Seizures : Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment
What Are Seizures?
A seizure is the bodily adjustments in conduct that happens at some stage in an episode of ordinary electrical hobby in the brain.
The time period "seizure" is frequently used interchangeably with "convulsion." During convulsions someone has uncontrollable shaking that is speedy and rhythmic, with the muscle mass contracting and relaxing time and again. There are many extraordinary forms of seizures. Some have slight symptoms without shaking.
A seizure is a clinical condition wherein you have a transient, out of control surge of electrical interest to your brain. When that takes place, the affected brain cells uncontrollably fire indicators to others around them. This out-of-managed electrical interest overloads the affected regions of your brain.
![]() |
Seizures |
That overload can motivate a huge range of signs or outcomes. The feasible signs and symptoms include abnormal sensations, passing out and out of control muscle actions. Treatment options, depending on seizure kind, consist of medicinal drugs, surgeries and special food plan adjustments.
The time period seizure comes from the historic belief in multiple cultures that seizures have been a signal of ownership through an evil spirit or demon. However, present day medicinal drugs have exposed the truth: Everyone will have seizures, and some human beings will have them greater without difficulty than others.
Medical terms
- A seizure is an unexpected, out of control electric disturbance within the mind. It can motivate adjustments to your conduct, actions or emotions, and in tiers of focus. Having or more seizures as a minimum 24 hours aside that aren't introduced with the aid of an identifiable purpose is commonly considered to be epilepsy.
- There are many forms of seizures, which range in symptoms and severity. Seizure sorts range through where in the mind they begin and the way some distance they unfold. Most seizures last from 30 seconds to two minutes. A seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes is a scientific emergency.
- Seizures are more commonplace than you might think. Seizures can appear after a stroke, a closed head damage, an infection consisting of meningitis or some other illness. Many times, even though the cause of a seizure is unknown.
Most seizure issues can be managed with medicine, however control of seizures can nevertheless have a full-size impact on your everyday life. The excellent news is that you could paint together with your doctor to stabilize seizure management and medicine aspects.
and Epilepsy A seizure is the consequence of a sudden excessive abnormal and pathological discharge of cortical neurons It is characterized by paroxysmal abnormal behavior loss of consciousness convulsions and/or a change in mental status The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) has classified seizures into three major groups based on clinical features: Generalized seizures begin in both hemispheres and may be focal or bilateral Partial seizures begin in one hemisphere and are limited to one area of the brain.
in Children A seizure may be described as a sudden surge of electrical activity that occurs in the brain Seizures are usually brief and often have no lasting physical effects They most commonly occur after a fever when people have been exposed to certain poisons or when someone has consumed too much alcohol In some cases seizures can be brought on by prescribed medications or epilepsy Knowing the signs of a seizure and how to respond can reduce the stress for all involved.
Types Seizures
The threeTrusted Source principal types are focal onset seizures, generalized onset seizures, and unknown onset seizures.
Focal onset seizures
Focal onset seizures arise in the most effective one areaTrusted Source of the mind. People may also consult with these as partial seizures.
Focal onset seizures can begin in small regions of the mind, including an unmarried lobe, but can affect big regions.
Medical specialists typically cut up focal onset seizures into two kinds: focal aware seizures and focal cognizance-impaired seizures.
Focal aware seizure
During a focal conscious seizure, you’ll remain completely aware and be aware that something is taking place, even if you do not recognize it as a seizure.
The symptoms of a focal aware seizure will rely on which part of the mind the seizure starts.
Focal conscious seizures may be singular occasions but also can change into different forms of seizures. For this motive, humans frequently talk to them as warnings or auras.
Focal impaired-awareness seizure
This type of seizure impacts your cognizance. During a focal impaired-recognition seizure, you could not be able to pass, communicate, or hear as you probably did earlier than. You may not be able to recall the occasion.
Focal impaired-consciousness seizures can last for up to 2 minutesTrusted Source. This sort of seizure generally impacts a larger part of the mind than focal conscious seizures.
