epileptic seizure

                                 Epilepsy, signs and symptoms/epileptic seizure 



Epilepsy Content [hide] 

 1 What is epilepsy?
  2 Causes of epilepsy
 3 The symptoms of epilepsy 
 4 Generalized convulsions, tonic-clonic or grand mal seizures
 5 Partial or focal seizures  
6 Crises of absence or petit mal 
 7 Phases of seizures in epilepsy 
 8 How to act during an epilepsy attack What is epilepsy? Epilepsy is a disorder of the nervous system in which abnormal activity occurs in the cerebral cortex, which causes sudden seizures and loss of consciousness. Many people with epilepsy have more than one type of attack and may also have other neurological symptoms. Having epilepsy and suffering from seizures can severely affect personal safety, as well as relationships, social life, work, driving and much more. Causes of epilepsy The causes of epilepsy can be of various kinds, they can be related to a brain injury, they can be congenital or hereditary, but often the cause is completely unknown. Hereditary causes

  They are genetically inherited. Congenital causes
   Brain tumors.
  Intrauterine development injuries.

     Vascular malformations
    Neurocutaneous syndromes (neurofibromatosis, Sturge-Weber, tuberous sclerosis).     Chromosomal abnormalities (Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome).

   Congenital disorders of metabolism (aminoacidurias, leukodystrophies).

     Congenital myopathies.
   Myoclonic epilepsies. Acquired causes  
 Trauma  
 Post-surgical injuries. 
  Postinfectious lesions (sequelae of bacterial meningitis or viral encephalitis).
   Infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. 
  Tumors (astrocytomas, meningiomas, oligodendrogliomas).
   Sclerosis of the hippocampus (of the temporal lobe).
   Toxics (alcohol and other drugs).
     Degenerative diseases (dementias and others).
   Acquired metabolic diseases. The symptoms of epilepsy Seizures, also called epileptic seizures, are the main symptom of epilepsy. But there are other less known symptoms of epilepsy that are: dizziness, difficulty speaking, feeling of disconnection with the environment, muscle stiffness, and so on. The generalized seizures, tonic-clonic or great evil All areas of the cortex participate in this type of seizure. They are also known as great bad seizures.
   The person who experiences an attack of this type can scream or make some kind of sound, tense for several seconds and then present rhythmic movements of the arms and legs.
   The eyes usually remain open. 
  The person may appear to be unable to breathe and their skin will turn blue. This can be followed by a period of noisy and deep breaths.
   The conscience returns gradually and the person may feel confused for some time, which may be minutes or hours.
   The loss of urine is also common. Partial or focal seizures Here only part of the brain is involved in the crisis, so only a part of the body is affected. Depending on the part of the brain that has abnormal electrical activity, the symptoms may vary.








 If the part of the brain that controls the movement of a hand is the one that is involved, then only the hand can show rhythmic or abrupt movements.
    If other areas of the brain are involved, symptoms may include strange sensations such as a feeling of fullness in the stomach or repetitive small movements such as touching clothes or making noise with the lips, for example.
    Sometimes the person with a partial seizure has a stunned or confused look. This may be a symptom of a complex partial seizure. The term complex is used by doctors to describe a person who is between complete and unconscious alertness.

The crisis of absence or petit mal

This type of crisis affecting about two out of every 1,000 people, absence crises (previously called "petit mal" convulsions) are caused by an abnormal and intense electrical activity in the brain.

Normally nerve cells in the brain or neurons communicate through tiny electrical signals. But with a seizure, these signals become abnormal. Seizures may affect an isolated part of the brain or may involve abnormal activity throughout the brain (called generalized seizures). Absence crises are a form of generalized seizure.

Usually this type of seizure lasts between 10 and 30 seconds. The person, usually children between 5 to 15 years old, abruptly stops what they are doing (walking, reading, etc.) and seems to "look into space". Absence crises rarely cause a real seizure in which the person falls or has sudden movements. Despite losing consciousness briefly, the person recovers completely, without signs of confusion or other harmful effects. These "absences" may occur infrequently or several times in an hour. In children, absence crises can interfere with learning and are often misinterpreted as daydreaming or lack of attention. A quarter of people who have seizures over time develop generalized seizures. The vast majority of children, however, overcome crises with age.
EEG records in epilepsy
Phases of seizures in epilepsy

Seizures in a seizure have a beginning, middle, and end. Not all parts of a seizure can be visible or easy to separate from one another. Nor do all people go through the phases in the same way. But symptoms during an attack are usually stereotypical (occurring in the same or similar way, each time), episodic (come and go) and may be unpredictable.

