Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that causes unprovoked recurrent seizures.A seizure is a sudden rush of electrical activity in the brain.
Types of Seizures
- Generalized Seizures: Affect the whole brain.
- Focal or Partial Seizures: Affect just one part of the brain.
In some cases, stronger seizures can cause spasms and uncontrollable muscle twitches, which last for a few seconds to several minutes. Some people may lose consciousness during these episodes.
Causes
- Genetic factors
- Brain tumors
- Alcoholism or alcohol withdrawal
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Stroke
- Heart attacks
- Metabolic disorders
- Head injury
- Prenatal injury
- Poisoning
- High grade fever
- Very low blood sugar
Triggering Factors
- Lack of sleep
- Alcohol consumption
- Stress
- Hormonal changes with menstrual cycle
- Illness or fever
- Bright or flashing lights, patterns
- Caffeine, certain medicines or drugs
- Skipping meals, overeating, or specific food ingredients
Generalized Seizures
- Absence Seizures (also known as ‘petit mal seizures’): Cause repetitive movements like lip smacking or blinking, with short loss of awareness.
- Tonic Seizures: Cause muscle stiffness.
- Atonic Seizures: Sudden loss of muscle control, which can lead to sudden falls.
- Clonic Seizures: Repeated, jerky muscle movements of the face, neck, and arms.
- Myoclonic Seizures: Spontaneous, quick twitching of the arms and legs.
- Tonic-clonic Seizures (also known as “Grand mal seizures”): Involve stiffening of the body, shaking, loss of bladder or bowel control, biting of the tongue, and loss of consciousness.
Complications
- Traumatic brain injury.
- Congestive & behavioural complication.
- Injuries.
- Accidents.
- Status epilepticus.
- Sudden & unexplained death.
- Difficulty in learning.
- Breathing in food or saliva into the lungs during a seizure which can cause aspiration pneumonia.
- Permanent brain damage.
- Side effects of medicines.
Sign & Symptoms
Symptoms may differ from person to person, according to the type of seizure.
- Alterations to sense of taste, smell, sight, hearing or touch.
- Dizziness.
- Tingling & twitching of limbs.
- Staring blankly.
- Unresponsiveness.
- Performing repetitive movements.
Medicine
Homeopathic Medicines :
Causium:
Epilepsy at the age of puberty due to menstrual irregularity or suppression of enptions or to some fright, worse during new moon. Involuntary urination. Better by drinking cold water
Cuprum Metallicum:
The aura begins in the lower extrmities and ascends to the hypogastrium region when unconsciousness, convulsions and foaming of the mouth suprevene.
Nux vomica:
Convulsions with consciousness, worse with anger, touch, emotion, moving, indigestion. Covulsions with tetanic rigidity, opisthotonos,red face closed eyes. Involuntary defection and urination in fit. Aura from epigastrium. Deep sleep follows the attack. Worse in open air.
Bufo Rana:
When due to masturbation or sexual excesses. The fit may return during coition. An awful sensation of anxiety in the abdomen and then there is a sudden loss of consciousness.Pupils largely dilated and unaffected by light before the attack. Aura starts from sexual organs or abdomen. Mouth wide open before an attack and droping of the jaw after the attack. Urine passes in voluntarily after the attack or epilepsy occurs during sleep.
Agaricusm:
In epilepsy when after the attack there is great flow of ideas & the patient talks too much fit of epilepsy every seven days. Begins with paroxysm of yawning.
