Question
My child is three years old and has had three startle attacks, the second and third ones occurring in February and December 2005. The first and second attacks were accompanied by high fever, and this time the attack occurred at night. In the first and third attacks, the child woke up from the area below the nose. During the second attack, the child woke up on the way to the hospital. During the attack, the child’s body twitched, and sticky mucus was discharged from the mouth. The doctor said it was a fever-related startle. The child’s mother and uncle have abnormal nerves; the mother has some neurological issues, she has headaches, and the doctor said it’s due to a neurological deficiency, indicating incomplete brain development. Is this genetic in nature? What should I do? What precautions should I take in daily life?
Answer
If the third startle attack was a feverless seizure, it may be necessary to consider the possibility of epilepsy or poor brain development. If it was a high fever-related seizure, it cannot be determined yet because an infant’s brain development is not fully matured, and their response to stimuli is prone to generalization, leading to seizures during high fevers. It is recommended that you go to your local hospital for an electroencephalogram (EEG) to diagnose epilepsy) and a brain CT scan (to detect any abnormalities in brain structure) to further clarify the cause.