid fatigue of the legs, small unnoticeable deformations of the joints of the foot are signs of stage 1 foot arthrosis.
Seals appear on the diseased joints, and the bone of the big toe begins to protrude especially noticeably. Joint mobility is limited. When walking or standing, pain is felt in the foot area. In addition, the process is accompanied by inflammation of the joints and periarticular tissues. All this characterizes grade 2 arthrosis of the foot, which must be treated without fail.
The third stage is characterized by severe pain, which weakens but does not disappear with rest. Severe deformation of the toes is also observed. There is practically no mobility in the joints of the foot. At this stage, it is no longer possible to reverse the consequences of the disease without surgical intervention.

Little by little we approached the question: “How to cure arthrosis of the foot?” Let us say right away that in advanced stages of the second and third stages, it will not be possible to completely cure the disease. The point is that irreversible things have already happened destructive processes in the joints. On early stages It is still quite possible to overcome such a disease. It is also worth knowing that all three stages require integrated approach in treatment.

For example, drug treatment of deforming arthrosis of the foot is quite successful. However, massages may be required to restore joint mobility. therapeutic exercises or physical therapy. And with surgery, almost all methods will be required. Then never self-medicate, because only a doctor can select methods of treatment based on the degree of development of the disease and the diagnosis performed.

The diagnosis of arthrosis of the foot includes treatment conservative methods, which include medical supplies. Here, all treatment will consist of three stages: initial, therapeutic and final. On initial stage a set of drugs is selected to eliminate pain, relieve inflammation and reduce swelling. The following drugs are most often prescribed here: Ortofen, Ibuprofen, Indomethacin, Piroxicam. They can be in the form of tablets or injections.

The second stage is aimed at restoring blood circulation, restoring cartilage tissue And general strengthening. Most often used local treatment in the form of an ointment. These include the most commonly used ointments for arthrosis: Viprosal, Nicoflex, Ungapiven, Apizatron, Menovazin. Moreover, if treatment at the first stage was ineffective, then at the second stage they can also be used steroid drugs in the form of injections. They are aimed at fast recovery joints.

The third stage is aimed at restoring mobility of the foot joints. Medicines may not be used here. A course of massage, therapeutic exercises or physiotherapy is prescribed.

Physiotherapy is also used as a treatment for arthrosis of the feet. This method is quite effective in the early stages. At later stages, it requires an integrated approach and can be used together with medication. The most popular areas are:

Both the first and second methods are excellent for restoring mobility in the joints of the foot. But before you treat osteoarthritis of the foot, you should know that massage and therapeutic exercises advanced stages used only with a doctor's prescription. The fact is that such procedures, in in this case, can only do harm. These methods are also often used as prevention.

In addition, it is worth knowing that orthopedic insoles for arthrosis will help evenly distribute weight in shoes. But you can do without them if you have an instep support installed in your shoes. All this will not only help in treatment, but will also be an excellent prevention.

How to treat osteoarthritis in very advanced stages? Here things are deplorable, the bones are severely deformed and surgery is needed to correct them. But often people, for one reason or another, refuse it. However, if you have agreed to surgery, you should know that the surgeon’s work will be aimed at eliminating deformities and restoring mobility of the foot. Together with this method, it is necessary to use this method for arthrosis of the foot. drug treatment.

How to treat arthrosis of the feet at home? Many answers to this question can be provided traditional medicine. But it is worth remembering that here you carry out treatment at your own peril and risk. Of course, you are unlikely to fully recover and run after such treatment, but it should relieve pain, swelling and inflammation. Now let’s look at several commonly used folk recipes.

For osteoarthritis of the foot, treatment is effectively carried out with cinquefoil tincture. An infusion is prepared from 100 g of cinquefoil and 200 g of vodka. The product should be used after it has been infused for 3 weeks in a dark and cool place. Used as a rub for toes, toes and heels that require treatment. Can also be used for compresses.
By analogy with cinquefoil, but with slight differences, eucalyptus tincture is prepared and used. To prepare you will need 0.5 liters of vodka and 100 g of plant. The infusion is infused for only a week. It is used in the same way as the previous one.
It is also recommended to use a mixture of kefir and chalk as a compress at night.
The compress from oatmeal. To prepare it you will need 3 tbsp. l. cereal and 2 cups boiling water.
Another overnight compress is prepared from 100 g of aloe leaves, which need to be crushed in a meat grinder. Next they are filled with the same amount natural honey and 150 g of vodka. Everything is thoroughly mixed, after which the product is ready for use.

