Do not restrain the movements during the seizure

The 16-year-old son of actor John Travolta and Kelly Preston was found dead in their vacation home in the Bahamas on Friday. He apparently suffered a seizure and hit his head on the bathtub as he fell.

The actor posted a statement on his wife’s website Sunday, thanking fans and friends for their support. The couple said Jett Travolta had been diagnosed with Kawasaki syndrome as a young child. He also suffered from asthma, according to his mother who pointed to fertilizers and household cleaners as the cause.

Seizures are a constant source of fear for the parents of children who suffer them and the doctors who treat them. According to a specialist in children’s epilepsy, seizures are a terror they all have to live with.

Seizures are the result of electrical discharges in the brain gone haywire. Brain cells emit electrical charges in a very controlled pattern to communicate with each other. When that normal pattern is disrupted and the cells discharge electricity all at the same time, seizures occur.

The duration may vary from a few seconds to several minutes for serious, possibly life-threatening episodes.

The frequency of seizures may vary greatly among children. Some experience seizures many times in one day but others may have them only once or twice a year. Seizure frequency also goes through fluctuations, and the child could have “good days” followed by “bad days.”

Some seizures may arise because of underlying medical problems, such as low levels of blood sugar, infections, a brain tumor. Head injury, an overdose of drugs/medication, or accidental poisoning can also trigger seizures. Multiple or recurring seizures may be diagnosed as epilepsy, which is really due to several different causes.

Children (or grownups) with autism and mental retardation have greater likelihood of seizures because all of these are derived from the same underlying problem. Children may outgrow epilepsy and seizures upon reaching their late teens, but some never do.

Drugs have been used to treat seizures. But these can lead to side effects, such as sleepiness, dizziness, severe rashes, and more serious effects like weight gain and liver damage.

Falling and drowning are two leading causes of death from seizures, and parents will have to arrange for supervision for children who suffer serious seizures frequently.

Safety Tips:

* Never wedge open the child’s mouth while the seizure is in progress.

* Do not restrain the movements of the child during the seizure. When it ends, roll the child so that he or she is lying on one side.

* Call emergency services when seizures last longer than 5 minutes or if the child has a history of previous seizures. Otherwise, wait until the child’s breathing has returned to normal and then call the child’s doctor.