oGeneralized Seizures
- Involves the whole brain
- Common types include absence and tonic-clonic
- Symptoms may include convulsion, staring, muscle spasms and falls
ABSENSE SEIZURES:
- Pause in activity with blank stare
- Brief lapse of awareness
- Possible blinking or chewing motion
- Usually lasts 1 to 10 seconds
- May occur many times a day
- May be confused with:
Day dreaming
n Lack of attention
n ADD
TONIC CLONIC:
- oA sudden, hoarse cry
- Loss of consciousness
- A fall
- Convulsions (stiffening of arms & legs followed by rhythmic jerking)
- oPossible loss of bowel or bladder controlo
- Occasionally skin, nails or lips may turn blueo
- Generally lasts 1 to 3 minutes.
- Usually followed by confusion, headache, tiredness, soreness, speech difficulty
nPartial Seizures
- nInvolve only part of the brain
- nCommon types include simple partial and complex partial
- nSymptoms relate to the part of the brain affected
SIMPLE PARTIAL:
- nFull awareness maintained
- Rhythmic movements (isolated twitching of arms, face, legs)
- nSensory symptoms (tingling, weakness, sounds, smells, tastes, feeling of upset stomach, visual distortions)
- Psychic symptoms (deja vu, hallucinations, feelings of fear of anxiety, or a feeling they cannot explain)n
- Usually lasts less than one minute
- May be confused with: acting out, mystical experiences or psychosomatic illness
n
COMPLEX PARTIAL:
- Awareness is impaired/Inability to respond
- Often begins with blank dazed stare
- AUTOMATISMS (repetitive purposeless movements)
- Clumsy or disoriented movements, aimless walking, picking things up, nonsensical speech or lip smacking
- Often lasts one to three minutes
- Often followed by tiredness, headache or nausea
- Person may become combative if restrained
- May be confused with:
- Drunkenness or drug abuse
- Aggressive behavior
- Mental illness