During these last days we have been able to see how epilepsy is identified by having as its main characteristic the appearance of a significant number of crises, which gives rise to a wide range of consequences that cover various aspects of the child's evolutionary development.
These effects should be addressed as early as possible in order to avoid important consequences on school performance or adaptation to the environment, and even the family. Therefore, today we will see the different childhood epilepsy treatments taking into account the individual characteristics of each child.
On the one hand we can talk about psychological treatment, which will be considered when the consequences of epileptic seizures can generate some kind of alteration in the child's quality of life. In addition to trying to control the number of crises that occur, this type of treatment seeks to control different emotional aspects that usually accompany them.
Likewise, this type of intervention is principal when we want to deal with different aspects that accompany the crisis with special dedication, such as a decrease in self-esteem, different emotional disturbances or behavioral problems. In particular, family orientation is one of the most important intervention measures because avoiding overprotection of the child, having more confidence in their possibilities or strengthening their self-esteem will allow the child's quality of life to grow.
On the other hand, being one of the treatments that are usually taken as a first step before someone with seizures, the Pharmacotherapy. This type of treatment implies a regular regulation of their levels in the child's blood since if it is not administered properly, some areas of the child's development will be compromised, such as his cognitive abilities.
After the crises appear to be a little more controlled, it is possible to assess the gradual withdrawal of their administration, always taking into account that we do not want these crises to reappear abruptly. For this, we must take into account this disappearance, as well as the normalization of the results of different medical tests (for example, electroencephalogram) after the passage of at least two years.
Finally, we can also find the surgical treatments or antiepileptic surgery. Initially, this type of therapeutic alternative was only indicated in adults, although in recent years it is also being considered to be able to apply it to children who do not evolve as expected through pharmacological treatment.
One of the main reasons why he is betting on it is that, in addition to improving the disease considerably, it would also help to improve the cognitive functions of those children in whom they would have been compromised because of the crises.
However, so that children with childhood epilepsy can opt for this type of treatment and thus manage to control their crises considerably, it is necessary to meet a series of requirements, such as presenting epilepsy for at least two years with frequent and stable seizures, presenting seizures in an easily identifiable area of the brain or that the presence of such seizures significantly interferes with the child's quality of life, and may even become A risk to your physical integrity.
Likewise, one of the most important points when determining whether the surgical treatment is the most appropriate or not, is to know that the intervention will not have serious neurological or cognitive consequences in the child, or that they will cause some type of disability
Currently, research is underway to develop intervention techniques that include the implantation of microchips to control the epileptic focus, or mechanisms that are placed in different brain areas that progressively release anticonvulsants. However, the two techniques most used in antiepileptic surgery are the removal of the area responsible for the seizures and the limitation of the spread of the seizures by different techniques (when direct intervention on the area is not possible).
We hope that now that you know a little more different childhood epilepsy treatments, and along with the other posts related to the topic, you understand a little better what childhood epilepsy consists of and what consequences it can have, not only on the child, but also on its closest environment.
