How and why do EEG to children?

Quite often, any neurological abnormalities in the baby's health are associated with the state of the brain. Modern medicine allows not only to practically look inside this organ, but also to fix its work in different periods. Parents, as a rule, all studies related to the child’s brain cause concern, but most of them are completely safe and do not cause any pain and harm to the baby. Such a study is EEG. Children can do it almost from birth. Let's see what it is when it is appointed.

The essence of encephalography

EEG is one of the methods for studying brain activity. The method is based on recording the electrical potentials of a given organ. In the course of the study, the result is obtained in the form of visual curves - an encephalogram.

The structural unit of the brain are neurons. There are billions of them, they are able to generate and conduct electrical impulses. The activity of a large number of nerve cells simultaneously forms the bioelectric activity of the brain, which the device fixes.

EEG is done to a child to determine the activity of brain cells. She, in turn, will show how effectively and correctly the central organ of the central nervous system exercises control over important systems and organs. A competent specialist who evaluates the results of an encephalogram is able to determine the functional state of the child’s nervous system. If there are deviations, then treatment is necessary.

Indications for Encephalography

When a neuropathologist prescribes an EEG of the brain of the child after the next visit to the doctor, the parents immediately begin to think that something is wrong with their baby. But every mom should understand that such a study is not necessarily prescribed for babies with neurological abnormalities. A completely healthy child can also be sent to the EEG to evaluate the functioning of the brain. Even a therapist can prescribe a procedure, but neurologists most often prescribe it in the following conditions, and this is done without fail:

1. Frequent cramps and seizures.
2. If the child is injured in the head.
3. In the presence of neoplasms in the brain.
4. The kid suffers from frequent headaches, there may be a loss of consciousness.
5. With sleep disturbances, including sleepwalking.
6. The child is often quick-tempered and irritable.
7. A child often cries for no reason.
8. Jumps in blood pressure are observed.
9. EEG is assigned to a child if he describes strange sensations and experiences unusual emotions.

But even in the absence of serious pathologies and deviations, there may be oddities in the behavior of the baby, his development, in such cases, the doctor most often also prescribes encephalography. It will help identify the causes of developmental delays, hyperactivity, or poor memory and attention.

A neuropathologist necessarily prescribes EEG monitoring for children (a procedure with a certain frequency) if there are the following conditions and pathologies:

• Epilepsy to assess the degree of damage to brain structures.
• Sleepwalking and other sleep disorders.
• The rehabilitation period after surgery in the brain.
• In the presence of inflammatory brain diseases, such as meningitis, meningoencephalitis.
• Pathologies of the perinatal period, for example, hydrocephalus in newborns.
• The presence of cerebral palsy.
• Autism is also an indication for an EEG.
• Delay in mental and physical development.
• Enuresis and stuttering.

As can be seen from the above, EEG is prescribed for children with many problems that are directly or indirectly associated with the work of the nervous system.

The goals of EEG diagnostics

This study helps your doctor evaluate:

1. The nature of brain disorders and their severity.
2. The location of the damaged area of ​​the brain.
3. Change of periods of sleep and wakefulness.
4. The effectiveness of the treatment.

Depending on what the EEG shows in the child, the doctor may come to the conclusion that other procedures and studies are necessary. For example, computed tomography may be needed.

How to prepare your child for the EEG procedure

Before you go to the encephalography procedure, you should prepare the child. To do this, you must follow some rules and recommendations:

1. Since sensors will be installed on the baby’s head, hair must be washed before the procedure.
2. If the procedure will be done to a very small child, say, an infant, then before that it needs to be fed so that it is calm.
3. Since the EEG is done to infants during sleep, it is necessary to take into account its schedule of sleep and wakefulness in advance.
4. If the child is already more than a year old, then encephalography is done during wakefulness, so it is important that the baby is calm and follows all the doctor’s instructions.
5. So that the child behaves more confidently, you can take his favorite toy with you.
6. If the procedure is carried out for a girl, then all hair pins, jewelry and hair should be removed from the head.
7. If drug therapy is carried out, then the procedure should not be stopped, you just need to tell the specialist about it.
8. With young children at home, you can practice wearing a hat, including this in everyday games.

The psychological preparation of the child is also important, therefore psychologists recommend:

• Talk with the baby and describe the future procedure as an exciting game.
• You can take your favorite book with you to the clinic to distract the baby from the process by reading.
• Be sure to correlate the usual routine of the child's day with the procedure. Feed the baby, and the older child should be awake.
• You can rehearse some of the doctor’s commands at home: opening and closing eyes, breathing at a different pace.

If the parents react to the preliminary preparation of the baby for such a procedure responsibly, then everything will go quickly and smoothly.