In the next video, the famous doctor Bubnovsky will tell you why my feet hurt and what exercises to do to relieve pain and improve the health of the body as a whole.

A small child is not only an object of joy, love and care, but also a constant cause for concern. And if he also begins to behave somehow unnaturally, then the young parents are seriously scared: what if the baby has seizures, and what if they are a symptom of some terrible disease? So, what are seizures, what do they look like and what are the causes of their occurrence in infants and older children?

It is not always the case that what frightened parents mistake for seizures is actually one.

So, for example:

sudden throwing up of arms and legs during sleep - normal phenomenon for a newborn;
When falling asleep, babies slightly roll their eyes - no big deal;
when frozen, the child will tremble, his toenails may turn blue - just wrap him up warmer;
while crying, the chin may twitch resentfully, the hands may tremble - calm the baby and calm down yourself;
A newborn baby can hold his breath for a few seconds - and this is also not a reason to panic.

In addition, even true cramps, that is, involuntary, intermittent, rhythmic muscle contractions, in most cases are associated with immaturity of the central nervous system, or their cause can be relatively easily eliminated.

Reasons

Often the fears of young parents can be confirmed, and seizures can be a symptom serious illness. Knowledge about their causes and types will help you understand all this and in the future understand the nature of seizures in a newborn.

Metabolic disorders

A small organism is very susceptible to a lack (or excess) of any nutrients, vitamins, microelements.

So, the cause of febrile seizures can be:

hypocalcemia – calcium deficiency;
hypoglycemia – glucose deficiency;
hypomagnesemia – low magnesium content in the blood (rare, but it happens);
increased or decreased amount of sodium;
deficiency (excess) of tyrosine, proline and other amino acids;
vitamin B6 deficiency.

All these pathologies can be a consequence poor nutrition nursing mother, and formidable symptoms indicating dysfunction of internal organs.

Convulsive attacks are of a generalized nature (that is, they cover the entire body): the limbs twitch, the head may fall back, the body becomes stiff or, conversely, is completely relaxed and limp.

High temperature

In babies aged 6 months and older, when the temperature rises above 38 ° C, the so-called febrile seizures, characterized by cessation of breathing, during which the baby’s face may turn blue; tilting the head; twitching of limbs.

Such cramps can also be caused by other reasons related to overheating and dehydration of the baby’s body. These are too warm clothes, prolonged exposure to the sun or in a stuffy hot room, swimming in hot water.

It is important to know: febrile seizures, in which both limbs twitch simultaneously, are not terrible. It is much worse if they cover only half of the body: be sure to tell your doctor about this.

Overexcitable nervous system

In this case, against the background of severe fear or when crying, affective-respiratory convulsions may appear, when apnea is observed - holding the breath for more than 20 seconds (the child cannot exhale), the head is thrown back, the arms and legs are twitching. Possible loss of consciousness, bradycardia (one of the types of arrhythmia).

In some cases, it is possible to get the baby out of this state by spraying him cold water.

It should be remembered that such phenomena are typical for children who have increased excitability The central nervous system is combined with:

suffered birth injuries;
violations of the anatomy of the nose;
enlarged tonsils;
swelling of the nasopharynx due to allergies or inflammation.

A predisposition to affective-respiratory spasms is inherited, so if one of the parents experienced them in childhood, their child is at risk.

Congenital pathologies of the central nervous system

This is exactly what parents fear most. Most often these are so-called minor convulsions or spasms, during which there is trembling of the face and eyelids, frequent blinking, and jaw movements reminiscent of chewing. The eyes roll back, the pupils converge towards the bridge of the nose or, on the contrary, towards outer corners eye. If this happens in infants, this is a serious reason to visit a neurologist.

Premature babies are most susceptible to seizures associated with central nervous system pathologies - they are observed in 20% of cases. For normally full-term babies, the statistics are more favorable - only 10-15 cases per thousand newborns.

