Babies who get too much water can develop “water intoxication,” and become groggy, confused, drowsy, twitchy or even suffer from seizures. Over the years, news stories have emerged warning of the dangers of diluting formula and breast milk. Most recently, a Georgia couple faces criminal charges in their baby’s death.
What can cause seizures in babies?
Baby seizures happen when an abnormal extra burst of electrical activity occurs between neurons, or brain cells, in a baby’s brain. These can happen for many reasons. Causes may include brain injury, infection, and underlying health conditions, such as cerebral palsy.
Can over diluted formula cause pediatric seizures?
This problem has been caused most commonly by tap water, given either as supplemental feedings or in overly diluted formula; juices, soda, and tea also have been implicated.
Can watered down formula hurt baby?
Parents beware: diluting infant formula can be deadly. Just ask a cash-strapped Tampa, Fla., woman who, in an attempt to save money and stretch out meals for her hungry five-month-old son, watered down his formula, unwittingly causing a potentially fatal condition known as water intoxication.
Can water cause babies to have seizures?
Louis Children’s Hospital Diagnostic Center, too much water dilutes a baby’s normal sodium levels and can lead to seizures, coma, brain damage and death. Breast milk or formula provides all the fluid healthy babies need.
Do infant seizures go away?
In most cases, the seizures go away by the time the child is 16 months old. About 11% of children go on to develop other types of seizures.
How do you treat seizures in babies?
Seizures in Children Treatment
- Help the child to lie down on their side, preferably in a flat, non-crowded area. …
- Remove glasses or other harmful objects in the area.
- Do not try to put anything in the child’s mouth to try to stop the seizure; you may injure the child or yourself.
How do you tell if an infant is having a seizure?
Symptoms of Subtle Seizures
- Random or roving eye movements, eyelid blinking or fluttering, eyes rolling up, eye opening, staring.
- Sucking, smacking, chewing and protruding tongue.
- Unusual bicycling or pedalling movements of the legs.
- Thrashing or struggling movements.
- Long pauses in breathing (apnea)
Why does diluted formula cause seizure?
The problem is that extra water is not safe for babies. It causes the sodium level in their blood to drop. Low sodium will lead to brain swelling which can cause poor feeding, lethargy, seizure and eventually death. Giving free water to babies is not just an issue of formula stretching.
Can drinking too much water cause a seizure?
A buildup of fluid in the brain is called cerebral edema. This can affect the brain stem and cause central nervous system dysfunction. In severe cases, water intoxication can cause seizures, brain damage, a coma, and even death.
Can I dilute baby formula?
You might be tempted to eke out more servings, but diluting formula is dangerous. It takes away important nutrients your baby needs and can lead to slower growth and development. It can also lead to water intoxication, which can cause seizures.
What foods are bad for seizures?
Stimulants such as tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, sweets, soft drinks, excess salt, spices and animal proteins may trigger seizures by suddenly changing the body’s metabolism. Some parents have reported that allergic reactions to certain foods (e.g. white flour) also seem to trigger seizures in their children.
What should epileptics avoid?
Seizure triggers
- Not taking epilepsy medicine as prescribed.
- Feeling tired and not sleeping well.
- Stress.
- Alcohol and recreational drugs.
- Flashing or flickering lights.
- Monthly periods.
- Missing meals.
- Having an illness which causes a high temperature.
What food is good for seizures?
Although it’s not understood why, low blood glucose levels control seizures in some people. Foods on this diet include meat, cheese, and most high-fiber vegetables. This diet attempts to reproduce the positive effects of the ketogenic diet, although it allows a more generous intake of carbohydrates.
Are seizures common in infants?
Seizures happen when brain cells fire or “talk” too much, temporarily disrupting the brain’s normal electrical signals. They’re quite common, especially in infants and young children, and they have a wide range of causes.
What do newborn seizures look like?
The seizures often are fragmentary because the infant’s brain is still developing and is unable to make the coordinated responses seen in a typical generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The baby may have jerking or stiffening of a leg or an arm that can alternate from side to side.
What does a seizure look like in a sleeping baby?
Your baby may sweat, vomit, become pale, and experience spasms or rigidity in one muscle group, such as fingers, arms, or legs. You may also observe gagging, lip smacking, screaming, crying, and loss of consciousness. Absence (petit mal) seizures. Your baby appears to be staring into space or daydreaming.
How long do baby seizures last?
Simple febrile seizures are most common. They’re usually over in a few minutes, but in rare cases can last up to 15 minutes.
Can baby have seizures while sleeping?
Nocturnal seizures in infants and young children
Parents of new infants sometimes confuse a condition called benign neonatal sleep myoclonus with epilepsy. Infants experiencing myoclonus have involuntary jerking that often looks like a seizure.
Why do babies stare at walls?
The main reason babies stare is that their brains are developing and growing at an exponential rate. In fact, the more you play with your baby and engage with him/her, the better his/her brain will develop.
Why is water not good for babies?
So giving a baby younger than 6 months even a moderate amount of water in a short period of time can lead to hyponatremia, which at its most dangerous can cause brain swelling and even death.
Does water intoxication happen right away in babies?
Because babies’ kidneys aren’t yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes.
What happens if baby drink water while bathing?
“I’ve never seen a child get sick from drinking bathwater — even though kids pee in the tub all the time,” she says. Drinking soapy water could cause an upset tummy and, if your child drank enough of it, could make him throw up.