Generalized onset seizures
These seizures begin in both facets of the mind simultaneously. Among the extra commonplace kinds of generalized onset seizures are:
Tonic. Tonic seizures will result in your muscles stiffening up.
Clonic. The convulsions in clonic seizures may additionally reason extraordinary, jerky movements of your limbs. You will possibly lose cognizance throughout these seizures which could ultimately last for a couple of minutes.
Tonic-clonic. Tonic-clonic seizures consist of a mixture of both tonic and clonic signs and symptoms.
Myoclonic. During a myoclonic seizure you may enjoy surprising muscle spasms. These are normally too brief lived to have an effect on awareness and bypass fast. Myoclonic seizures can be of generalized onset in addition to focal onset.
Absence. People might also talk about these as petit mal seizures. Absence seizures remain for only a few seconds. They can cause you to blink repeatedly or stare into space. Other humans can also mistakenly assume you’re having a pipe dream.
Atonic. During Atonic seizures your muscle tissues abruptly move limp. Your head can also nod, or your whole body should fall to the floor. Atonic seizures are short, lasting approximately 15 seconds. People may discuss those seizures as drop assaults.
Unknown onset seizures
Sometimes no person witnesses the beginning of a seizure. For example, a person may additionally awaken in the middle of the night and observe their associate having a seizure.
This frequently method there’s inadequate evidenceTrusted Source for medical specialists to diagnose the root cause of a seizure. In those times, they may outline the seizure as an unknown onset seizure.
Seizures in children
Seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain This activity can be triggered by a variety of factors including infections, head trauma, high fever and even certain medications While seizures can occur at any age they're most common among children between the ages of 4 and 10. Seizures may also appear in older adults In rare cases infants can have seizures.
Why do seizures happen?
As you know seizures occur when the normal activity of the brain is disturbed for a certain period of time Seizures can be divided into two major groups: Generalized seizures which affect both sides of the brain at the same time (called “grand mal” seizures) and Partial seizures which begin in one part of the brain.
Symptoms Seizures
Seizures can cause adjustments in movement, sensation, consciousness, idea or behavior, depending on which part of the brain the seizure impacts. Some seizures involve most effectively a part of the mind — others involve the entire brain.
Before a seizure you can have an ‘aura’ — a feeling that forewarns a seizure is coming. A charisma might also contain extraordinary smells, emotions of deja-vu (in which you feel you have been right here before), tingling, vision disturbances, or worry or joy. This air of secrecy is truly the first part of a seizure.
During the seizure, the symptoms experienced rely upon the form of seizure. An individual may be alert throughout the seizure, and capable of remembering it afterwards, or may not bear in mind it at all.
With a seizure, symptoms and signs can range from mild to extreme and vary depending on the kind of seizure. Seizure signs and signs and symptoms may include:
Temporary confusion
A staring spell
Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs
Loss of consciousness or awareness
Cognitive or emotional symptoms, such as fear, anxiety or deja vu
Doctors typically classify seizures as either focal or generalized, based on how and wherein unusual brain activity starts. Seizures can also be categorized as unknown onset, if how the seizure started is not known.
Focal seizures
Focal seizures result from strange electric interest in one region of your brain. Focal seizures can arise with or without loss of focus:
Focal seizures with impaired awareness. These seizures contain a trade or lack of recognition or recognition that feels like being in a dream. You can also seem wakeful, however you stare into an area and do no longer reply usually to your environment or you carry out repetitive movements. These might also encompass hand rubbing, mouth movements, repeating sure phrases or taking walks in circles. You won't don't forget the seizure or maybe recognise that it came about.
Focal seizures without loss of consciousness. These seizures may also modify emotions or trade the manner things look, odor, sense, taste or sound, but you do not lose focus. You may additionally abruptly feel irritated, completely satisfied or unhappy. Some people have nausea or uncommon feelings which are tough to explain. These seizures may additionally result in difficulty talking, involuntary jerking of a body component, along with an arm or a leg, and spontaneous sensory signs consisting of tingling, dizziness and seeing flashing lighting fixtures.
