PLEASE READ THIS LEAFLET CAREFULLY
It explains your child’s test and contains important information
Your child’s Consultant/GP has requested an EEG recording (brain wave study) during sleep. Recording your child’s EEG during sleep may provide helpful diagnostic information for the doctor. To help your child fall asleep, Melatonin will be given.
Melatonin is a hormone our bodies produce naturally which helps the body know when it is time to go to sleep. There are no reported side effects, apart from feeling sleepy, from this medication. It is not a sedative and only helps natural sleep to occur.
Melatonin comes as a capsule that can be dissolved in juice or milk if preferred. The nurse on the ward will discuss this with you to find out the best method for your child.
We expect the Melatonin dose to take effect after approximately 30 minutes, but with some children a second dose may be needed. If your child is already tired, this will help the medication to work. If possible please try a later bed time than usual and wake your child up earlier than usual on the morning of the appointment to reduce the number of hours sleep they have the night before. (For example: if your child’s usual sleep time is 7.00 pm to 7.00 am, please try to make it as 10.00 pm to 4.00 or 5.00 am on the night before appointment and no further nap/sleep until child attends the appointment).
The Melatonin will be administered soon after arrival on Safari Ward in a darkened quiet room. The sensors that detect and record your child’s brain waves will be applied to the head after your child has fallen asleep, by the physiologist.
Your child will be woken up after some sleep has been recorded and the recording continued in the waking state for sometime. At the end of the test, your child may still feel a little tired or sleepy for a few hours.
The examination is completely painless and will provide useful information for the doctor.
Please allow approximately 2 to 3 hours for the appointment. Due to the duration of the appointment and lack of child-care facilities in our department, we request you do not bring any other child with you.
Preparation – what you need to do
- Please try to ensure that your child has less than their usual number of hours sleep during the night before the test i.e. goes to bed late and is woken up early. It is also important that your child does not fall asleep on the way to the hospital.
- Please make sure your child’s hair is clean and dry for the test and has not had any hair preparations such as gel, mousse or hair spray applied.
- It would be helpful if your child has a light snack approximately 45 minutes before the test. If your child is very young, it may also help to bring something for them to snack on and a favourite book/toy in order to obtain maximum co-operation.
- Please bring with you any inhalers your child uses and a list of any other medication your child is taking. They should continue to take their medication as usual unless instructed not to by their doctor.
After the test
At the end of the test the gel will be removed. No test results are available on completion of the test so you will be free to leave. The test results will be analysed by the Consultant Neurophysiologist who will send a report on the test results to the doctor/consultant who referred your child for the test when the analysis has been completed.
The appointment
Please let us know if the appointment coincides with another outpatient appointment or if you are unable to attend. We can reschedule your test for another time and give the present slot to another patient.
Further information
We look forward to seeing you on the ward. If you or your child have any questions or worries please feel free to contact us in advance of your visit on 01522 572379 or 01205 445447. If we are unavailable please leave a message and we will get back to you ASAP.
Please see the attached map for location of department.
Clinical Neurophysiology
Telephone: 01522 572379/01205 445447