What causes epilepsy in children

Childhood epilepsy is a more common disorder during childhood time, a neurological syndrome caused by temporary brain dysfunction. The disease is characterized by recurrent, paroxysmal seizures and has a complex etiology that is divided into primary and secondary forms. Primary childhood epilepsy accounts for 20% of the total number of epilepsy patients, no cause has been found, and most of them are genetically related, so they are also called cryptogenic or hereditary epilepsy. Secondary childhood epilepsy refers to abnormalities in the brain structure or function during the development of the child due to some accidental cause, resulting in abnormal discharges in the neural network leading to seizures. Its etiology mainly includes perinatal ischemic-hypoxic brain injury, congenital brain developmental malformations, such as giant gyrus malformation, multiple microcephaly, and gray matter heterotopia, as well as tuberous sclerosis, intracranial infection, cerebrovascular disease, trauma, and toxic encephalopathy. Because of the diverse etiologies and clinical manifestations of childhood epilepsy, etiologic diagnosis should be achieved as much as possible and appropriate and suitable treatment should be selected. Especially under the age of 6, which is a critical period of brain development, it is recommended to actively control seizures to facilitate the growth and development of the affected children. In addition, because seizures are manifested by involuntary twitching of limbs and clenching of teeth, children sometimes bite their own tongues, and in severe cases, their lives can be endangered by falls. So when a baby has a seizure, use cardboard to press down on the baby’s tongue to avoid biting. Secondly, you should protect your baby more to prevent falling or bruising the head.