Seizures happen when there is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain. This uncontrolled electrical disturbance can cause how a person appears, how they act or what happens to their body. Most seizures last somewhere between thirty seconds and two minutes, though some can last longer.
There are many different types of seizures, and they vary in severity. People may have only one or two seizures in their lifetimes. Seizures can be caused by a stroke, a head injury or an infection. At other times, the cause of a seizure is unknown. Those that have two or more seizures, or have repeated seizures are diagnosed with epilepsy.
Most seizure disorders, including epilepsy, can be controlled with medication, but management of seizure disorders will still require work and attention from the patient and their doctor.
Symptoms
While we tend to think of a “seizure” as someone falling to the ground and flopping around, there are many potential symptoms of an electrical disturbance in the brain. The most common symptoms of these are:
– Loss of consciousness or loss of awareness
– Staring into the distance without realizing it
– Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs
– Fear, anxiety or déjà vu
– Temporary Confusion.
Types of Seizures
Generally, doctors classify two types of seizures: focal and generalized. The determination of what kind of seizure you may have experienced is made based on an evaluation of how and where the abnormal brain activity began. In some cases, this is harder because the location of the seizure’s onset cannot be ascertained.
– Focal Seizures With Impaired Awareness
If a patient loses consciousness or experiences a change in consciousness (such as staring blankly), they are experiencing a focal seizure with impaired awareness. These patients will not respond normally to their environment or may perform repetitive movements such as rubbing their hands or walking in circles.
– Focal Seizures Without Loss of Awareness
A patient experiencing this type of seizure will experience changes in the way they feel, or perhaps in the way they smell, see, feel, taste or hear things. They do not lose consciousness, however. This type of seizure will also sometimes include the involuntary jerking of a body part or a feeling of tingling or dizziness. Patients with Focal Seizures Without Loss of Awareness sometimes also report seeing flashing lights.
– Generalized Seizures
Seizures that involve all of the brain and not just some parts are grouped together as generalized seizures. These types of seizures include:
- Absence seizures: Formerly called “petit mal” seizures, these types are most common in children and feature staring into space or subtle body movements such as eye blinking or lip smacking. This type often occurs in clusters.
- Tonic seizures: These types of seizures feature a stiffening of the patient’s muscles and usually affect the muscles in the back, arms and legs. At times, patients suffering this type of seizure fall to the ground.
- Atonic seizures: These are sometimes also called “drop” seizures, and cause a loss of muscle control, which cause the person to drop, or fall down.
- Clonic seizures: Associated with repeated, or rhythmic jerking movements, this type of seizure normally affects the neck, arms or face.
- Myoclonic seizures: This type usually appears as sudden, quick jerks or twitches of the arms and legs.
- Tonic-clonic seizures: Formerly called “grand mal” seizures, patients suffering from this type experience an abrupt loss of consciousness, body stiffening and shaking sometimes accompanied by biting of the tongue or loss of bladder control.
We work with many people who have seizures. There can be many different causes for seizures, whether it be metabolic, nutritional deficiencies, improper firing of the brain, or infections. Our goal is to find the root cause of what is causing the seizure and addressing that without any drugs.
We encourage you to give us a call if you or someone you know is suffering from seizures!
