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What are the stages of epilepsy seizures?
Epilepsy Seizures Tonic-clonic seizures, formerly known as grand mal seizures, comprise two stages: a tonic phase and a clonic phase. These intense seizures can be frightening to experience or observe, as extreme muscle spasms may temporarily arrest breathing. What You Need to Know
What is a generalized seizure?
A generalized seizure occurs when the abnormal electrical activity causing a seizure begins in both halves (hemispheres) of the brain at the same time. Generalized seizures include absence, atonic, tonic, clonic, tonic-clonic, myoclonic, and febrile seizures.
What is the ictal stage of a seizure?
The middle (ictal) stage of a seizure is called the ictal phase. It’s the time from the first symptom to the end of the seizure activity. It is during this time that intense electrical activity is occurring in the brain. Some common signs of this phase include: The final post-ictal stage occurs after the active (ictal) part of the seizure.
Which phase of a seizure is associated with a tonic-clonic seizure?
Stiffening of the body is the tonic phase and is associated with a tonic-clonic seizure, not absence seizure. Which characteristic of a patient's recent seizure is consistent with a focal seizure?
What does the clonic stage of a seizure consist of?
Clonic seizures are characterized by repeated jerking movements of the arms and legs on one or both sides of the body, sometimes with numbness or tingling. If it is a focal (partial) seizure, the person may be aware of what's happening.
What is the time after a seizure called?
The postictal state is a period that begins when a seizure subsides and ends when the patient returns to baseline. It typically lasts between 5 and 30 minutes and is characterized by disorienting symptoms such as confusion, drowsiness, hypertension, headache, nausea, etc.
Which type of seizure is considered to be a secondary seizure?
Secondary generalized seizures begin in one part of the brain, but then spread to both sides of the brain. In other words, the person first has a focal seizure, followed by a generalized seizure.
Which of the following is the best definition of a seizure?
A seizure is a burst of uncontrolled electrical activity between brain cells (also called neurons or nerve cells) that causes temporary abnormalities in muscle tone or movements (stiffness, twitching or limpness), behaviors, sensations or states of awareness. Seizures are not all alike.
What are the 4 stages of a seizure?
Seizures take on many different forms and have a beginning (prodrome and aura), middle (ictal) and end (post-ictal) stage. These phases are described below.
What is the name of the phase of a generalized seizure right after a patient has stopped seizing?
The recovery period following a seizure is called the post-ictal phase. Some people recover immediately, while others may require minutes, hours or days to feel like they're back at their baseline.
Which of the following is a phase of generalized seizures?
Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are characterized by five distinct phases that occur in the child. The body, arms, and legs will flex (contract), extend (straighten out), tremor (shake), a clonic period (contraction and relaxation of the muscles), followed by the postictal period.
What is a Generalised tonic-clonic seizure?
A generalized tonic-clonic seizure, formerly known as grand mal seizure, is defined as a seizure that has a tonic phase followed by clonic muscle contractions. Among patients, families, and observers, they are most feared of seizure types.
What are the two types of seizure quizlet?
Seizures are classified as partial, generalized, and unclassified, and can range from simple to complex. list the four types of generalized seizures. types of generalized seizures include tonic clonic, absence, myoclonic, and atonic or akinetic.
What are the four types of focal seizures?
Focal epilepsy seizures come in four categories:Focal aware seizures. If you know what's happening during the seizure, it's an "aware" seizure. ... Focal impaired awareness seizures. ... Focal motor seizures. ... Focal non-motor seizures.
What are the 6 types of seizures?
6 Different Types of SeizuresSimple Focal Seizures. Simple focal seizures occur for a short amount of time – typically lasting less than one minute. ... Complex Focal Seizure. ... Absence Seizure. ... Atonic Seizure. ... Tonic-Clonic Seizure. ... Myoclonic Seizure.
What does focal onset mean?
Focal onset seizures are the most common type of seizures in adults with epilepsy. When the seizure begins in one side of the brain and the person has a change in their level of awareness during some or all of it, it is called a focal onset impaired awareness seizure. The word "onset" is optional.
What happens the day after a seizure?
More than 70% of people with epilepsy report post-ictal (after-seizure) complications, including confusion, fear, exhaustion, headache, emotional reactivity, memory problems and behavioral changes. Some last an hour; others can last for days.
