Children with epilepsy, convulsions, and convulsions at home, how should daily life be arranged?

It has to be said that this is a common concern, whether in the long-term treatment process, or in the growth of children with epilepsy, is bound to face many challenges, the growth and development, activities, transportation, education, work, diet, memory and even sleep of children with epilepsy may be different from normal children. In addition to the evolution of the disease, there are many life problems that can also trigger the seizures of children. These include eating disorders, psychological stress, unhealthy behaviors, and more. If left unattended, it can complicate the condition.

Frequent seizures can lead to brain damage, and may also cause accidental injury, which can have a negative psychological impact on older children, such as low self-esteem.

• So, in order to reduce the seizures of children, what are the details of life that we need to pay attention to?
• When children have seizures, there is often no doctor around, what can we do?
• Can children with epilepsy get vaccinated?
• If a child has epilepsy, how do we tell our teachers and classmates?

Let me start with the most basic aspects of eating, housing, transportation, and life and rest for children with epilepsy.

First, the question of eating.

Diet should cultivate children's good eating habits, not too full or too hungry, try to avoid eating excitatory foods, such as coffee, cola and other carbonated drinks, strong tea, chocolate, wine, etc., in addition, children with epilepsy like other normal children, can eat homely meals, no other special "taboo", there are some folk sayings that children with epilepsy can not eat beef, mutton, seafood and other "hair", is a subjective assumption without any scientific basis.

Avoid taking drugs containing stimulants such as ethanol, ephedra, antihistamines, drugs, caffeine, as well as isoniazid, pyridostigmine bromide, anthelmintic drugs such as albendazole, etc.

Second, on the question of housing.

Can a child with epilepsy board at school? If the epilepsy has been completely controlled, the interval between seizures has been extended to more than 3 times the usual seizures, or there are no seizures for 12 months, you can consider school boarding, at this time, you need to communicate more with the school teacher, classmates in the same dormitory and the child's friends, telling them that epilepsy is not contagious, and unlike psychosis, it will not cause harm to others when it occurs, so that students will not be afraid, do not discriminate, and alienate the child. Inform them of how to deal with seizures (see below) and urge them to take their medications on time to avoid missing or stopping medications.

If the child still has frequent seizures, more than 4 seizures per month, which is refractory epilepsy, it is not suitable for school boarding.

Third, the question of rows.

The need for recreation and sports is high in childhood and adolescence, and they need to be helped and accompany them to participate in some low-risk recreational and sports programs, such as camping, jogging, walking, etc., and avoid dangerous sports such as mountaineering, swimming, skydiving, etc. Cultivating hobbies is also good for physical and mental health.

Can people with epilepsy drive as adults? The mainland clearly stipulates that those who have epilepsy or have a history of previous cases cannot obtain a driver's license, which is mainly due to the uncertainty of the onset of epilepsy patients, which lays major safety risks for driving.

Make sure you bring enough anti-epileptic medication when you go out and leave home, and if your child lives alone away from home, make sure you can get in touch with relatives, friends or neighbours.

4. Life and rest

Exercise regularly, learn to relax, do not play computer games for a long time, do not overexcit, but also do not limit the child's life too much.

Avoid staying up late: We all know that if we sleep well, our minds will be clearer, more responsive, and more executive the next day. Sleep plays a key role in people's health, lack of sleep or decreased sleep quality, can aggravate or induce epilepsy, every exam or holiday need special reminders.

Poor epilepsy control or reduce or stop changing drugs to avoid swimming alone, do not bathe, close the door to bathe, try to choose a shower; Authors with frequent myoclonic episodes may wear a helmet; Avoid going to high places; Avoid cooking alone or making open fires. Some women have an increased number of seizures on the first day of menstruation or during ovulation, which may be related to changes in hormone levels.