Symptoms of focal seizures may be pressured with other neurological disorders, together with migraine, narcolepsy or mental illness.
Generalized seizures
Seizures that appear to contain all areas of the mind are called generalized seizures. Different styles of generalized seizures include:
Absence seizures. Absence seizures, previously called petit mal seizures, frequently arise in children and are characterized through staring into an area or by way of diffused body actions, together with eye blinking or lip smacking. They typically close for 5 to 10 seconds however may additionally appear up to loads of times according to day. These seizures can also arise in clusters and cause a short lack of focus.
Tonic seizures. Tonic seizures motivate stiffening of your muscular tissues. These seizures typically have an effect on muscle groups in your returned arms and legs and can cause you to lose awareness and fall to the floor.
Atonic seizures. Atonic seizures, additionally referred to as drop seizures, motivate a lack of muscle control, which may also cause you to abruptly disintegrate, collapse or drop your head.
Clonic seizures. Clonic seizures are related to repeated or rhythmic, jerking muscle actions. These seizures usually affect the neck, face and fingers on each facet of the frame.
Myoclonic seizures. Myoclonic seizures generally seem as sudden short jerks or twitches of your arms and legs. There is frequently no loss of attention.
Tonic-clonic seizures. Tonic-clonic seizures, previously referred to as grand mal seizures, are the maximum dramatic type of epileptic seizure and might cause an abrupt loss of cognizance, frame stiffening and shaking, and on occasion lack of bladder control or biting your tongue. They can also last for several minutes.
When to see a doctor
Seek immediate medical assist if any of the following happens:
The seizure lasts more than five minutes.
Breathing or consciousness doesn't return after the seizure stops.
A second seizure follows immediately.
You have a high fever.
You're experiencing heat exhaustion.
You're pregnant.
You have diabetes.
You've injured yourself during the seizure.
If you experience a seizure for the first time, seek medical advice.
Causes Seizures
Seizures can stem from numerous fitness conditions. Anything that impacts the body also may also disturb the brain and cause a seizure.
Nerve cells (neurons) within the brain create, ship and receive electrical impulses, which allow the brain's nerve cells to talk. Anything that disrupts those conversation pathways can result in a seizure. Some styles of seizure issues may be as a result of genetic mutations.
The most common motive of seizures is epilepsy. But no longer all of us who have a seizure have epilepsy. Sometimes seizures can be prompted or caused by means of:
High fever, which can be associated with an infection such as meningitis
Lack of sleep
Flashing lights, moving patterns or other visual stimulants
Low blood sodium (hyponatremia), which can happen with diuretic therapy
Medications, such as certain pain relievers, antidepressants or smoking cessation therapies, that lower the seizure threshold
Head trauma that causes an area of bleeding in the brain
Abnormalities of the blood vessels in the brain
Autoimmune disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis
Stroke
Brain tumor
Use of illegal or recreational drugs, such as amphetamines or cocaine
Alcohol misuse, during times of withdrawal or extreme intoxication
COVID-19 virus infection
Complications Seizures
Having a seizure can from time to time lead to occasions which can be dangerous for you or others. You is probably liable to:
Falling. If you fall at some stage in a seizure, you can injure your head or break a bone.
Drowning. If you have a seizure even while swimming or bathing, you are prone to accidental drowning.
Car accidents. A seizure that causes loss of both consciousness or control may be risky in case you're using a car or working in another system.
Pregnancy complications. Seizures at some stage in being pregnant pose risks to each mother and baby, and sure anti-epileptic medicines boom the risk of beginning defects. If you have got epilepsy and plan to come to be pregnant, paint with your physician so that he or she will regulate your medicines and reveal your being pregnant, as wanted.
Emotional health issues. People with seizures are more likely to have mental issues, which includes melancholy and tension. Problems can be an end result of problems coping with the situation itself as well as medicinal drug facet results.
Prevention Seizures
Everyone is at risk for seizures, and in addition they appear unpredictably, so it’s now not viable to completely prevent them. The pleasant component you can do is avoid possible reasons to reduce the chances of getting a seizure.
