Febrile seizure in infant

QMy 16-month-old daughter got her first febrile seizure three months back. The doctor told us that it is due to a double ear infection. She had two seizures in a day. Why is she suffering from seizures? What are the chances of recurrence of seizures?

AFebrile seizures (febrile convulsions) are the most common convulsive events in human experience. Although they can be frightening to parents, the vast majority of febrile seizures are harmless. Children who have the first febrile seizure before 1 year of age have a 50 per cent chance of recurrence, compared to a recurrence risk of only 20 per cent, if the first seizure is after the age of 3 years.

Dr Muralidhar Reddy

QI am a 34-year-old female suffering from a vague kind of muscle pain in my left knee since three years. Over the last few months, I have developed pain in my right shoulder extending to my arm. Recently, I developed some numbness in my right hand as well but there is no loss of sensation. As per the X-ray report, doctor told me, this was consistent with my age. Will this pain be relieved?

AThe description about the knee and shoulder pain is not adequate to make the diagnosis. At your age, the cervical spine X-ray may show some spiking but that is not necessarily the cause of your symptom. When we see symptoms like yours, especially with numbness and radiating pain, we do think of other causes also. Also, you have not mentioned which part of your hand is numb.

The knee pain that you refer to is also common in your age group, especially in women between 30-35 years. There are different theories on the causes of chondro-malacia patella. However, with some precautions and exercises it can be self-limiting. Occasionally, symptoms of aches and pains — knee, shoulder, back — may point to a systemic problem, quite often a hypothyroid problem. All in all you need to consult a good orthopaedic surgeon, who can put everything together and make a diagnosis with careful investigations.

Dr Shashikanth G.