Seizures - Causes, Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

Seizures

Seizures are a symptom that can be caused by several serious conditions, including epilepsy. They happen when there's abnormal electrical activity in the brain. A seizure could be linked to any one or more parts of the brain and can affect your mental state and behaviour.

Common types of seizures include:

·         Tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal) – these cause an abrupt loss of consciousness and violent shaking movements that start in the limbs before spreading to the trunk and head; they end with a period of sleepiness or confusion; tonic-clonic seizures typically happen in clusters over weeks (sometimes months) before becoming less frequent.

·         Focal-onset seizures – these cause an abrupt loss of consciousness and abnormal movements of specific body parts or twitching of a single muscle or part of a muscle.

·         Atonic seizures – these cause little or no loss of consciousness, and instead begin with a strange sensation that spreads to other muscles, followed by strange movements.

Prevention of Seizures

There are several treatments available to help prevent seizures from occurring. The most common ones are:

·         Managing stress – many people who have seizures have an underlying condition related to excessive stress, anxiety, or depression. These can be treated with specialized counseling or other support programs.

·         Medications – the use of medications that reduce the frequency and severity of seizures is effective in many cases, but there is no cure for epilepsy, which means that these drugs may not be successful in all patients. Successful treatment depends on a combination of medications and psychological counseling.

Diagnosis of Seizures

Several tests are conducted to diagnosis your condition. These include EEG tests, CT scans, blood tests, an MRI or magnetic resonance imaging. Epilepsy has no cure, but treatment can help.

It's important to have regular check-ups with your doctor to keep your seizures under control. The outlook for people with epilepsy is good if their seizures are well-controlled. The more seizures you have, the greater the risk that further damage will occur in the brain over time-related related to scarring or nerve cell death.

Epilepsy Surgery

Surgery is used when other treatments fail to control the person's seizure activity. These include surgery to remove the part of the brain that is causing the seizures or surgery that aims to stop seizures by cutting out part of the brain.

Surgery may be recommended because of serious complications related to epilepsy, such as a change in intellectual ability, changes in behavior, or personality changes. Surgery works for many people with epilepsy because it can stop seizures quickly and permanently.

However, it's not always possible to know whether surgery will work before you have an operation. For this reason, surgery should only be carried out if other treatments have failed. Some people are not good candidates for surgery because they have too many seizures or they're not expected to live long enough after surgery for it to be effective.

Frequently Asked Questions on Seizures

What Are The Causes Of Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is caused by abnormal electrical discharge in the brain. Anything that can disrupt normal electrical activity in the brain can lead to seizures.

These include genetic defects, head trauma, strokes, tumors, infections, heart disease, metabolic abnormalities, and other medical problems. Some types of epilepsy have known genetic and environmental causes and others do not appear to have a clear cause.

When Can You Expect A Seizure?

You will never know when someone will develop a seizure. If you do experience a seizure or multiple seizures — seek medical attention immediately — it's important to find out what caused the seizure so that it doesn't happen again.

Can You Drive If You Have Epilepsy?

Some states have laws that allow someone with epilepsy to drive so long as he or she is free of seizures for some time. It's important to check the law in your state.

If you are having seizures, it's important to leave the driving to someone else. Tell your doctor if you are concerned about how your seizures will affect your ability to drive safely.

What Are Some Warning Signs That A Seizure Is About To Occur?

There may be no warning signs before a seizure happens, but certain things can trigger a seizure in people who have a history of them.