My child gets sudden jerks

Question
My child occasionally gets sudden jerks that last for approxmately two seconds.

Friends have told me that he may suffer from some form of epilepsy. Is this correct?

If so, what treatments are available? He is only 21 months old.

Answer
Muscle jerks or spasms in a baby might be due to some form of seizure, but not necessarily so.

Sometimes a baby will exhibit a few brief jerks whilst falling asleep. If they never happen whilst the baby is awake, and if the baby is developing normally, it is very unlikely that there is any underlying abnormality in the brain or nervous system.

There is a condition known as infantile spasms, a rare seizure disorder of infancy and early childhood, which may be accompanied by mental retardation. It usually starts in the first six months of life and the baby will have brief muscular jerks that may occur in clusters and often happen soon after waking.

As you have noticed some form of jerking in your baby I think you should tell your GP about it.

The doctor may want to refer your son to a hospital specialist for further investigations, including an electroencephalogram (EEG), which records brain waves and can help to determine whether the jerks are innocent or a sign of a more serious underlying disorder.

Yours sincerely

The Medical Team