TODDLER
What Causes Night Seizures in Toddlers?
When and why children experience night time convulsions.
Geschrieben von
Dr. Harvey Karp
DIESEN ARTIKEL TEILEN
ELTERN WAHL
Bestseller
TODDLER
Geschrieben von
Dr. Harvey Karp
DIESEN ARTIKEL TEILEN
Bestseller
A seizure (also called a convulsion) occurs when the brain short-circuits. This can cause uncontrolled body jerks, an inability to communicate and urination.
Night is actually a common time for seizures. The brain is more susceptible to these electrical eruptions when it is overly tired and just entering sleep…or just awaking. It is easy to mistake the screaming and unresponsiveness of a night terror for a seizure. But while night terrors terrorize us, they lack the cardinal signs of seizures: drooling, limb twitching, tongue biting, and incontinence.
Common signs of seizures in children are:
But as we mentioned previously, because a toddler is asleep it may be difficult to determine if your child is having a night seizure. Make sure to consult with a medical professional if you have any concerns that your child is suffering from seizures or night seizures.
Night seizures may be triggered by a sudden surge of fever (or fever seizures). It is pretty clear when this is the case because a child usually is flushed red and hot to the touch.
But when there is no obvious reason for a night seizure, the cause may be benign rolandic epilepsy (also called benign focal epilepsy of childhood).
This problem can start as early as 3 years of age, although it usually does not begin before children are 5. These night seizures are often overlooked for a long time because they happen during sleep. But once the diagnosis is suspected, parents often report that their kids have been sleeping less, exhausted during the day, and experiencing night terrors and sleepwalking for weeks or months. Fortunately, the seizures cause absolutely no serious health problems and disappear by the teen years.
The diagnosis of seizures requires a full medical evaluation, including a sleep EEG (electroencephalogram) to record the electrical activity in the brain (although sometimes the EEG may be normal). Many children do not need any treatment at all, while others benefit from taking an anticonvulsant drug.
Your toddler twitching while asleep may be startling—but there is nothing to worry about. Toddlers twitching in their sleep is pretty common, and it is believed that the twitching may be linked to sensorimotor development in babies and toddlers. The body’s twitching while asleep could be the brain’s way of teaching your child about their limbs and what they can do with them!
Haftungsausschluss: Die Informationen auf unserer Website sind KEINE medizinischen Ratschläge für eine bestimmte Person oder einen bestimmten Zustand. Sie sind lediglich als allgemeine Informationen gedacht. Wenn Sie medizinische Fragen und Bedenken bezüglich Ihres Kindes oder Ihrer eigenen Gesundheit haben, wenden Sie sich bitte an Ihren Gesundheitsdienstleister. Muttermilch ist die beste Quelle der Ernährung für Babys. Es ist wichtig, dass Mütter in Vorbereitung auf das Stillen und währenddessen eine gesunde, ausgewogene Ernährung zu sich nehmen. Die Kombination von Stillen und Flaschenernährung in den ersten Lebenswochen kann die Muttermilchversorgung verringern und die Entscheidung, nicht zu stillen, ist schwer rückgängig zu machen. Wenn Sie sich entscheiden, Säuglingsnahrung zu verwenden, sollten Sie die Anweisungen sorgfältig befolgen.
