Infant epilepsy (2 months old)

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Ton - 03 Nov 2004 09:45 GMT

Hi,

As I'm from Holland I apologize for some bad written English, but I hope you
will understand me.

Our son is almost 2 months old, during a stay in the hospital the doctors
found out he has epilepsy. According to the doctors at such an early age
there's only one possible medicin: Fenobarbital (Phenobarbitalum,
medicin-group Barbiturates -Hope it's clear in English). I searched on the
internet and found out that this medicin isn't that good, at an older age
they never use it because of the side-effects.

My question is: What medicins are used in the rest of the world with baby's
from 1 - 6 months? For example: I wonder if fenobarbital is used in the USA
/ England / Australia / ...... etc. too with young babies. I hope someone
can tell me more about it.

Thanks in advance, Ton

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Mary Fisher - 03 Nov 2004 10:40 GMT

> Hi,
>
> As I'm from Holland I apologize for some bad written English, but I hope
> you will understand me.

I can't help you with the real question in this post but I must comment on
your first sentence.

All Dutch people seem to apologise for their less than perfect English.
There's no need to, your English is far, far better than my Dutch (which is
nil).

Also, your English is far better than that of many English people's :-(

Don't apologise for it, you have more important worries. Your English is
excellent.

And I hope that your baby's condition is well treated.

Hugs,

Mary

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Bob - 03 Nov 2004 15:20 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Thanks in advance, Ton

Hi Ton

Your English is fine and there is no problem understanding you.

The type of medicine that is given will depend upon the type of seizure
and the doctors are probably using the right medicine. There is a very
good website at:
<http://www.epilepsy.com/medications/b_phenobarbital_children.html>
and it says: "Phenobarbital is useful in treating many kinds of seizures
in children. It is often considered the first choice to treat certain
seizures in newborn infants."

The considerations in choosing a drug would be its effectiveness for the
type of epilepsy and the practicality of administering the medicine. For
example, an infant could not swallow a capsule and couldn't take a drug
that came only in that form. The medicine could be changed to another
when the child is older.

Phenobarbital is often used at older ages. I was taking it myself until
very recent times.

Regards,

Bob

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