Question
A two-and-a-half-year-old child had hand spasms at around 3 or 4 AM, with the hands clenching tightly. There were no other accompanying symptoms. Is this a sign of illness?
Answer
Based on the description, the child experienced sudden spasms and tight clenching of both hands during the early morning hours, without any other symptoms. This could be a manifestation of an epilepsy seizure. Common symptoms of epilepsy seizures include sudden loss of consciousness, falling to the ground, backward tilting of the head, stiffness in muscles, whole-body convulsions, frothing at the mouth, and loss of bladder or bowel control. These seizures typically last between 1 to 3 minutes. After the seizure, the patient may have brief confusion or only partial loss of consciousness, but still have some awareness of their surroundings.