The pleasant things you can do to lessen your hazard of getting a seizure encompass:
Eat a balanced weight-reduction plan and preserve a weight that is healthy for you. Many conditions related to your circulatory and heart health, especially stroke, can damage areas of your mind. This is one of the fundamental causes of seizures in human beings over age sixty five. This can also assist keep away from electrolyte problems (an excessive amount of or too little sodium, for example).
Don’t ignore infections. Eye and ear infections are mainly critical to deal with. If these infections spread on your mind, they could cause seizures. Infections can also cause high fevers, which could result in seizures.
Wear safety equipment. Head accidents are a first-rate reason for seizures. Using protection devices (helmets, safety belts and restraints, and so on.) Each time important, let you avoid any harm that results in a seizure.
Don’t misuse alcohol, prescription or recreational Tablets. Misusing those can result in seizures, and withdrawal from these substances also can cause seizures in case you're depending on them.
Manage your health conditions. Managing persistent situations assists you to keep away from seizures, in particular people who happen due to your blood sugar with either Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes.
Avoid possible seizure triggers. People with a history of seizures from flashing lights need to use warning and keep away from similar triggers each time viable.
Diagnosis Seizures
Doctors may have a tough time diagnosing seizure kinds. Your health practitioner can also endorse specific checks to appropriately diagnose a seizure and help make certain that the treatments they endorse might be effective.
Your doctor will keep in mind your complete medical records and the events as much as the seizure. For example, migraine, complications, sleep issues, and intense mental stress can cause seizure-like symptoms.
After a seizure, your health practitioner will thoroughly review your symptoms and medical records. Your health practitioner may also order numerous assessments to decide the purpose of your seizure and evaluate how likely it is that you will have some other one.
Tests may include:
A neurological exam. Your health practitioner can also examine your conduct, motor abilities and mental characteristics to determine if you have trouble together with your brain and apprehensive gadget.
Blood tests. Your doctor can also take a blood sample to test your blood sugar tiers and look for signs of infections, genetic situations or electrolyte imbalances.
Lumbar puncture. If your medical doctor suspects contamination because of a seizure, you may need to have a sample of cerebrospinal fluid removed for trying out.
An electroencephalogram (EEG). In this take a look at, docs attach electrodes to your scalp with a paste-like substance. The electrodes document the electrical pastime of your mind, which shows up as wavy traces on an EEG recording. The EEG might also display a pattern that tells docs whether or not a seizure is likely to arise again. EEG testing may additionally assist your health practitioner to exclude different situations that mimic epilepsy as a reason for your seizure. Depending on the details of your seizures, this take a look at may be achieved at an outpatient visit in the clinic, overnight at home with an ambulatory tool or over a few nights in the health center.
Imaging tests may include:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI experiment makes use of powerful magnets and radio waves to create a detailed view of your brain. Your physician may be able to discover lesions or abnormalities to your brain that would lead to seizures.
Computerized tomography (CT). ACT test makes use of X-rays to acquire go-sectional pics of your brain. CT scans can monitor abnormalities to your brain that would cause a seizure, together with tumors, bleeding and cysts.
Positron emission tomography (PET). A PET scan uses a small amount of low-dose radioactive cloth it truly is injected into a vein to assist visualize lively areas of the brain and hit upon abnormalities.
Single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT). A SPECT take a look at uses a small amount of low-dose radioactive cloth it's injected right into a vein to create a detailed, three-D map of the blood float interest to your mind that takes place all through a seizure. Doctors can also conduct a form of SPECT test called subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered with MRI (SISCOM), which can also provide even more-detailed outcomes. This test is usually achieved in a hospital with overnight EEG recording.
Can seizure be curable?
Yes, in fact epilepsy is one of the most treatable chronic neurological disorders. Many people can be successfully treated and live long and fulfilling lives. Treatments include medication, diet changes, surgery and neurostimulation.
