Patient's question:
A three-year-old child often has convulsions after crying and screaming uncontrollably. The convulsions last for about ten minutes. His parents initially thought he was calcium-deficient and gave him calcium supplements, but now two months later, his condition is still the same. Is this a sign of epilepsy?Doctor's answer:
Epilepsy is a disease and syndrome characterized by intermittent dysfunction of the central nervous system caused by repeated, sudden, excessive discharges of brain neurons. It is a disorder originating in the brain, with varying degrees of impairment affecting motor, sensory, autonomic nervous, conscious, and mental states, and it recurs repeatedly. This definition summarizes the complexity of epilepsy symptoms and more broadly captures its two fundamental characteristics: recurrence and episodicity.The term "recurrence" refers to the fact that after the first episode, there will certainly be subsequent episodes after a certain interval, including the second, third, or even multiple episodes. Even the most common type of seizure, if it occurs only once, lacks recurrence and cannot be diagnosed as epilepsy.
The term "episodicity" refers to the sudden onset and abrupt termination of symptoms. We may have witnessed patients suddenly collapsing and seizing while walking or eating, only to recover after a period of time. Some children with abdominal epilepsy may experience severe abdominal pain, uncontrollable crying, or sudden collapse during play, which completely disappears after several minutes or tens of minutes before they resume playing.
Regardless of how complex epilepsy's symptoms may be, they must possess these two characteristics. This is also a crucial basis for diagnosing epilepsy.