Epileptic seizures provoked by bathing with water at room temperature

Abstract

We report two Caucasian boys with seizures induced by bathing in lukewarm water. Different mechanisms of provocation were observed; in one boy a complex partial seizure was provoked by pouring water over the body, while in the other boy, a complex partial seizure with secondary generalisation was provoked by immersion. Since the water was not hot in either of the cases, the pathophysiological mechanism was not clear and the seizures could not be explained as hyperthermic-related events. We suggest that in the ILAE classification of epilepsies and epileptic seizures, bathing epilepsy should be added as a separate category, distinct from "hot-water epilepsy".