Treatment Seizures
With provoked seizures, treating or curing the condition causing your seizures will commonly cause them to forestall. In cases where the underlying situation isn’t curable or treatable, healthcare carriers may additionally recommend medicines to try and lessen how excessive your seizures are and the way frequently they show up medicinal drugs.
Providers usually suggest treating first-time unprovoked seizures. That’s due to the fact there’s no certainty that anything will take place. An exception to that is if the man or woman has a better risk of getting another seizure, or when a person has epilepticus. Stopping status epilepticus is vital because it can lead to everlasting mind damage or death. Healthcare carriers can use your clinical records and tests like EEG, CT experiment or MRI scan to determine if you have a better danger of having every other seizure.
Not each person who has one seizure will have every other one, and due to the fact a seizure can be an isolated incident, your physician won't decide to start a remedy till you've had a couple of.
The most reliable intention in seizure treatment is to find the high-quality feasible remedy to forestall seizures, with the fewest facet outcomes.
Medication
Treatment for seizures regularly includes the use of anti-seizure medicines. There are many one-of-a-kind alternatives for anti-seizure remedy. One of the more current medications authorized via the Food and Drug Administration, cannabidiol (Epidiolex), is derived from marijuana. It's authorized to deal with seizures in children aged 2 and older.
The intention of medication is to discover the drugs that work quality for you and that causes the fewest facet consequences. In a few instances, your doctor may recommend multiple medicines.
Finding the proper remedy and dosage can be complex. You may additionally need to attempt several distinct medicinal drugs to discover which pleasant controls your seizures with the fewest facet outcomes. Side outcomes may additionally include weight benefit, dizziness, fatigue and temper changes. More-serious consequences can cause harm to the liver or bone marrow.
Your health practitioner will remember your situation, your frequency of seizures, your age and other factors whilst selecting which medication to prescribe. Your health practitioner may even evaluate some other medicinal drugs you will be taking, to make sure that the anti-epileptic medicines won't engage with them.
Dietary therapy
Following an eating regimen that is high in fat and really low in carbohydrates, referred to as a ketogenic weight-reduction plan, can enhance seizure control. The ketogenic diet may be very strict and can be hard to comply with, as there is a confined variety of foods allowed. Variations on an excessive-fat, low-carbohydrate food plan, which includes the low glycemic index and changed Atkins diets, though much less powerful, are not as restrictive because of the ketogenic food plan and might provide gain. These changed diets are nonetheless being studied.
Surgery
If other remedies aren't powerful, surgery can be a choice. The aim of surgery is to stop seizures from happening. Surgery works fine for humans who have seizures that continually originate within the same location within the mind. There are numerous varieties of surgical procedure, such as:
Lobectomy (lesionectomy). Surgeons find and get rid of the place of your mind where seizures begin.
Multiple subpial transection. This type of surgical treatment involves making several cuts in regions of the mind to prevent seizures. It's commonly done while the place of the mind wherein seizures begin can't be properly removed.
Corpus callosotomy. This surgery cuts the community of connections between the neurons of the proper and left halves of the brain. This is used to treat seizures that start in a single half of the mind and journey to the other half of. However, even after surgical treatment, seizures may additionally nevertheless occur on the aspect of the brain in which they began.
Hemispherectomy (hemispherotomy). This surgical treatment gets rid of 1/2 of the outer layer of the mind. This is an excessive kind of surgical procedure that is handiest used while medicinal drugs aren't powerful in dealing with seizures and seizures affect the handiest half of the brain. Many daily useful abilities may be lost after this surgical treatment, but youngsters can often recover those competencies with great rehabilitation.
Thermal ablation (laser interstitial thermal therapy). This much less invasive surgery focuses quite concentrated strength at a specific goal in the brain wherein seizures begin and destroys the brain cells that motivate seizures.
Electrical stimulation
Other procedures that may offer seizure relief include:
Vagus nerve stimulation. A device implanted below the skin of your chest stimulates the vagus nerve for your neck, sending indicators on your brain that inhibit seizures. With vagus nerve stimulation, you can still want to take remedy, but you will be able to decrease the dose.
