- Symptoms of generalized epilepsy
- Symptoms of partial epilepsy
- Symptoms of absence crisis
- Symptoms of benign childhood epilepsy
- Epilepsy Treatment
The main symptoms of epilepsy include seizures, which are violent and involuntary contractions of the muscles and can cause the individual to struggle for a few seconds for up to 2 to 3 minutes.
Epilepsy occurs due to changes in the conduction of nerve impulses in the brain, leading to excessive electrical activity. Epilepsy symptoms often occur without warning and can occur during the day or during sleep, affecting individuals of all ages, from babies to the elderly.
However, epilepsy can only cause an absence crisis, which is when the individual is stopped and totally absent, not speaking or reacting to the touch for a few seconds, being hardly perceived by family members.
In addition, there are several types of epilepsy, such as tonic-clonic or absent seizures, and some of the causes of epilepsy can be a blow to the head, brain tumors, light or very loud sounds or genetic diseases, for example. Find out more causes of the disease at: Epilepsy.
Symptoms of generalized epilepsy
When there is a crisis of tonic-clonic epilepsy, popularly known as great ailment, changes occur throughout the brain leading to loss of consciousness and symptoms such as:
- Falling to the ground; Uncontrolled and involuntary contractions of the muscles of the body; Stiffness of the muscles, especially the arms, legs and chest; Salivating a lot, drooling; Biting the tongue and grinding the teeth; Urinary incontinence; Difficulty breathing; Reddish skin; Changes in smell, which can be pleasant or very unpleasant; Speech imperceptible; Aggressiveness, can resist help; Confusion and lack of attention; Drowsiness.
During attacks of epilepsy, it is common to lose consciousness that causes the individual to not remember the episode. After the crisis it is normal to experience drowsiness, headache, nausea and vomiting.
When the epilepsy crisis lasts for more than 5 minutes, medical help should be called by calling 192, or taking the victim to the hospital immediately. To know what to do in the event of a crisis read: what to do in the epilepsy crisis.
Symptoms of partial epilepsy
In some situations, epilepsy can affect only a small part of the brain's neurons, causing milder symptoms that correspond to the part of the brain affected. For example, if the intense activity of the brain occurs in the part of the brain that controls the movements of the left leg, it may present contractions and stiffness. Therefore, in this case of epilepsy, symptoms are limited to the affected area.
Symptoms of absence crisis
The absence crisis, commonly known as minor illness, causes less intense symptoms, such as:
- Stay still and very quiet; Stay with an empty look; Move your face muscles uncontrollably; Make movements as if you are chewing; Move your arm or leg constantly, but in a slight way; Tingling in your arms or legs; Small stiffness of the muscles.
In addition, in this type of seizure, there is usually no loss of consciousness, just a strange sensation of deja vu, and in most cases it lasts only between 10 to 30 seconds.
Symptoms of benign childhood epilepsy
Infantile epilepsy in most cases is benign and usually appears between 3 and 13 years of age, with absence crises being the most common type, in which the child stands still and has no reaction. Find out what the specific symptoms are at: How to identify and treat the absence crisis.
Epilepsy Treatment
The treatment for epilepsy must be guided by a neurologist and, usually, it is done with the daily intake of an antiepileptic medicine, such as Oxcarbazepine, Carbamazepine or Valproate of sodium, for example.
When epilepsy attacks are not controlled by taking the medication, it may be necessary to combine several remedies. In addition, in some cases, when the drugs are not effective, surgery may be necessary.
During treatment, individuals with epileptic seizures should avoid situations that cause seizures, such as going too long without sleep, drinking alcohol excessively or being in environments with many visual stimuli, as is the case with discos.
To learn more about the treatment of this disease read:
