Epilepsy - children and young adults
Bringing the seizures under control
Seizures, altered levels of consciousness - when a child suffers an epileptic seizure, parents can often feel panicked and helpless. In many cases, epilepsy can be treated effectively.Our epilepsy centre at Schoen Clinic is a one of the world's highly specialist treatment institutions. We look after your child throughout the treatment programme - from detailed diagnostic tests and therapy to neuro-rehabilitation.
Epilepsy in babies: Our specialists treat children as young as a few months old. We give even young patients with epilepsy which is impossible or difficult to control with medication a chance to improve their quality of life.

Causes & symptoms
Epilepsy - children and young adults most commonly affected
Epilepsy is a chronic condition and originates in the brain. It occurs most commonly during childhood, and sometimes resolves of its own accord at the time of puberty.
From time to time, epileptic seizures can occur with no apparent trigger. Their causes maybe sudden, short-term functional problems within the brain. As a rule, epileptic seizures last a few seconds or minutes and stop on their own without treatment. In status epilepticus, the seizure lasts for more than 20 minutes.
Five per cent of all people will experience an epileptic seizure by the age of 20. This is usually what is known as an occasional seizure, however. The term epilepsy is used only when at least two epileptic seizures have occurred that were not triggered by an immediately preceding recognisable cause.
Epilepsy - causes: How the condition develops
If the brain is intensely irritated by damage or inflammation, it can respond by triggering a seizure. The causes of this irritation may be a high fever, excessive fatigue, a brain injury, poisoning or alcohol.
Disturbances of brain maturation during pregnancy or birth complications can also cause epilepsy. During adolescence, accidents or brain tumours are the more likely causes of the condition.
Epilepsy can also be inherited.
In many cases, however, there is no clear identifiable cause.
Symptoms: Indications of epilepsy
There are various indications of epilepsy. These can also change over the course of the disease.
Frequent signs:
- Short breaks in consciousness
- Sudden twitching of the body in infants
- Facial convulsions and speech difficulties in childhood
- Unconsciousness, stiffness, twitching of arms and legs
- Febrile convulsions
- Especially in children: Specific learning disabilities, severe behavioural or intelligence disorders, speech loss