Convulsion

Convulsion is a phenomenon that can occur even in a relatively healthy person. Although it is generally accepted in society that this kind of unnatural condition is characteristic only of those who periodically suffer from epileptic seizures or become a victim of electric shock, there are many more reasons for the manifestation of convulsions.

Medical explanation of the phenomenon

In most cases, it is impossible to find the primary source that provoked a strange attack without the intervention of a qualified doctor. That is why it is so important to learn how to determine at least the main causes of the defeat, as well as to know how to help the victim who is faced with a similar manifestation.

In some cases, patients who simply experience a sudden rise in temperature may experience a seizure. This scenario is considered a one-time event. And chronic epilepsy involves the repetition of threatening symptoms for the victim on a regular basis, and it is almost impossible to predict when the next convulsive wave will begin.

From a physiological point of view, convulsions are a neurological pathology. It is characterized by a sharp involuntary contraction of muscle fibers. It is not possible to control this process, which aggravates the situation, sometimes even causing death.

Problems are added by the fact that far from always certain muscle groups give in to spasm. With an extensive lesion, absolutely all muscle fibers go out of control. The victim ceases to control his own body, unable to control movements. From the outside it looks like a messy set of gestures.

In most of the cases recorded in clinical practice, people also have to deal with classic seizures. They lead to the fact that the muscles begin to contract, this causes unbearable pain. Sharp pain permeates the entire body, causing the muscles to literally petrify. Health-threatening convulsions equally affect both the female and male body.

Just like that, the phenomenon does not occur, being caused either by powerful external negative factors such as an electric shock, or is the result of some kind of pathology. In any case, the first thing to do when the indicated symptom is found in the victim is to urgently call an ambulance team, and then deal with what served as the primary source of the lesion.

Only an experienced doctor will be able to establish the general clinical picture in a hospital setting, taking into account the complaints of the victim along with the results of laboratory tests. Based on the anamnesis and the results of the tests, it will be possible to draw up an effective therapeutic course.

Underlying causes for the development of convulsive syndrome

Regardless of whether the seizure began in a girl or an elderly person, the reasons for this phenomenon are just a few common options. Among them note:

• a sudden rise in temperature, which is characteristic of a state of fever;
• benign, malignant oncological neoplasm of the head or metastases;
• focus of infection or parasites in the brain;
• pathological condition during pregnancy;
• neurological disorders, including chronic course;
• traumatic head injury, which provokes a concussion;
• intoxication, which is especially important for those who have exceeded the maximum allowable dosage of alcohol-containing liquids.

Separately, situations are considered when the victim became a victim of oxygen starvation, which can occur due to the inhalation of chemicals, or during a fire.

Occasionally, sleep disturbances, an overdose of drugs on purpose or out of ignorance lead to such sad consequences. This often occurs in a dog that has eaten some kind of poisonous product right on the street.

But if we talk about what most often leads to negative consequences of this kind, then it is worth highlighting epileptic seizures. Difficulties are caused by the fact that an attack sometimes affects even the organisms of perfectly healthy people who have never encountered this before, do not have a hereditary predisposition.

They may not have a recurrence of the convulsive syndrome, but it will still not be superfluous to undergo an additional examination in order to exclude the risks of relapse when circumstances favorable for the disease occur. Often, the repetition of the picture occurs due to the influence of external negative factors.

Classification features of dissociative convulsions

Unlike scientifically based convulsions, the dissociative deviation format is an order of magnitude less common and is more characteristic of babies. Outwardly, it is somewhat similar to what happens to a person during the classical development of convulsive syndrome, but they do not pose a significant danger to health.

Experts fix this phenomenon more often in a child who is trying to achieve what he wants from others due to such a specific approach. He will beat his hands on the floor, fall on the ground, begin to hysteria or make strange screeching sounds.

Provocateurs for this are standard everyday situations, such as mother’s unwillingness to buy a new toy, or demands to clean up after herself. The screams usually subside on their own when the baby calms down on its own. A couple of minutes is enough for this, but in rare cases, others will have to listen to the baby’s lamentations for about an hour.

Most often, the onset of another attack is provoked by crowded places. Parents become ashamed of their offspring, so to settle the conflict they go on about the young manipulator. But this is a matter of psychology, not a convulsive disorder.

Criteria for the diagnosis, when a naughty child twitches, are called:

• lack of obvious deviations in terms of psychology;
• lack of signs of epilepsy, including hereditary predisposition;
• the relationship between the manifestation of an attack with the onset of a stressful situation;
• no tongue biting, foaming at the mouth, involuntary urination at the end of an attack;
• the absence of serious injuries during a seizure – fractures, sprains, dislocations, bruises.

Differential diagnosis is simple – if whim brought the child to dissociative convulsions, then you should work on correcting behavior with the help of educators and psychologists.

Death cramps and spasms in sleep

A person far from medicine is unlikely to be able to immediately determine whether a post-mortem convulsion is already occurring with the victim, or if he has had a seizure that just needs to be neutralized in time.

Doctors note that before departing to another world, the patient can make any movements involuntarily. To some, it seems as if the dying person is trying to cling to something. In fact, these types of seizures occur without the control of the brain. They can last for a few seconds or 3-5 minutes.

It all depends on the individual characteristics of the organism, as well as the fact why the victim dies.