Responsive neurostimulation. During responsive neurostimulation, a device implanted on the floor of your mind or within brain tissue can locate seizure activity and deliver an electrical stimulation to the detected area to prevent the seizure.
Deep brain stimulation. Doctors implant electrodes inside sure regions of your mind to produce electric impulses that adjust atypical mind interest. The electrodes connect to a pacemaker-like tool placed under the skin of your chest, which controls the quantity of stimulation produced.
Pregnancy and seizures
Women who have had previous seizures commonly are able to have healthful pregnancies. Birth defects associated with positive medications can on occasion occur.
In specific, valproic acid — one viable medicinal drug for generalized seizures — has been related to cognitive deficits and neural tube defects, including spina bifida. The American Academy of Neurology recommends that ladies avoid the use of valproic acid at some stage in being pregnant due to risks to their toddlers. Discuss those risks along with your medical doctor. Because of the danger of delivery defects and because being pregnant can regulate medicine stages, preconception making plans are specifically vital for girls who've had seizures.
In a few instances, it is able to be suitable to change the dose of seizure medicinal drug before or in the course of pregnancy. Women need to paint intently with their docs earlier than turning into pregnant with the aim of being on the lowest important dose of the most secure seizure medicinal drug that is powerful for seizure control.
Contraception and anti-seizure medications
Some anti-seizure medicinal drugs can adjust the effectiveness of beginning control (oral contraceptive) remedy. If birth control is an excessive priority, take a look at along with your health practitioner to evaluate whether your medication interacts together with your oral contraceptive, and if other sorts of birth control need to be considered.
What is the emergency treatment for seizures?
As with any medical emergency the first thing to do if you see someone experiencing a seizure is to determine whether they are in danger. If they are in a dangerous place or activity get them out of it right away For example if the person is driving a car or swimming make sure they are safe before trying to help.
What medications treat seizures?
The medications that are prescribed to treat seizures fall into three main categories: anticonvulsants antidepressants and barbiturates Anticonvulsants help prevent seizures by altering brain chemistry while antidepressants and barbiturates work to stop the seizure once it has already started.
What is the best vitamin for epilepsy?
Vitamin E is known to be an antioxidant that can help prevent or delay cell damage It also helps reduce the risk of developing heart disease cancer and diabetes In addition vitamin E has a positive effect on the function of the immune system which makes it useful for treating conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease Vitamin E can also help people with epilepsy.
What foods should epileptics avoid?
Epileptics should avoid certain foods and beverages because of the possibility that they can trigger a seizure The following are some of the things seizures are triggered by.
Lifestyle and home remedies
Here are some steps you can take to help with seizure control:
Take medication correctly. Don't adjust the dosage before speaking for your health practitioner. If you experience that your medication should be modified, speak it with your physician.
Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can cause seizures. Be sure to get adequate relaxation every night.
Wear a medical alert bracelet. This will help emergency personnel know a way to deal with you successfully when you have another seizure.
Be active. Exercising and being active may additionally help keep you bodily healthy and reduce despair. Make certain to drink sufficient water and relax if you get worn-out in the course of workout.
Make healthy life choices. Managing stress, restricting alcoholic liquids and fending off cigarettes all factor right into a healthful way of life.
Personal safety
Seizures don't generally bring about extreme damage, however if you have recurrent seizures, harm is an opportunity. These steps assist you to keep away from damage throughout a seizure:
Take care near water. Don't swim alone or relax in a boat without someone nearby.
Wear a helmet for protection during activities such as bike riding or sports participation.
Take showers instead of baths, unless someone is near you.
Modify your furnishings. Pad sharp corners, buy furnishings with rounded edges and pick chairs which have fingers to maintain you from falling off of them. Consider carpet with thick padding to defend you if you do fall.
Display seizure first-aid tips In an area in which human beings can without difficulty see them. Include any critical phone numbers there, too.
Seizure first aid
It's helpful to recognize what to do in case you witness someone having a seizure. If you're prone to having seizures in the future, bypass these records alongside a circle of relatives, pals and co-people so that they recognize what to do if you have a seizure.