Some people are aware of the beginning of an attack, but others may not be aware of the principle and therefore have no warning.
Prodrome

Some people may experience feelings, sensations or changes in behavior a few hours or even a few days before an attack. These sensations are usually not part of the seizure, but they can warn the person that an attack may appear. Not everyone has these symptoms, but if they do, the signs can help the person make certain changes in their activity, be sure to take their medication, use a rescue treatment etc.
Aura

An aura or warning is the first symptom of an attack and is considered part of the seizure. Often, the aura is an indescribable sensation. Other times it is easy to recognize and may be a change in feeling, feeling, thought or behavior, and is similar every time a seizure occurs. The signs of the aura include:

Many people do not have this aura or warning phase and the seizure starts directly with the loss of consciousness.
The common symptoms of the aura

    Sudden and unexplainable sensations of fear, anger, sadness or happiness
    Sensation of movement or fall
    Experience of unusual sensations or feelings
    Alteration of the senses of the ear, smell, taste, vision or touch (sensory hallucinations)
    Sensation that the environment is not real (derealization) or environmental detachment (depersonalization)
    Sensation of spatial distortion (nearby objects are perceived as distant, micropsy or macropsia)
    Déjà vu (false sensation of familiarity) or jamais vu (false sensation of infamiliarity)
    Difficulty or inability for spoken language

The physical changes

    Dizziness or lightheadedness
    Headache
    Nausea or other stomach feelings (feeling going up from the stomach to the throat)
    Numbness or tingling in certain parts of the body

Phase Ictal

The middle of an attack is called the ictal phase. It is the period of time that goes from the first symptoms (including an aura) to the end of the convulsive activity. This correlates with the electrical convulsive activity in the brain. Sometimes the visible symptoms last longer than the convulsive activity in an EEG.
The common symptoms during a seizure

    Loss of consciousness and fainting
    Confusion
    Periods of forgetfulness or memory lapses
    Sensation of daydreaming
    Inability to hear
    The sounds may seem strange or different
    Unusual odors (often bad smells like burnt rubber)
    Unusual tastes
    Loss of vision, blurred vision, sensation of seeing twinkling lights, hallucinations (see objects or things that do not exist)
    Numbness, tingling or sensation of electric shock in the body, arms or legs
    Indifference sensation
    Déjà vu (false sensation of familiarity) or jamais vu (false sensation of infamiliarity)
    Parts of the body that feel or look different
    Sensation of panic, fear, fear of imminent death (intense feeling that something bad is going to happen)
    Pleasant sensations in general

The physical changes

    Difficulty speaking (you can stop talking, make meaningless or distorted sounds, keep talking with meaningless speech)
    Not being able to swallow, drooling
    Repetitive blinking, eyes can move aside or look up
    Lack of movement or loss of muscle tone (inability to move, loss of strength in the neck, so that the head can fall forward, loss of muscle tone in the body and the person can collapse or fall forward)
    Tremors, jerks, or jerky movements (may occur on one or both sides of the face, arms, legs, or entire body, may begin in one area and then spread to other areas or remain in one place)
    Tight or rigid muscles (part of the body or the whole body can be tightened strongly and if the person is standing, it can fall "like a tree trunk")
    Unintentional repeated movements, called automatisms, involve the face, arms or legs, such as
        chewing movements
        repetitive movements of the hands, such as twisting, playing with the buttons or objects in the hands
        get dressed or undress
        walk or run
    Voluntary movements (person can continue the activity he was doing before the crisis)
    Seizure (person loses consciousness, body becomes stiff or tight, spasmodic and then rapid movements occur)
    Losing urine or stool control unexpectedly
    Perspiration
    Change in skin color (pale, bluish, or red)
    Biting the tongue (by clenching the teeth when the muscles are tense)
    Difficult breathing
    Tachycardia

Post-ictal phase

As the seizure ends, the post-ictal phase occurs, it is the period of recovery after the seizure. Some people recover immediately, while others may take minutes or even hours to feel in their usual state. The type of attack, as well as what part of the brain is affected in the seizure, will affect the recovery period.
The most common symptoms after a seizure

    Slowness in responding
    Confusion
    Drowsiness
    Memory loss
    Difficulty speaking or writing
    Dizziness, turbidity
    Feeling depressed, sad, upset
    Feeling scared and anxious
    Frustration, shame

The physical changes

    They may have injuries, such as bruises, cuts, fractures or head injuries, if they fell during the seizure
    They may feel tired, exhausted or sleep for minutes or hours
    Headache or other pain
    Nausea and upset stomach
    Thirst
    General weakness or weakness in one part or side of the body
    Urgency to go to the bathroom or lose control of the bowel or bladder

How to act during an epilepsy attack

In case of witnessing an epileptic seizure, it is important to consider the following in order to help:



Do not move the person from the site.

   Do not put anything in your mouth.

    Avoid if you can hit your head.

   Only in specific cases it is necessary to go to the emergency room:  

     if she is a pregnant woman;     

  if there is a major trauma; 

      if you have several crises and between one and the other you do not recover consciousness or if a crisis lasts more than 5 minutes, both cases would be an epileptic status (a seizure that lasts more than 30 minutes or more than two seizures without regaining consciousness) , which is very dangerous. In the tonic phase of a crisis you do not breathe due to a contraction of all the muscles of the body.

The oxygen in the body goes to the vital organs; for that reason the lips and ears can present cyanosis. This is not dangerous, as long as it is not an epileptic status.