Minor seizures are a consequence of:

birth injuries;
high intracranial pressure;
oxygen starvation as a result of asphyxia (entanglement of the umbilical cord) in the fetus;
pathologies of brain development. Seizures can become a symptom of diseases such as hydro-, micro- or porencephaly, epilepsy.

Other reasons

There is also a whole series factors that can cause certain types of seizures.

These include:

poisoning (overdose) with any medications;
otitis media, runny nose;
convulsions after vaccination;
infections affecting the brain: purulent meningitis, tetanus, encephalitis, toxoplasmosis;
high levels of bilirubin and the resulting hemolytic jaundice.
dysfunction of the adrenal glands;
pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

It is important to understand that the likelihood of seizures in a baby increases significantly if a woman had a difficult (premature) birth or she used drugs or alcohol during pregnancy or suffered from any infectious diseases. Transmission can occur through breast milk.

First aid

Regardless of the cause of the seizures, whether they are caused by physiology or vaccination, your actions should be aimed at easing the baby’s condition and preventing any injuries (bruises, vomit getting into the windpipe, etc.).

Try to calm down and remember everything that happens: later you will have to tell the doctor about what you saw to help him figure out the nature of the seizures.

Lay the child on his side, place a flat pillow under his head, top part free the torso from clothing, ensure an influx fresh air and gently hold your head. When the attack passes (usually it lasts no more than a few minutes), call an ambulance.

If the seizures do not recur, the baby feels well and you know the cause, you can postpone the visit to the doctor until the morning, but you need to show the child to a specialist in any case.

Not for seizures:

shake the child and hold him tightly to you;
trying to hold twitching limbs;
give the baby artificial respiration;
leave him lying on his back;
try to give any medications, unclench your teeth, put foreign objects in your mouth.

If you know the reason, you can do the following:

For affective-respiratory convulsions: sprinkle cold water on the child’s face and let him smell ammonia.
For febrile convulsions: wipe the body with a damp, cold towel, and after the attack stops, give an antipyretic.
Drinking plenty of fluids is recommended.

Prevention

The following steps will help reduce the likelihood of seizures in a newborn:

One month before your planned pregnancy, take folic acid.
Throughout pregnancy, eliminate any harmful effects and try to avoid infectious diseases, worms, etc.
Do not take any medications without first consulting a gynecologist.
After the birth of the child, perform a comprehensive examination, which will allow you to identify pathologies that can cause seizures in the early stages and successfully treat them.

That's all: all that remains is to say that the seizures themselves do not pose a danger: they are only a symptom of some disease, but what kind of disease it is and what the risk is for the child, you will only find out by contacting a specialist: do not delay the visit!

There is no mother who does not care about the health of her baby. Therefore, every woman strives to learn as much as possible about various childhood diseases in order to be ready to help her child. One of the reasons for mothers to worry is the child’s seizures, which most often occur suddenly.

The big picture

Seizures in children manifest themselves in the form of uncontrolled contractions of the body muscles. They can be like independent disease, and a sign of any illness. Often, leg cramps in a child are accompanied by serious side effects, signaling metabolic disorders, spasmophilia, toxoplasmosis, encephalitis, meningitis, endocrinopathy, hypovolemia and other diseases.

By medical statistics about 2% of children suffer from seizures. Moreover, the lion's share of seizures occurs between the ages of one and ten. The disease can also affect teenagers under 15 years of age. Convulsions in children under one year of age signal developmental disorders of the nervous system, in particular, immaturity of the brain.

Prerequisites for the development of convulsive syndrome

If a mother notices convulsions in a child, the reasons must be found out first. This is why observation by a pediatrician and neurologist in the first year of a baby’s life is so important. Even the most attentive mother may miss the signs of an incipient illness or simply not understand what led to it. To clarify the picture, it is worth remembering whether the baby had congenital diseases or injuries.

So, most common reasons seizures in children:

sharp or chronic forms brain diseases (neuroinfection, hydrocephalic syndrome, brain dysgenesis, tumor);
genetic or chromosomal disease (metabolism disorder of amino acids, carbohydrates, fats);
Also, convulsions in a child under one year old can develop against the background of toxic brain damage - infectious toxicosis, exogenous drug poisoning;
the disease is side effect endocrine and electrolyte disturbances– hypoglycemia, diabetes mellitus, hypocalcemia, etc.;
In addition, most of the seizures in a child during sleep occur due to increased body temperature. These are so-called febrile seizures;
also, do not discount the possibility of epileptic seizures;
Sometimes muscle contractions are observed after vaccination. Most often, a convulsive symptom appears a couple of hours after vaccination, less often - the next day or a week later;
Often a convulsive syndrome manifests itself against the background of severe fright and a subsequent sharp cry. During such an attack, the child may turn blue or lose consciousness. In addition, children often hold their breath while inhaling, i.e., like during an asthma attack.