Occasionally, the dying experience a kind of enlightenment a couple of moments before death. They come to their senses, try to say something to others or ask to hold the hand of a loved one. And this last gesture is often accompanied by a really strong grip. Such a powerful clamp is explained by those who, the muscles uncontrolled by the brain, are compressed too much, which is why relatives then have to apply force to unclench the hand of the deceased.

The characteristic symptomatology of the fact that the victim is experiencing the last convulsions is considered to be:

• increased excitability;
• rapid breathing;
• panic;
• lack of an adequate reaction to the outside world a couple of minutes before the onset of the attack.

Sometimes the patient first encounters a loss of consciousness, and then wakes up for a couple of moments with a clear mind to give parting words and leave for good.

Separately, doctors consider the occurrence of convulsions in a dream. Difficulties with diagnosing pathology are added by the fact that the phenomenon has not been fully studied, therefore, scientists still cannot announce the exact list of what exactly provokes strange convulsive sensations. Instead, they managed to put together a sort of list of indirect factors that push the body to react in this way. The list includes:

• destabilization of the natural blood flow in the limbs, which occurs if you lie still for a long time, blocking the free access of blood to the legs and arms;
• the response of an exhausted body to increased physical activity, which was carried out by him throughout the day;
• an uncomfortable posture during sleep, when the neck becomes numb, the feet hang down;
• old age, due to which the tendons naturally decrease;
• a stressful situation that happened to those who wanted to sleep the day before.

But all of the above are far from the only reasons for the development of convulsions during dreams. Medicine knows cases when powerful spasms caught sleeping by surprise, being a side effect of taking some potent drugs. It is especially dangerous to use them if there was a place for self-medication without prior consultation with a doctor.

Another root cause for involuntary muscle contraction is recognized as an acute shortage of a number of vitamins or minerals. The therapist will be able to advise the best complex for solving this problem after studying the medical history, as well as the results of the laboratory diagnostics.

The same reason most often leads to the fact that during sleep in cats, a cat, piglets, a rabbit, and other animals, a periodic convulsive seizure is also traced.

Among the primary sources of unpleasant symptoms, which are somewhat less common, note:

• violations of the functioning of the central nervous system;
• pregnancy;
• diabetes;
• diseases of the spinal column.

To stop seizures, the doctor will definitely recommend adding various vitamin and mineral complexes to the daily diet. Proper nutrition, as well as following the precepts of a healthy lifestyle, will reduce the percentage probability of repeating the clinical picture. They provide for the implementation of moderate physical activity.

Another tip to alleviate the condition is self-massage of the feet and calves before going to bed. It would be useful to refuse to take diuretics. But you should follow this advice only after it is approved by the attending physician who prescribed the diuretic as an additive to any therapy.

Diagnosis and follow-up treatment

Figured out why they’re shaking body or limbs, it is worth remembering that the best help for the victim will be calling an ambulance, or self-treatment to the clinic immediately. This is the only way to reduce the chances of a recurrence of a dangerous situation, when vomiting can be added to the general deterioration of the condition. If you do not know how to properly help the victim in such a situation, vomit can cause suffocation.

During the initial examination, it is necessary to fully answer all the questions of a specialist, talk about concomitant chronic ailments, possible allergies to some medications, hereditary predisposition. But going to a forum to ask for help remotely from people who have nothing to do with medicine is not the best solution. When trying to self-medicate, or ignoring convulsions, they will return with renewed vigor. And then the patient will not only make heart-rending moans. He will foam at the mouth, a person can bite his tongue. Such an injury is fraught with blood loss and long painful healing. 

One of the main instrumental diagnostic methods is the EEG. Sensors attached to the head determine how the brain is working and whether there is a convulsive readiness. Another way – Magnetic resonance imaging. However, if the patient has already been diagnosed with epilepsy, he may be prohibited from undergoing an examination. In a panic due to the closed space, he may start a new wave of convulsions.

Having called an ambulance, it is necessary to induce vomiting artificially at home, if the patient is unconscious, then leave the procedure to the doctors. Then, in a hospital setting intravenous detoxification therapy will be prescribed.

When epilepsy is recognized as the cause, in order to  reduce the frequency and severity of seizures, The patient is prescribed anticonvulsants. Not everyone understands what such a term means, mistakenly believing that it is enough for those suffering from such a serious deviation to drink other drugs, such as pain relievers.

Of particular note is the case of an advanced stage of meningitis, when you have to resort to extreme measures – to urgently administer anticonvulsants, supplementing therapy with many antibiotics.

First aid and prevention

To prevent the convulsive syndrome from reaching the diaphragm, blocking the ability to breathe normally, doctors recommend immediately calling an ambulance team, reporting the incident.

While the specialists get to the scene of the incident, the patient is carefully shifted to his side, fixing in such a way as to block as much as possible the possible inadvertent injury to himself by the victims themselves. To do this, remove all objects from the hands and within reach.

To protect yourself from a possible attack caused by atypical causes, it is enough to follow the template instructions for prevention. It provides for the need to monitor the consumption of the recommended daily intake of liquid, as well as supplement the diet with various vitamin complexes every season.

It is also worth taking care of creating a comfortable place to sleep, including a comfortable pillow and a mattress of suitable hardness.

It would be useful to sign up for massage sessions, focusing on those parts of the body that are more prone to convulsions.

In conclusion, it is worth remembering that once a convulsion has occurred, it can return at the most inopportune moment with renewed vigor. Therefore, it is better to play it safe in advance, having undergone clinical diagnostics, than to significantly undermine your own health later due to irresponsibility.