How do you say postictal phase?
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Do all seizures have a postictal state?
While psychiatric and cognitive postictal symptoms are common for all types of seizures, people who have seizures that involve muscle spasms and contractions (e.g. tonic-clonic seizures) may have to recover physically after a seizure.
What is the definition of postictal?
The postictal state is the abnormal condition occurring between the end of an epileptic seizure and return to baseline condition. Applying this definition operationally can be difficult, especially for complex partial seizures, where cognitive and sensorimotor impairments merge imperceptibly into the postictal state.
What is a generalized seizure?
A generalized seizure occurs when the abnormal electrical activity causing a seizure begins in both halves (hemispheres) of the brain at the same time.
How long does a seizure last?
A seizure typically lasts a few minutes or less , after which the person is likely to remain unconscious for a few minutes more, depending on the intensity of the seizure. This is the post-seizure or post-ictal period, and during this phase the person’s brain is extremely active as it tries to contain the abnormal electrical impulses and bring the seizure under control.
How long do infantile spasms last?
Each spasm lasts only a second or two but they usually occur close together in a series. Sometimes the spasms are mistaken for colic, but the cramps of colic do not typically occur in a series. Infantile spasms are most common just after waking up or falling asleep.
What is a sudden body jerk?
Myoclonic seizures are characterized by a sudden body “jolts” or increases in muscle tone as if the person had been jolted with electricity. A myoclonic seizure is similar to the single or multiple sudden jerks people sometimes experience as they are falling asleep. “Sleep myoclonic” jerks are benign whereas myoclonic seizures can be harmful, since the “jolts” occur in bouts.
What happens when you have a tonic seizure?
In a tonic seizure, the person’s muscles stiffen, and they lose consciousness. The eyes roll back in their head, and muscles of the chest, arms and legs stiffen, causing the back to arch. The contracting muscles in the chest make it hard to breathe, and the person’s lips and face may turn gray or blue. The person may make gurgling sounds while struggling to breathe.
When do infantile spasms occur?
Infantile spasms is a subtype type of myoclonic epilepsy that typically begins between the ages of 3 and 12 months of age and may persist for several years. Infantile spasms typically consist of a sudden jerk followed by stiffening. Often the child’s arms fling outward as the knees pull up and the body bends forward.
What does it mean to be regaining consciousness after a seizure?
People regaining consciousness after a seizure are likely to be sore, confused or frightened and very tired. Providing assurance and support is the best help an observer can offer.
What is the term for seizures that occur in both cerebral and hemispheres?
Generalized seizures affect both cerebral hemispheres (sides of the brain) from the beginning of the seizure. They produce loss of consciousness, either briefly or for a longer period of time, and are sub-categorized into several major types:
How long does it take to recover from a seizure?
Following the seizure, the patient will be lethargic, possibly confused, and want to sleep. Headache sometimes occurs. Full recovery takes minutes to hours, depending on the individual.
What is the most common type of seizure?
Generalized tonic clonic seizures (grand mal seizures) are the most common and best known type of generalized seizure. They begin with stiffening of the limbs (the tonic phase), followed by jerking of the limbs and face (the clonic phase).
What is an atonic seizure?
Atonic seizures produce an abrupt loss of muscle tone. Other names for this type of seizure include drop attacks, astatic or akinetic seizures. They produce head drops, loss of posture, or sudden collapse. Because they are so abrupt, without any warning, and because the people who experience them fall with force, atonic seizures can result in injuries to the head and face. Protective headgear is sometimes used by children and adults; the seizures tend to be resistant to drug therapy. No first aid is needed (unless there is injury from the fall), but if this is a first atonic seizure, the child should be given a thorough medical evaluation.
What is the difference between absence and complex partial seizures?
Although absence and complex partial seizures can be confused, they have distinct differences. First, absence seizures are never preceded by an aura. Second, absence seizures are of briefer duration – seconds rather than minutes. Third, absence seizures begin frequently and end abruptly. Finally, the absence attack is always associated with the strikingly typical EEG abnormality of spike and slow-wave discharges, usually at a frequency of 3Hz. These discharges can occur interictally and actually and are often provoked by hyperventilation.
How long does an absence seizure last?
