Seizures refer to changes in behavior, movement, and in the level of consciousness caused by abnormal brain electrical activities.
Before a seizure happens, there may be warning signs. Changes in feelings or sensations or behavior changes can be a warning sign that a seizure may be approaching.
Changes in sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings are also commonly reported. An aura is considered to be the first real symptom of a seizure, and many people may find the aura hard to describe. However, others may have no signs or symptoms of an impending seizure.
During a seizure, a person may lose the ability to swallow, have difficulty speaking, experience twitching or jerking movements in the body, and even experience convulsions.
They may lose consciousness, see flashing lights, experience visual hallucinations, and feel out of body sensations.
The unprovoked and recurrent occurrence of seizures commonly causes epilepsy. A single seizure lasting more than five minutes or two or more seizures within a five-minute period without the person returning to normal between them is known as Status Epilepticus and it is a medical emergency that may lead to permanent brain damage or death and requires immediate medical help
HOW MANY TYPES OF SEIZURES ARE THERE?
Seizures can be categorized based on where the onset of abnormal brain activity took place. It can also be classified as an unknown onset if it is unknown where it began.
GENERALIZED SEIZURES
These happen when nerve cells of both the right and left hemisphere of the brain misfire. Epileptic activity occurs throughout the entire brain. They can make you have muscle spasms, blackout, or fall.
There are six types of generalized seizures
TONIC-CLONIC SEIZURE
A tonic-clonic seizure is a type of generalized seizure that usually lasts one to three minutes, but may last up to five minutes.
Tonic-clonic has two stages symptoms, a loss of consciousness stage followed by muscle convulsions stage. Loss of consciousness stage may last up to ten seconds, Muscles convulsion stage usually lasts less than two minutes.
This seizure can make a person cry loudly caused by the passage of air between vocal cords(also called vocal folds) and it is not caused by pain.
It can cause muscle jerks/spasms causing a person to fall to the floor and lose consciousness. sometimes can cause loss of bladder control due to increased pressure hence a person may wet himself/herself. The child may bite the tongue, which may cause bleeding. Tonic-clonic seizures were formerly called Grand Mal seizures.
First Aid
- Do not restrain the person.
- Do not insert anything in the mouth.
- Protect the child from further injury.
- Roll the child on his/her side after the seizure subsides.
- If seizures last more than five minutes or occur one after another without recovery between seizures an individual must seek medical help.
During the post-ictal state( a short period after seizure). During this time, the person will need to rest due to fatigue, confusion which may last from five minutes, hours, or even days. Rarely, this state may last up to two weeks. There is no evidence that tonic-clonic seizures cause brain damage.
ABSENCE SEIZURES
Also called petit mal seizures, is a non-motor type of seizure that consists of a period of unconsciousness with a blank stare into space for a few seconds.
Other symptoms include chewing movements, stopping speech in the middle of a sentence, rapid breathing, fluttering eyelids, slight movements, or tugging at clothing. It is called “absence” seizures because it’s like the person isn’t really there (loss of consciousness).
Absence seizures are brief, usually lasting only 2 to 10 seconds. It can be controlled by anti-seizure medications.
First Aid
It usually takes a very brief moment and a person becomes fully conscious without knowing what just happened it’s better to tell him or her what happened and inform him or her of anything important s/he missed.
ATONIC SEIZURES.
Also called Drop seizures, it occurs when electrical activity in brain surges suddenly causing loss of muscle strength. This sudden loss of muscle strength can cause a person to fall on the ground. If a person is holding something, s/he might drop it, usually lasts less than 15 seconds.
Atonic seizures are more likely to happen to people with severe types of epilepsy known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
First Aid
As the person falls he/she may hit the head or injure any body part it’s better to analyze the injury and address it or seek professional help.
Due to this risk of falling, people who tend to have atonic seizures may need to wear a helmet to protect their heads.
TONIC SEIZURES.
Refers to about 20 seconds sudden stiffness/tension of body, arms, or legs muscles ( extensor muscles). If happens while standing, a person may fall to the ground, but it’s rare. The tonic seizure usually happens during sleep.
CLONIC SEIZURES
During a clonic seizure, a person may experience rhymical jerking movements caused by muscles repeatedly stiffening and relaxing. These motor symptoms can affect the whole body or individual parts of the body such as the arms or legs. These movements cannot be stopped by restraining the person.
A person may temporarily lose consciousness, followed by confusion.
MYOCLONIC SEIZURE
Myoclonic means ‘muscle jerk’. “Myo” means of muscle or relating to the muscle, and “clonus” means muscular spasm involving repeated, often rhythmic, contractions.
Myoclonic seizures are usually very brief arrhythmic jerking motor movements that last less than 1 second.
A person can experience myoclonus in hiccups or in a sudden jerk that may wake a person up as h/she just falling asleep. These things are normal they do happen even to people without epilepsy.
FOCAL SEIZURES
The term focal is used instead of partial to be more accurate when talking about where seizures begin. Focal seizures can start in one area or group of cells in one side of the brain.
Focal seizures are split into two main categories, focal onset aware, and focal onset impaired awareness.
Focal Onset Aware Seizures: a small part of one of the lobes may be affected and the person remains conscious.
Focal Onset Impaired Awareness: It affects a large part of the hemisphere. A person is confused or their awareness is affected in some way.
