Seizures
A seizures may be defined as a physical condition (not emotional of mental) that involve recurrent sudden changes which can not be voluntarily controlled, caused by over-activity of the brain, stress, fatigue or skipping to take seizure controlling medication (Brain Community Health, n.d). It results from breakdown of electrical signals between the brain cells causing electrical storm or overactivity in the brain. There is no restriction as to who can be affected by seizure although most of seizures can be controlled easily through drug therapy, surgery or vagus nerve stimulation. Seizures come in different types.
Types of seizures
There are many types of seizures depending on the level and part of the brain affected by the electrical over-activity. Generally, seizures are categorized into four categories including general seizures, non-epileptic, status epileptic and partial seizures.
Generalized seizures are a type of seizures where there is simultaneous electrical discharge on the two sides of the brain. In most cases, this type of seizures is hereditary in nature. Some of the examples of generalized seizures are absence seizures, Myoclonic seizures, tonic seizure, Atonic seizures and Tonic-clonic seizures. Absence seizures involve day dreaming or ‘blacking out’ for a few seconds and mostly affects people at the ages of between 4 to 14 years. Tonic seizures involve rapid rhythmic contraction and relaxation of arms’ and legs’ muscles leading to repeated jerking which can not be voluntarily stopped through restraining of the arms or legs. Myoclonic seizures involve short (a second or two) jerks of muscles that may occur in succession for some time then disappear. Atonic seizures are ‘drop attacks’ or sudden lose of muscle strength leading to a person falling down although he/she may remain conscious.
Partial seizures are a type of seizures where only one side of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance. They may be sub-categorized as simple partial where consciousness is not lost and complex partial seizure where consciousness may be lost or impaired. In most cases, they are experienced by epileptic people and may even cause visual or auditory hallucination (Epilepsy Foundation, n.d). Simple partial seizure may cause one part of the body to move uncontrollably, for example, the blinking of the eye or face twitching, yet the person will remain conscious and may still keep on communicating normally. Unlike simple partial, complex partial seizure affects a body part as well as the consciousness of the person such that he/she may not comprehend anything or remember anything thereafter.
Status epileptic seizure is a type of seizure whereby there is prolonged seizure usually more than thirty minutes leading to convulsions and the condition may require medical attention as it becomes risky to the person.
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