It is worth remembering that seizures in a child are considered serious condition and require prompt examination by a doctor. If this disease is ignored, it can lead to central hemodynamic disorders, hypoxia and other metabolic disorders of the nervous system.

Classification of seizures in children

The comprehensive expression of seizures can be localized or generalized.

Localized seizures are also called focal and partial. They appear in one part of the body, for example, in the legs. Tic is also common on one side of the body. Such a picture indicates damage to one hemisphere of the brain or part of it.

At generalized convulsions, the seizure spreads throughout the body. This is a sign of damage to the entire cerebral cortex, which is responsible for movement.

In addition, muscle cramps are distinguished by directions.

1. Most often observed clonic convulsions in children during sleep. Their fast, fragmentary nature is due to the chaotic alternation of muscle contraction and relaxation. Often the child wakes up during a seizure and begins to cry.

2. When tonic In convulsions, on the contrary, long periods of contraction are observed. During muscle tension, the child often cannot utter a sound. Then relaxation sets in, lasting until the next attack.

3. Under atonic cramps imply loss of muscle tone. For example, dystrophy or atrophy. Also, the cause of atonic muscle contractions can be Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (manifests in children from one to eight years of age), in which the neck muscles do not develop and the head hangs powerlessly, or West syndrome, observed in six-month-old children. The latter syndrome is expressed in the form of epileptic seizures affecting the muscles along the spine and the muscles of the limbs.

There are also two broad categories of seizures - epileptic and non-epileptic.

Easiest to diagnose epileptic seizures, which are the main symptom of epilepsy. Before the attack, the child may feel unwell - fever, nausea, dizziness, chills. Sound or smell hallucinations may also occur. After a seizure, children fall into deep sleep, which can last several hours, or even days. Having awakened, the baby is often disoriented, the reaction to others is sluggish, he may not remember the attack itself and feel a headache. The peculiarity of epileptic seizures is that they appear suddenly.

Non-epileptic convulsions in children during sleep are a consequence of heart disease, leukemia, hemophilia and some other diseases.

Every mother should carefully monitor her child, and at the first symptoms of seizures, immediately seek medical help.

First aid for seizures

If a child has seizures, what should you do first? Of course, call ambulance, since transporting it during an attack is strictly prohibited in order to avoid worsening the condition.

While waiting for the doctors to arrive, it is necessary to place the child on a hard flat surface, having previously undressed him, and ensure him peace. Under no circumstances should you scream or shake the baby, trying to bring him to his senses. These actions are not only useless, but also quite dangerous to health.

Also, you should not try to unclench your child’s teeth (unless this is epileptic seizure) put any objects in his mouth and try to give him something to drink. You should just remove everything sharp objects, about which the child can get hurt, and open the window, since fresh air will help bring him to his senses faster than screams and fuss.

At elevated temperature, accompanying febrile convulsions in children, you need to do the following - completely undress the child, rub him with any strong alcohol or cover his body with a damp towel. You can put a thin sheet or blanket on top. Read more about febrile seizures in children

During an attack, you should not leave your child alone. The mother or other relatives should remain with him until the seizure is completely over.

Drug treatment of seizure syndrome

After the first seizure, it is necessary to undergo a thorough examination by a neurologist. If seizures do not recur, there is no need for drug treatment. But with regular muscle contractions The doctor must prescribe a course of injections.

Basically, seizures are treated with monotherapy, that is, medications are not combined, but are used separately. The most common treatment for seizure syndrome is Phenobarbital and Sodium Valproate. A single dose for children is 1 to 3 mg per day.

Seizures are treated orally with Finlepsin, Fntelepsin, Suxilep, Difenin. Doses are calculated by the doctor in accordance with the big picture diseases, based on the child’s age.

Lifestyle and regime

At constant seizures The child must follow a certain regime.

A mother should make sure that her child always goes to bed and wakes up at the same time. Consequently, the woman herself will have to follow the regime. In addition, you need to create favorable conditions for sleep - remove all gadgets from the room, minimize extraneous sound and odors, ensure fresh air flow and cleanliness.
Children suffering from seizures need to spend more time outdoors.
Needs to be minimized stressful situations and phenomena that can frighten a child. The mother needs to take care that in the presence of her baby they do not play loud music, do not swear, or shout. You also need to avoid flickering light, overheating, and emotional shocks.

A woman whose child suffers from convulsive syndrome must always control herself. Calm, balanced mother - best medicine for the baby. Cramps are not a death sentence. The main thing is to believe in your child’s recovery and everything will be fine.

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The occurrence of seizures in children is not uncommon. There are quite a few reasons for their occurrence, but most often they are infectious diseases or . As a rule, such a response to stimuli occurs in premature newborns. Such reactions are due to the specific development of the nervous system at an early age and do not appear in older children or adults.

The nervous system of infants is hypersensitive to external stimuli and the baby’s own physiological abnormalities, this leads to the fact that the muscles twitch spontaneously. Seizures in newborns can be confused with muscle tremors and tremor. Legs and arms may move involuntarily at this age. In some cases, it is impossible to detect seizures in newborns and find out the reasons for their occurrence even with the help of an electroencephalogram.

Seizures and their types

Muscle cramps in a baby have a different nature. Therefore, there are several types of them. Any muscles of the body can twitch involuntarily; cramps of the legs, arms or face are observed.

If a child’s eyelids and facial muscles that are responsible for facial expressions tremble, and this lasts long enough, then such convulsions are called minor. They indicate the presence of deviations in the development of the infant’s central nervous system;
Premature babies often have neonatal convulsions of a tonic nature. They are characterized by tension throughout the body. The baby shrinks and throws his head back. Neonatal seizures may be accompanied by a short-term cessation of breathing and have a hypoxic effect on the brain;
Abbreviation of any separate group muscles cause clonic convulsions;
In older infants, the seizures may be myoclonic. They, in turn, are divided into three groups. If muscle spasms affect one group, such spasms are classified as focal. When localized in different parts body spasms will be multifocal and generalized if contractions occur throughout the body at the same time;
Febrile seizures. The most famous ones occur when the body temperature is above normal.

Oddly enough, newborns’ muscles often twitch spontaneously when they sleep. In a dream, this is absolutely natural and does not require medical intervention at body temperature in within normal limits and the absence of others alarming symptoms. Therefore, you should not disturb a sleepy baby. These are not febrile seizures, this is how the nervous system reacts to the development of brain functions.

Causes of muscle contractions

The type of seizures that bother the baby depends on the causes that provoke them. These could be:

congenital pathologies affecting brain activity;
disturbances in metabolic processes or blood circulation;
birth injuries;
infectious diseases.

The most common causes of convulsive syndrome are injuries inflicted on the baby during birth period or brain pathologies.

Central nervous system problems

Brain failure vascular pathologies or birth injuries cause disruptions in the functioning of the central nervous system. The latter usually lead to cerebral hemorrhage or swelling.

Some babies suffer from birth intracranial pressure, which interferes with normal life activities and causes muscle cramps in infants. Others are born with brain pathologies: hydrocephalus, porencephaly, microcephaly and others.

Problems in children after birth sometimes arise as a result of intrauterine asphyxia. Fetal hypoxia has the same effect.

Failure in metabolic processes

A small body needs adequate nutrition for growth and strength. Cramps may occur due to a lack of elements such as calcium, vitamin B6, magnesium, and some amino acids. Similar situation does not mean that the mother is prone to starvation and needs to change her diet. The child may have poor kidney function thyroid gland or adrenal glands.

The most common metabolic disorders:

hypokalemia – calcium is contained in the blood in insufficient quantities;
hypoglycemia – decreased blood glucose levels;
hypomagnesemia - magnesium is present in the blood in too low a concentration, but this is rare;
water intoxication – a condition in which the body’s cells retain water, which significantly reduces the sodium content and leads to an imbalance in the water-salt balance;
excess sodium also does not bode well and also causes cramps;
changes in the metabolism of amino acids (proline, tyrosine, glycine, valine, etc.);
lack of vitamin B6.

