Seizures can be of many types. Body-shaking convulsions are just one. Seizures can be of many types and severity levels. Some may only cause subtle physical changes, while others will not show any symptoms at all.
It is easy to miss seizure warning signs if you don’t know what to look out for.
What does a seizure mean?
The brain is composed of billions and billions of neurons. These cells transmit electrical signals between each other. Your brain can control your heartbeat, digestion, thoughts, feelings and body movements.
Seizures occur when electrical activity in your brain changes suddenly, abnormally, and uncontrollably. It can have a variety of symptoms, depending on the part of your mind that is affected.
Seizure Types
There is a difference between focal and generalized seizures .
When the abnormal electrical activity in the brain is restricted to a specific part, it’s called a focal seizure. Generalized seizures affect the entire brain.
Focal seizures are further subdivided into three types:
- Simple partial seizures (also known as focal aware seizures): Your consciousness is not impaired. You are still aware of the world around you. You may feel strange sensations like a strange smell, flashing light, strange sounds, or slight twitches. One small part of the brain will be affected.
- Multiple brain regions are affected by a complex partial seizure. The consciousness is impaired. This can be characterized by confusion, dizziness or unresponsiveness.
- Secondary generalized seizures : Initially a focal seizure, but spreads quickly to include the entire brain.
There are six types of generalized seizures:
- Absence (petit-mal). Typical characteristics include staring, eye flickering or little or no movement of the body. No convulsions.
- Clonic: rapid, repetitive movements of the body. Convulsions that are violent.
- Tonic Body rigidity or stiffness.
- Myoclonic : Symmetric jerking at the extremities.
- Tonic clonic
- Atonic Sudden limping or loss of posture.
Warning signs of a seizure
Typically, seizures progress in stages. They usually begin with a prodrome and then move on to an aura phase before the actual seizure occurs.
The symptoms of the prodrome may include:
- “a strange” or “funny sensation.”
- anxiety
- irritability
- headache
- confusion
The aura stage can include symptoms such as:
- An increase in anxiety, fear, irritability or confusion
- a feeling of deja vu
- hallucinations
- feeling of nausea or unease in the stomach
- Loss of bladder or bowel Control
- sudden change in heart rate or blood pressure
- Numbness or tingling
- muscle twitches
You should be prepared to fall or collapse if you notice these symptoms in yourself or someone else. Remove tight clothing, and place something soft beneath their head.
Don’t put anything into the mouth of the victim and don’t try CPR. Hold them down and do not try to stop the person’s movement. Stay with the patient until emergency medical help arrives.