EEG options

Brain bioactivity can be fixed in different ways, therefore, doctors distinguish several options for conducting encephalography:

1. Routine way. For 15 minutes, the biopotentials of the brain are fixed, and provocations in the form of flashes of bright light or deep breathing are simultaneously conducted.
2. A long-term option involves fixing the work of the brain, taking into account daytime sleep.
3. Long measurements during the whole night's sleep.
4. The last option is a measurement with sleep deprivation (such an EEG is extremely rare for children, only if necessary).

Which option of encephalography to choose, in each case, the doctor decides.

Beginning of the procedure

If a neurologist prescribes an EEG of the brain, which this study shows in children, the specialist will explain in detail after receiving the results. The procedure is carried out in a special room, in which extraneous sounds do not penetrate. A device is also installed here, which will record the impulses of the brain in the form of a curve.

Before starting the procedure, a hat is put on the baby’s head, it looks like a helmet with electrodes, a specialist applies the necessary number of sensors to it, which are connected with the encephalograph. Biocurrents that are passed through the electrodes are completely harmless to the child.

All equipment must be grounded, and before applying the sensors, the doctor moistens them with water or saline to prevent the formation of an air cushion between the head and the electrode. Special clips-electrodes are put on the baby’s ears, they do not conduct electric current.

What are the features of the EEG procedure

Taking into account the age of the child, the order of encephalography is selected. If the baby is very small, then he can lie on his mother’s hands or on the changing table. The most important thing is that he sleeps. The whole procedure will take no more than 20 minutes, because the brain activity is recorded during the sleep period.

Older children are sitting on a couch or in a chair, the head should be straight, it should not be tilted forward so that its readings are distorted. A small patient should behave during the study calmly. EEG is done to older children a little differently. The procedure involves more complex studies, so it can take much longer.

Encephalography Stages

If we consider the standard EEG procedure, then it consists of the following steps:

1. Recording brain activity at rest - obtaining a “background curve”.
2. Fixation of brain activity during the transition from a state of rest to activity. This is a test with opening and closing eyes. The child must follow the doctor’s commands.
3. Hyperventilation test. It allows you to detect epilepsy in a latent form, various brain tumors, prolonged stress. At the command of a specialist, the child takes deep breaths and exhalations. With a baby, such measurements can be turned into a game by asking him to "blow on hot tea" or "put out a candle."
4. Photostimulation helps to assess the adequacy of the psychomotor and speech development of the baby, and epileptic activity can also be diagnosed. With the help of a lamp, periodic flashes of light are made, while the eyes should be closed.

Usually the procedure takes about 30 minutes, if additional studies are needed, then the time increases.

Evaluation of the results

There are EEG norms for children that a neurologist should know, so after a study, parents are given a picture or curve and description. The following points should be reflected:

1. Rhythm (alpha, beta, theta and delta), its localization and frequency.
2. The presumptive nature of the pathology.
3. Preliminary diagnosis.

With this conclusion and drawing, a small patient with his mother goes to a neurologist, who will give all the explanations.

What the alpha rhythm says

If a specialist notes a violation of the alpha rhythm, then this may indicate the presence of a neoplasm in the brain, trauma or hemorrhage. In a child, this may indicate a developmental delay, especially if:

• Excessive amplitude and synchronism.
• Displacements of the center of activity from the parietal and occipital zones.
• Violent activity during deep breathing.

Beta rhythm

If you make an EEG to a child who is completely healthy, then this rhythm is recorded only in the frontal lobes. If there is a shift to the central parts of the brain, then this may indicate a delay in mental development.

If a change in frequency or amplitude is diagnosed, then this may indicate a concussion or inflammatory processes in the tissues.

Evaluation of theta and delta rhythms

These two rhythms can be fixed in a healthy baby only during sleep. Their presence in the encephalogram may indicate a child’s dementia, a tendency to psychosis or neurosis.

Outbreaks and acute waves are most often recorded during epileptiform activity and confirm the diagnosis of epilepsy. Only EEG can be used to confirm this diagnosis.

All other indicators, which are reflected in the description of the curve, can be analyzed and commented only by a competent specialist. And only after making an accurate diagnosis can the necessary treatment be prescribed.

Where to make an EEG for a child

Such a procedure can be done in a medical institution that has the appropriate equipment and specialists for its implementation. Despite the fact that the research process for children and adults is practically the same, the doctor requires additional knowledge in the field of children's encephalography.

As for the capital of Russia, EEG for a child in Moscow can be done at the Neuro-Med medical center. The medical institution has all the necessary equipment, and the most modern, specialists work in conducting children's EEG. Experienced doctors have enough knowledge to decipher the results, and will also quickly find a common language with the baby.

Do not be afraid of modern research, including encephalography. It is better to detect deviations in a timely manner and take appropriate measures than to engage in therapy of the alleged disease for a long time.