A seizure is a distinctive indication of epilepsy and can be brought about by illnesses, birth defects, fever, infection and poisoning.
Some infants might experience seizures due to disorders of the brain and nervous system such as buildup of fluid in the brain or hydrocephalus. The seizures among infants can manifest more than once while those due to fever or other ailments are generally isolated.
Repeated movements
Neonatal onset epilepsy can cause seizures among infants below the age of 2 months old. This form of infant seizure involves repetitive motions such as blinking, sucking, fluttering eyelids, lip smacking, tongue extending and pauses in breathing.
Muscular spasms
An infantile onset epilepsy arises among infants around 1-2 years of age. This type of infant seizure includes symptoms of abrupt and jerking spasms that occur early morning while the child is sleeping or when waking from a nap.
The contractions can last for a few seconds and manifest as clusters affecting the neck, head, arms and trunk. In most cases, the contractions might be subtle that they are not evident but can cause the child to cry abruptly and excessively.
Muscle rigidity
Grand mal seizures and febrile seizures among infants caused by high fever can trigger rigidity or paralysis of the muscles. The stiffness typically last around 5 minutes and include rigidity of the muscles, fixed staring or limping and loss of muscle tone.
Loss of consciousness
A grand mal seizure can occur among infants over 2 months old. This type of infant seizure can result to loss of consciousness as the infant ceases to breathe briefly. The lips of the child might turn bluish from the lack of oxygen.