If my baby has a seizure does that mean he has epilepsy?

No: Epilepsy is a brain disorder involving repeated, spontaneous seizures of any type one seizure is not diagnostic but needs to be evaluated.

No: A solitary seizure episode does not necessarily mean that your baby has epilepsy. Epilepsy is typically characterized by multiple episodes of seizures with correlating findings on an eeg. For example, children who have febrile seizures (typically between 6 months and 6 years of age) do not usually receive the diagnosis of epilepsy. A pediatric neurologist is the one who will make the diagnosis.

No: From 6 months to 6 years febrile seizures --non-permanent convulsions triggered by fever--are far more common. It is generally accepted that febrile seizures cause no longterm injury. Epilepsy is often associated with aberrations in the brain anatomy or nerve conduction ("electrical wiring" of the brain.).Medication is rarely needed for febrile seizures; however epilepsy requires long term meds.

No: Childhood is marked by a brain that can have simple seizure activity, like febrile seizures, or other events like rholandic seizures, that will disappear as the brain matures. This may be by 6 or 16 but most childhood events do not result in epilepsy. Your pediatrician or consultants will help you sort that out over time.