To help a person all through a seizure, take these steps:
Carefully roll the person onto one side
Place something soft under his or her head
Loosen tight neckwear
Avoid putting your fingers or other objects in the person's mouth
Don't try to restrain someone having a seizure
Clear away dangerous objects if the person is moving
Stay with the person until medical personnel arrive
Observe the person closely so that you can provide details on what happened
Time the seizure
Stay calm
Coping and support
If you're dwelling with a seizure disease, you may feel aggravating or harassed about what your destiny holds. Stress can have an effect on your mental fitness, so it's critical to speak along with your health care professional about your emotions and searching for approaches where you can locate help.
At home
Your own family individuals can provide plenty-wished assistance. Tell them what you realize about your seizure ailment. Let them recognise they are able to ask you questions, and be open to conversations about their worries. Help them understand your circumstance via sharing any instructional materials or other resources that your fitness care expert has given you.
At work
Meet with your manager and communicate about your seizure ailment and the way it influences you. Discuss what you want from your manager or co-workers if a seizure occurs even as at paintings. Consider talking together with your co-workers about seizure disorders — you may widen your support machine and bring about attractiveness and information.
You're not alone
Remember, you do not ought to move it alone. Reach out to own family and pals. Ask your fitness care expert approximately local aid agencies or be a part of an internet guide community. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance. Having a strong aid gadget is essential to dwelling with any scientific circumstance.
Preparing for your appointment
In some cases, seizures need immediate clinical attention, and there's now not constant time to prepare for an appointment.
In other instances, your first appointment to assess a seizure may be along with your circle of relatives health practitioners. Or you will be cited as a consultant, consisting of a health practitioner educated in mind and worried gadget situations (neurologist) or a neurologist trained in epilepsy (epileptologist).
To prepare for your appointment, don't forget what you may do to get prepared, and apprehend what to anticipate out of your doctor.
What you can do
Record information about the seizure. Include the time, vicinity, signs you skilled and the way long it lasted, if you recognise these info. Seek input from anyone who may have seen the seizure, consisting of a family member, buddy or co-worker, so that you can report records you could not recognize.
Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time you are making the appointment, ask if there is something you need to do earlier to be geared up for any medical assessments or checks.
Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
Make a list of all medications, vitamins or supplements that you're taking, including dosages.
Take a family member or friend along, To help you don't forget all of the information provided at some point of an appointment. Also, due to the fact you could no longer be aware about the whole lot that occurs whilst you're having a seizure, your doctor can also need to ask questions of a person who was a witness.
Write down questions to ask your doctor. Preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time along with your health practitioner.
For seizures, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
What do you think caused my seizure?
Do I need to have any tests done?
What treatment approach do you recommend?
What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
How likely is it that I might have another seizure?
How can I make sure that I don't hurt myself if I have another seizure?
I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing?
Are there any brochures or different published fabric that I can take domestic with me? What websites do you suggest?
In addition to the questions which you've prepared to ask your physician, don't hesitate to invite questions at some point of your appointment at any time when you don't apprehend something.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions:
Can you describe your seizure episode?
Where were you and what happened right before it started?
Was anyone there to witness what happened?
What do you remember feeling just before the seizure? What about right after the seizure?
What symptoms did you experience?
How long did the seizure last?
Have you ever had a seizure or other neurological problem in the past?
Do you have any family members who have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder or epilepsy?
Have you recently traveled outside the country?
General summary
- Seizures are periods of uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain and they can range from a subtle twitch to full-body convulsions They are caused by abnormal excessive electrical discharge from nerve cells within the brain There are two main types of seizures: focal seizures and generalized seizures Focal seizures occur when abnormal electrical activity occurs in one area of the brain often causing sensory symptoms like tingling or numbness These seizures usually affect only one side of the body and last for a few seconds Generalized seizures involve both sides of the brain at once and cause loss of consciousness abnormal movements and changes in sensation Seizures may be provoked by flashing lights or flickering images on television screens.