Patient's question:
Half a year oldDetailed medical condition and consultation purpose: In recent years, whenever the child has a high fever, he/she experiences seizures. When taken to the hospital for an electroencephalogram (EEG), nothing significant was found. However, yesterday afternoon, the child was at school, and it is unclear when the seizure occurred. The teacher did not notice it, and the duration of the seizure is also unclear. The child also wet his/her pants and had a fever of 39.7°C. He/She was treated with intravenous fluids at the hospital. This morning, the doctor performed an EEG and said there were mild fluctuations in the brain waves. Please have the expert provide a prompt response.
Duration and persistence of the current episode: The onset lasted approximately 15 minutes.
Current general condition: The child's condition is currently generally good.
Doctor's answer:
This phenomenon is called febrile convulsions in medicine. The pathogenesis may be due to the underdeveloped brain in infants and young children, with poorer analytical, discriminative, and inhibitory abilities. Sudden high fever stimulation can cause stronger excitation and spread in the brain, leading to sudden abnormal discharges in the nervous system. Most convulsions will show abnormal changes in the electroencephalogram within half a month. However, most febrile convulsions do not leave any sequelae, so there is no need to worry excessively. In rare cases, complex febrile convulsions may develop into epilepsy.