types of epilepsy

 Types of Epilepsy Attack




Attacks can be of two main types, partial and generalized. There are four components of an attack.

Each of the four components is distinctly different and distinct. Not all types of attack will have all these phases. Their presence or absence characterizes a type of attack. The components are:

    Prodromal phase
    alone
    Attacks
    Post-ictal phase

Prodromal phase

This phase usually begins a few hours or even days before the actual attack. This is different from halo. Prodromal symptoms include insomnia, migraine, irritability, mal-character, increased agitation and depression.
alone

The Alone usually comes a few seconds to a few minutes before the actual attack. It is the beginning of the attack and is seen in partial attacks. The halo sensitivities are often vague and many patients can not describe their functionality. There may be feelings of extreme fear, sensations in the stomach, dream experiences, unpleasant smells, hallucinations, and other halo features. The Alone is usually well remembered and the patient can recall and recount incidents during this phase quite well.
Attack (stroke)

This is the real phase of the attack. Generalized attacks occur if abnormal electrical activity affects all or most of the brain. This affects most of the organism. A tonic-clonic attack is the most common type of generalized attack. The whole body stiffens (tonic phase) and the person loses consciousness and falls. This is followed by a violent uncontrollable agitation (clonic phase).

The Attack of Assumption is another type of generalized attack. The person can lose knowledge or awareness. This is common in children.

Other types include a myoclonic attack, a tonic attack, and an atonic attack. In myoclonic attacks there are jerky movements of one or more limbs. In the tonic attack it is stiffening or contracting the muscles while in the clonic attacks there is just uncontrolled movement of the limbs. In atonic attacks the muscle tone of the organism is lost and the patient falls.

Partial attacks are also called focal attacks. Here only one part of the brain is moving. There may be localized (focal) symptoms. These can be simple partial partial complex attacks or seizures.

Sometimes a partial attack develops into a generalized attack. This is called a secondary generalized attack.
Post-ictal phase

This is the phase that follows an attack. This phase can be absent, short or it can last several hours or even days. After a generalized tonic-clonic attack there is usually a deep sleep and wake up with the headache. There may be fatigue, irritability, vomiting, confusion and severe balancing problems.

Some patients may develop short-term paralysis of a part of the body, known as Todd paresis. This can take a few hours or days. If the dominant side of the brain (left side in a right-handed person for example) has been involving there may be abnormal and lost speech. Behavior and emotions can be altered.

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