Please tell me about Doudehui: Symptoms of convulsions in children and tips on how to deal with them

Infants and young children have underdeveloped brains, and many diseases can cause cramps, which are medically called convulsions. Convulsions are caused by sudden abnormal discharges of cells in the brain, causing involuntary tonic and clonic twitches of the limbs, trunk and facial muscles. Convulsions are one of the most common symptoms for infants and young children. About 3.9% of infants and young children in my country have had convulsions before the age of 3. However, with the development of the brain, some convulsions will disappear by about 6 years old. If the convulsions occur frequently and are accompanied by fever, they are called \”febrile convulsions\”. They are generally sudden general or local spasmodic convulsions within 24 hours of fever, often accompanied by disturbance of consciousness, eyes turning up, staring or strabismus, and the seizures continue. The time is short, and severe cases have repeated attacks. Generally, the convulsions will end after 2 to 3 minutes. The prognosis of febrile convulsions is good and there will be no sequelae. However, if the convulsions last for too long, or if confusion, delirium or confusion suddenly occurs, and the patient quickly enters a coma, the brain cells may be deprived of oxygen, or even suffocated, causing breathing problems. , circulatory failure and death. Convulsions require emergency treatment at the hospital. Tips for handling the symptoms of convulsions in children at home: Sleeping position: During convulsions, let the baby sleep on his side with his head tilted to one side. When sleeping on his back, vomit will flow into the trachea and cause suffocation, so be sure to let the baby sleep on his side to prevent vomiting and suffocation. Wear loose clothes: Unbutton the buttons and let the baby wear loose clothes. After the convulsion is over, put a towel behind the head to make breathing easier and allow the trachea to expand. Do not put things into the baby\’s mouth: In order to prevent the baby from biting his tongue during convulsions, some people put chopsticks into the mouth for the baby to bite, or stuff the baby\’s mouth with a towel. This is very wrong. practice. When babies have convulsions, they generally do not bite their tongues. If you put chopsticks, towels, etc. into your baby\’s mouth, it may cause danger. Therefore, you should never put anything into your baby\’s mouth when he or she is having a seizure. At the same time, the baby cannot be fed water during a convulsion. Drinking water at this time may cause choking and coughing, which may cause danger. Parents should be calm: Parents should not panic when their baby has a convulsion, nor should they shake the baby\’s body, slap the baby\’s face, press the baby, or hold the baby. To measure your baby\’s temperature: After the convulsion is over, you need to measure your baby\’s temperature and tell the doctor. Remember the appearance of the baby\’s convulsions: When the baby has a convulsions, you should handle it appropriately while observing the appearance of the baby\’s seizures, recording the duration of the seizure, the activity of the limbs, and whether the eyes turn white, etc. When the convulsion is over and you take your baby to see a doctor, please tell the doctor the contents of the record. Related reading: Please ask Doudehui: What are the tips for caring for children after an acute rash? Special reminder when showing symptoms of convulsions in children: When the baby does not recover consciousness and the convulsions last for more than 10 minutes, the brain cells can be deprived of oxygen and even suffocate, causing breathing problems. , circulatory failure and death, then an ambulance needs to be called urgently and sent to the hospital. Quick knowledge: Will convulsions in children affect their intellectual development? Since foreign scholars proposed the concept of \”convulsive brain injury\” in 1951, research in this area has gradually increased. Most scholars believe that convulsions can cause both temporary brain dysfunction and irreversible brain lesions. A convulsion has a temporary effect on recent memory. Similar to the damage caused by concussion, status convulsive state can cause severe brain damage, leading to mental retardation, epilepsy, focal brain dysfunction, etc. Parents don’t need to worry too much about this. Brief convulsions will not cause brain damage. However, when convulsions occur repeatedly, or when convulsions occur continuously, the utilization rate of chemical energy by brain neurons is greatly increased, the compensatory function is reduced, and the brain\’s energy reserves are depleted, resulting in irreversible brain damage. Parents must pay attention to this. You should seek medical treatment promptly.