What does convulsion mean? What is hidden under this term, what are the possible reasons? The answers to these questions are of interest to many, because everyone at least once heard the word "convulsion". What does it mean in the language of doctors and is it always life threatening? We will deal with all this in order.
A convulsion is an involuntary, repetitive contraction of the muscles of the body that lasts from a few seconds to 15 minutes. This phenomenon is associated with an epileptic seizure in many people, but there are several causes of a symptom such as convulsions. What is this - you can understand the example of poisoning, traumatic brain injury, some viral infections.
With convulsions, in addition to involuntary muscle spasms, short-term respiratory arrest, confusion, trembling throughout the body are often observed. The severity of symptoms depends on the disease.
Main reasons
The most common causes of convulsions include epilepsy, meningitis, encephalitis, an overdose of psychotropic drugs, poisoning, and head injuries.
In epilepsy, convulsions result from the generation of excess electrical impulses by brain neurons that cannot be neutralized.
Meningitis and encephalitis are characterized by inflammation in the structures of the brain, which is often accompanied by fever and headache.
Convulsions can occur as a result of serious traumatic brain injuries, which led to disruption of the central nervous system.
Poisoning with chemicals, plant poisons, overdosing with narcotic substances, psychostimulants or antidepressants is also a common cause of convulsions.
In psychiatry, a disorder known as dissociative convulsions is known. In general, the disease is similar in its manifestations to epilepsy, however, during an attack, there is no loss of consciousness, and the pupils react to light while a convulsion occurs. What is happening in this case, what is the cause of involuntary muscle contractions - is still not clear. For treatment, cognitive psychotherapy is used .
Treatment
What is a convulsion and how to treat it? This is an important issue for those who are familiar with this unpleasant phenomenon. Convulsion is, of course, a very unpleasant and often painful symptom. To understand which therapy to apply, it is necessary to find out the root cause, and if it lies in a somatic disease, entrust the selection of treatment to a specialist.
If the cause of the convulsion is poisoning or an overdose of something, you need to remove the toxin from the body. For this, sorbents (enterosgel, activated carbon, white coal) are used. In severe cases, gastric lavage is required.
Drug therapy
In case of epilepsy, anticonvulsants are prescribed, such as Epimil, Phenobarbital, Ethosuximide. These drugs reduce the duration and intensity of seizures. An epileptologist should prescribe them, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient, since many drugs have serious side effects. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions, without violating the dosage and observing the storage rules of the drug.
With encephalitis, antipsychotic drugs, anticonvulsants, vitamins, nootropics are prescribed. Treatment corresponds to the severity and etiology of the disease.
Meningitis (inflammation of the meninges) causes convulsions only in the most severe cases. Anticonvulsants are prescribed to eliminate them , and broad-spectrum antibiotics are used to treat the underlying disease.
Total
There are several causes for a symptom such as convulsions. What is this, we found out, and it is obvious that the symptom is quite serious. But definitely not worth the panic. Proper treatment will help to significantly alleviate seizures and reduce their frequency in epilepsy, and other diseases that cause convulsions usually respond well to drug therapy.