Develop the habit of keeping an epilepsy diary: including recording the number of seizures, the increase or decrease of the dose of drugs, etc. (see Table 1: Epilepsy Diary Template). Take medication regularly and actively treat epilepsy. In order to avoid missing the dose, you should prepare enough drugs in advance, store the drugs in the child's school bag and car, you can also give the teacher some spare drugs, pay attention to observe whether there are allergies, rashes, itching, etc. during the medication, and minimize the adverse reactions of anti-epileptic drugs (see Table 2: Adverse reactions of commonly used anti-epileptic drugs for details).

5. Family treatment during seizures

When a child has a seizure, it is most important to ensure his safety, specifically:

1. Stay calm, do not try to hold the child, do not shout loudly;

2. Protect the tongue, put the tongue depressor wrapped with gauze, or chopsticks, towels, small cloth rolls, etc. between the upper and lower molars on one side of the child, but do not try to pull the tongue out; If it cannot be put in before the attack, wait for the child's mouth to open the mouth during the tonic period and then put it in, and do not forcibly put it in the clonic phase to avoid harming the child;

2. Pay attention to the safety of the surrounding environment, put the head on the soft pillow, remove the glasses, let the child's head tilt to one side, avoid suffocation caused by aspiration of oral secretions, and loosen clothes, belts or ties that may restrict his activities;

3. After the end of the seizure, the child will be drowsy, sleeping is not harmful to the child, and there is no need to forcibly stay awake;

4. Remember as much as possible the content related to the child's convulsions;

5. Necessary medical assistance;

6. Communicate well with the school, tell the classmates how to deal with it, in case the child suddenly convulses at school, let them assist the child to move to a safe environment, lie flat, turn the head to one side, clear the mouth and nose secretions, and send someone to quickly notify the teacher.

6. On the issue of vaccination of epilepsy patients.

Some vaccination will cause body temperature to rise, commonly Japanese encephalitis vaccine, flow brain vaccine, diphtheria, tetanus, tetanus, when the child has epilepsy, febrile seizures, epilepsy family history, vaccination may induce epilepsy or aggravate seizures, but long-term follow-up has no significant adverse reactions, so normal vaccination is still recommended.

However, before vaccination, the risk of vaccination, the treatment of fever, and new vaccines, such as non-whole cell pertussis vaccine, can reduce adverse reactions.

In children younger than 1 year of age, if the seizures are not controlled, it is recommended to postpone vaccination until the condition is stable. If parents fear seizures induced by vaccination, they can wait until 1 year after complete seizure control for normal vaccination. Suspension is recommended when children have frequent seizures or unexplained progressively progressive encephalopathy.

Children with epilepsy are encouraged to live and study normally, and all school-age children can enter school to learn when seizures are not frequent and have normal intelligence, not only that, children should try to go to ordinary schools, be able to attend physical education classes, and participate in outings.

It is recommended to tell the school teacher about the condition and communicate more with classmates to eliminate their prejudice against children with epilepsy. Parents of older children should let him understand the knowledge related to epilepsy, know that taking medication on time is his obligation and responsibility, and is part of his life.

Tell children that epilepsy is a common neurological disease, there is nothing dishonorable or terrible, and children with epilepsy can go to college, participate in work, and become useful talents for the country.

There are about 50 million people with epilepsy worldwide, and many celebrities such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Nobel, Maupassant, Van Gogh, etc. have suffered from epilepsy, but they have achieved great achievements. It should be said that under the guidance of doctors and the care of families, the life of children with epilepsy is as colorful.

If you need a doctor, Strawberry Pediatrics can help you

Method: You can follow the official account of "Hunan Women and Children's Hospital" - click "Medical Services" below - select "Registration Payment Check Report" - click "Make an appointment registration" and select "Pediatric Internal Medicine Clinic" for treatment.

[Pay attention to children's neuropsychological development, so that children's growth and development process is more stable and healthy]

Children's neuropsychological 99 targeted screening package, on the one hand, through neuropsychological assessment to detect children with developmental deviations or developmental abnormalities early and intervene early; On the other hand, it can also promote the neuropsychological development of normal children through various forms of early education.

Correspondent: Wu Liang