The use of a neoprene “thumb‐sock” to prevent trauma in a thumb‐sucking child with intractable epilepsy

A nine‐year‐old girl with spastic quadripiegia, mental retardation, poor vision, a gastrostomy, and intractable epilepsy was referred by her pediatrician for a dental assessment with a view to extracting her anterior teeth as a means of preventing repeated damage to the skin over the proximal phalanx of her left thumb, which she sucked at night. This was the time of day when the frequency of her epileptic seizures was highest. A simple solution to the problem was developed by a dentist and an occupational therapist In which nylon‐coated 3‐mm neoprene sheeting (wet‐suit material) was formed into a “thumb‐sock” with a simple Velcro fastening around the wrist. No trauma to the thumb from epileptic seizures has occurred since the “thumb‐sock” was fitted 24 months ago .