Third party irritants

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A common reason for seizures in newborns is infectious diseases and improper care of the baby. Triggered by viruses inflammatory processes usually accompanied by fever and causing febrile seizures. A small organism is not yet able to resist all pathogenic bacteria. muscle spasms in this case are provoked by:

encephalitis;
rubella or cytomegalovirus;
taking certain antibiotics and steroid hormones;
tetanus;
toxoplasmosis or listeriosis;
purulent menningitis;
at body temperature above 38 degrees;
overheating of the child due to excessive wrapping.

Muscle cramps in infants, including febrile seizures, provoked external factors, cause rhythmic contraction of the limbs, rolling of the eyes and in some cases short stop breathing, which causes oxygen starvation of the brain.

Signs of muscle spasms

Seizures are usually not difficult to identify. The main thing is to respond to them correctly and provide the child with necessary help. Muscle contraction is accompanied by the following symptoms:

movement of the chin, as if the baby is chewing something;
chin trembling;
rhythmic twitching of the muscles of the limbs;
heart rhythm disturbance;
eyelids twitch;
intermittent breathing, sometimes to a complete stop;
eye rolling;
baby hiccups, yawns, facial muscles tremble

Before the onset of convulsions, vomiting sometimes appears, the child becomes restless and may cry out sharply.

How to relieve a baby from seizures?

Seizures occur frequently in newborns, but they can be ignored and medical control under no circumstances, not even febrile convulsions. In most cases, the appearance of involuntary convulsions in a newborn indicates the presence of serious problems with health. For round-the-clock monitoring, children are observed and receive the necessary specialized care in a hospital setting.

Initially, doctors examine the small patient in order to recognize why the seizures appeared and make a diagnosis. Without this, it is simply impossible to select the necessary drug treatment for muscle cramps in newborns. If a muscle group twitches so much that it causes breathing to stop, the hospital will urgently perform artificial ventilation.

Drug therapy for relieving convulsive trembling includes drugs that restore metabolic processes, use magnesium, calcium gluconate or glucose. Phenobarbital and phenytoin, which are classified as barbiturates, are also used for treatment.

It is necessary to relieve motor excitability and calm nervous system. This is done through sedatives, such as seduxen or lorazepam.

Regardless of the intensity and duration of a convulsive syndrome in an infant, it is necessary to consult a specialist. For mild cramps, you can postpone your visit to the doctor until next day. Severe and prolonged convulsions are a reason to seek emergency help.

Important

Before the medical team arrives, you need to help the baby yourself. What to do?

It is necessary to remove diapers and clothes to allow the newborn baby to get more air, especially at temperatures above 38 degrees. Trying to stir up the baby or give him something to drink medicines under no circumstances is it possible. To know what a seizure disorder looks like, watch the following video.

Recovery process

If the baby was in severe convulsive seizures, one inpatient treatment won't be enough. You will have to visit a neurologist for monitoring within a year. During the recovery period it is recommended:

therapeutic exercises;
massage;
strict adherence to the daily routine;
creating a calm environment in the family.

Identifying the cause of seizures in infancy does not always guarantee full recovery and no problems in the future. Early age is a serious obstacle to rapid and correct diagnosis of the disease. And the fact that brain pathologies often cause seizures leads to death. Doctors do not have time to save almost a third of newborns with such diagnoses in the first days of life or simply cannot save them. Therefore, at the first signs, this is a signal to go to the doctor. Even after treatment, neurological abnormalities may not go away completely and may cause complications that last a lifetime.

Preventive measures

Every woman understands that monitoring the health of her baby should begin during pregnancy. Even the mildest ailments during this period can lead to serious consequences. You can avoid them by following some rules:

during pregnancy planning, start taking folic acid;
being in interesting position You should protect yourself as much as possible from any viruses and infectious diseases;
take only those medications prescribed by the doctor;
consult a neurologist with your baby.

Why is it impossible to leave twitching muscles without medical intervention? Delay in this case threatens to manifest mental disorders, developmental delays and even leads to fatal outcome. Therefore, show the neurologist even externally healthy baby it won't be superfluous. After all, maintaining his health is task No. 1, and the mother may understand that something is wrong with the baby a few days, weeks or even months after its development and precious time will be lost.