Epilepsy causes seizures in children.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, 326,000 school-age children have epilepsy, a condition that causes seizures. Sometimes doctors manage childhood seizures with medication, but sometimes more complicated treatments are required.
Diagnosis
Doctors use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to determine the type of seizure a child has. Doctors then develop a treatment plan.
Medication
Doctors recommend attempting to control seizures with medication before trying more invasive treatments. Commonly prescribed seizure medications for children include Tegretol, Depakote and Dilantin.
Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet involves a high-fat, low-protein, low-carbohydrate food plan. Doctors don't know exactly why this diet prevents seizures, but it often does. Children must be carefully monitored by a physician while on a ketogenic diet.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation
If medication doesn't help, doctors sometimes recommend vagus nerve stimulation. They implant a device under the skin that stimulates the vagus nerve. This reduces seizures in up to 50 percent of children, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Surgery
Sometimes doctors can surgically remove the part of the brain that causes seizures, if the area is small enough. Another surgical procedure known as hemispherectomy involves surgically disconnecting the healthy and unhealthy parts of the brain without actually removing any tissue.
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