EEG test

My son had to have an EEG test done today and I am writing this advice in the hope that it may help some parent who may be faced with their child having this procedure done. I didn’t really know much about the procedure myself until I arrived at the hospital!

The EEG (electroencephalogram) measures the electrical activity in the brain. In our situation it was to test for epilepsy, although it is a brain function test and I am told it is used for other reasons. 

The preparations for the EEG were to me the worst part, try following these guidelines for a 13 month old!! :- 

• The night prior to the EEG your child should only get one half of their normal amount of sleep
• The morning of the EEG your child should not have solids or dairy (yes including milk!) after a certain time. We had a 7am restriction as our appointment was at 2pm.
• Other drinks such as water or juice can be given up to two hours prior to the EEG
• The day of the EEG your child should be kept from napping. (very difficult as we had a two hour drive to the hospital!) 

Upon arrival my son was sedated by way of a suppository as this works better than the oral solution in young children. It really didn’t seem to bother him too much as he was so tired he soon went to sleep. 

Once he was asleep the nurse measured his scalp, making markings with a pen as to where to test and a heart monitor was attached to his toe. The scalp was prepared by light abrasion to reduce impedance and then electrodes were attached on each of the markings with a conductive gel and taped into place. The first part of the EEG is done with the child sleeping, and this took about 20 mins. 

For the second part of the EEG my son was woken up and a strobe type light was placed next to him to test the changes in brain activities. Other tests appear to be taking place as well i.e the nurse talked to him from another room to test his reactions and tested his reactions to closing his eyes and re-opening them. For the final part he got to play with bubbles, which he liked even in his drowsy state!  

I was so worried prior to the test, especially after speaking with the nurse about the preparations, but I must say it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, saying that, it is also quite a shock seeing your baby covered in wires. I have attached a photo of him which I hope is not too shocking!!

We will have to wait for the results but that should only take a week or so.