Absence seizures (also called petit mal seizures) are lapses of awareness, sometimes with staring, that begin and end abruptly, lasting only a few seconds. There is no warning and no after-effect. More common in children than in adults, absence seizures are frequently so brief that they escape detection, even if the child is experiencing 50 to 100 attacks daily. They may occur for several months before a child is sent for a medical evaluation.
What happens during the tonic phase?
During the tonic phase, breathing may decrease or cease altogether, producing cyanosis (blueing) of the lips, nail beds, and face. Breathing typically returns during the clonic (jerking) phase, but it may be irregular. This clonic phase usually lasts less than a minute.
Where does a partial seizure start?
A partial seizure starts in one region of the cortex and may stay focused or spread (eg. jerking in the extremity spreading to other areas of the body). Describe an absence seizure. An absence seizure usually occurs in children and involves a vacant stare with a brief loss of consciousness that often goes unnoticed.
What should a nurse do during a seizure?
During a seizure, the nurse should note movement of the client's head and eyes and muscle rigidity, especially when the seizure first begins, to obtain clues about the location of the trigger focus in the brain. The nurse is assessing a client in the postictal phase of generalized tonic-clonic seizure.
How long does a tonic clonic seizure last?
The tonic phase consists of loss of consciousness, dilated pupils, and muscular stiffening or contraction, which lasts 20 to 30 seconds.
What is the most important intervention in a tonic clonic seizure?
The most important nursing intervention is to maintain the patient's open airway. Suctioning equipment should be available.
What is the best medication for a seizure?
This patient's seizure is caused by low blood glucose, so IV dextrose solution should be given first to stop the seizure. IV diazepam, IV phenytoin, and oral carbamazepine would be used to treat seizures from other causes, such as head trauma, drugs, and infections.
What is the etiology of a focal seizure?
The etiology of the seizure involved both sides of the patient's brain. 2. The seizure involved lip smacking and repetitive movements. The most common complex focal seizure involves lip smacking and automatisms (repetitive movements that may not be appropriate).
What is an absence seizure?
An absence seizure usually occurs in children and involves a vacant stare with a brief loss of consciousness that often goes unnoticed.
What are the symptoms of a seizure?
Aura. Auras are generally considered an early part of the seizure. Symptoms of an aura may include: Déjà vu (a sense that something has happened before when in fact it hasn’t) Jamais vu (a feeling that you’re seeing something you know well for the first time) Odd smells, sounds or tastes. Dizziness.
What is the middle stage of a seizure?
The middle (ictal) stage of a seizure is called the ictal phase . It’s the time from the first symptom to the end of the seizure activity. It is during this time that intense electrical activity is occurring in the brain. Some common signs of this phase include: Loss of awareness.
What is the end of the post ictal phase?
Ending (post-ictal) phase. The final post-ictal stage occurs after the active (ictal) part of the seizure. This is the recovery stage and during this phase any physical after effects of the seizure are felt.
How many seizure phases are there?
The three seizure phases are defined as:
Can you remember a seizure?
Once the seizure is over, some people may remember having one, remember parts of it, or not remember at all.
Absence Seizures
The revised classification of epileptic seizures by the International League against Epilepsy categorizes absence seizures as generalized seizures, indicating bihemispheric initial involvement clinically and electroencephalographically. Many children with absence seizures can be further categorized as having a characteristic epileptic syndrome.
Electroencephalography
The EEG signature of a typical absence seizure is the sudden onset of 3-Hz generalized symmetrical spike- or multiple spike-and-slow wave complexes (Fig. 1.1, A—C). The voltage of the discharges is often maximal in the frontocentral regions.
Clonic Seizures
Clonic seizures are similar to GTC seizures but consist only of rhythmic or semirhythmic contractions of a group of muscles. These jerks can involve any
Myoclonic Seizures
Myoclonic seizures are characterized by sudden, brief (<350 milliseconds), shocklike contractions that may be generalized or confined to the face and trunk or to one or more extremities, or even to individual muscles or groups of muscles.3 Myoclonic seizures result in short bursts of synchronized electromyographic activity, which often involves simultaneous activation of agonist and antagonist muscles.
Atonic Seizures
Atonic (astatic) seizures, or drop attacks, are characterized by a sudden loss of muscle tone. They begin suddenly and without warning and cause the patient, if standing, to fall quickly to the floor. Because there may be total lack of tone, the child has no means to protect himself or herself and injuries often occur.