Passing standard procedures and passing various tests for us became almost familiar, but the brain encephalogram was never assigned to most patients. In addition, many do not know what it is and what it explores. Especially often, parents of young children worry about this procedure.
In fact, the brain encephalogram is an absolutely safe and painless procedure: special sensors are placed on the patient’s head that read electrical impulses and record them in the form of a curve. This study is often used to make or confirm some diagnoses in neurosurgery and neurology. So, a number of reasons can serve as the basis for making an EEG of the brain:
- frequent fainting;
- vegetovascular dystonia;
- hypertension;
- osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
- head injuries;
- headaches of unknown origin;
- sleep disturbances;
- convulsions of unknown origin;
- suspected neoplasms in the membranes of the brain;
- epilepsy;
- previous brain operations;
- cerebrovascular accident;
- neurotic disorders;
- delayed mental or speech development of unclear origin;
- bouts of unusual behavior.
Contrary to a fairly common opinion, there is no reason to believe that a brain encephalogram can help diagnose psychiatry, that is, it will not work to confirm or refute a disease such as schizophrenia.
There are no contraindications to EEG, however, some special requirements are imposed on patients. So, at the time of the study, the patient's hair should be washed and thoroughly dried. They should not have any styling means, also during the day before the procedure you can not drink alcohol, caffeine, guarava.
EEG of the brain in children does not differ from a similar procedure in adults. The doctor will ask the patient to sit comfortably in the chair and not move after the start of recording. During the procedure, the doctor may ask you to close and open your eyes, breathe deeply, and also turn on a flickering light. All this is necessary to understand how the patient’s brain processes information, and whether there are areas that are not working correctly. The only difference is that it will be difficult for an insufficiently adult child to explain why this procedure is performed, so parents will have to turn on their imagination so that they are not afraid, for example, to say that this is such a new and interesting game.
In addition to this study, doctors also have an MRI and an ultrasound scan, an X-ray of the cranium. But all of them are used for slightly different purposes than the brain encephalogram, and do not provide the information that can be obtained using EEG. But the whole complex may be required, especially if the problem is rather complicated, and the doctors are not sure of the diagnosis. But do not worry - the brain EEG is absolutely harmless for any age and can be performed as often as you like.