Probably, everyone at least once in his life felt on himself what a cramp is. These are involuntary brain symptoms that can lead to impaired consciousness, emotional disturbances, or severe muscle spasms in the arms or legs.
If you have cramps quite often, then this is the reason why you urgently need to see a doctor. They can signal serious diseases not only in the nervous system, but also in other organs. After the examination, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment, which will include anticonvulsants to reduce the frequency of seizures.
Causes of Convulsive Conditions
Convulsions can occur in a person at different periods of life, the most common causes of such conditions include:
- Congenital malformations of the brain structures. In such people, seizures usually begin from early childhood.
- Lack of oxygen in the tissues.
- Brain diseases.
- ARVI.
- The lack of certain elements in the blood plasma, such as calcium and magnesium.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Brain tumors.
- High body temperature.
- Poisoning with various drugs.
- Epilepsy.
In order to get rid of such problems, it is necessary to establish their cause precisely, because in each case anticonvulsants are prescribed individually.
Varieties of seizures
You can give the following classification of convulsive conditions:
1. Generalized convulsions . They most often capture the entire body, as, for example, during attacks of epilepsy.
- Clonic . There is a change in muscle tension, twitching is observed.
- Tonic . Spasm of muscle fibers.
- Tonic-clonic . Mixed cramps, which are characterized by an alternation of involuntary twitching, and spasm.
2. Local . Observed in certain muscles, such as calf cramps.
Generalized seizures are more serious because they affect the entire body. They may be accompanied by loss of consciousness.
Any convulsive conditions have a reason that must be identified in order to prescribe adequate treatment.
Epilepsy, its causes and symptoms
This is a disease of the nervous system, it is characterized by sudden epileptic seizures, during which convulsions cover the whole body of the patient. If a person is diagnosed correctly, then there is the possibility, using anticonvulsants of a new generation, to achieve good results.
The main causes of epilepsy include:
- Damage to brain neurons.
- Pathology during pregnancy.
- Birth injury.
- Hereditary factor.
- Circulatory disorders in the brain structures.
- Oxygen starvation of the brain.
- Viral infections.
Many doctors still cannot speak with high accuracy about the causes of this disease in each individual person.
The most common and striking symptom of this disease is seizures. They happen periodically and always begin suddenly. During an attack, the patient does not react to external stimuli at all, after its completion a person usually feels weak, but the attack itself does not remember.
The seizure may not cover the whole body, then the patient simply loses consciousness, or spasms of the facial muscles and illogical, similar movements are observed.
Diagnosis of epilepsy is possible only after a thorough examination. If timely and correct treatment is prescribed, then in most cases it is possible to avoid attacks, and the quality of life of a person improves significantly.
Epilepsy treatment
Most patients diagnosed with epilepsy take the path of recovery if the treatment is prescribed correctly, and the patient and his family members are actively involved in this process.
When treating, it is very important not only to prescribe anticonvulsants (for epilepsy), but to solve a number of problems:
- Find out the causes of seizures.
- If possible, eliminate the influence of those factors that can become provocateurs of seizures.
- Make the correct diagnosis of the type of epilepsy.
- Prescribe adequate treatment with medications. This may be inpatient treatment.
- Much attention should be paid to recreation, social problems, and the employment of patients.
Among the basic principles for the treatment of epilepsy are:
- Selection of a medicine that will match the type of seizure. Anticonvulsants are prescribed (such drugs help eliminate or mitigate seizures).
- The use of monotherapy is desirable, that is, use one drug for convulsive conditions.
- Use of physiotherapeutic treatment.
Anticonvulsants
The following classification, which is used for drugs for seizures, can be given.
- Benzodiazepines. This group includes: "Diazepam", "Clonazepam", "Dormicum" and others. These drugs are used to relieve the attack and for its prevention.
- Valproates. Anticonvulsant drugs of this group interfere with the conduction of a nerve impulse, so there are fewer attacks. These include: Valproic acid, Aceipiprol, Apilepsin and many others.
- Lamotrigine. It is usually used in the treatment of epilepsy until the patient's condition returns to normal.
- Derivatives of hydantoin. This includes "diphenin", it reduces the excitability of nerve cells. It has an anticonvulsant effect.
- Succinoids. In their action, they are similar to the drug of the previous group.
- Derivatives of oxazolidinedione. This is "Trimethine", which with complex and extensive seizures is ineffective, and with local ones it can be useful.
- Iminostilbenes. This includes Finlepsin, it does not allow reproducing repeated action potentials, which are precisely the basis of convulsive activity.
- Anticonvulsants of the barbiturate group are old-generation drugs. Compared with modern drugs, they are already ineffective, so they are used less and less. In addition, with prolonged use, they are addictive.
Any anticonvulsant for epilepsy should be prescribed by a doctor. Only in this case can effective treatment be guaranteed. It is worth considering that when abruptly canceled, the condition may worsen, so the doctor selects the dosage for the entire course of treatment.
Treatment of convulsive conditions in children
Seizures in childhood occur much more often than in adults. This can be caused by many causes, ranging from brain diseases to the usual high fever during a viral infection.
The predisposition of young children to frequent seizures can be explained by the immaturity of the brain structures. At the first symptoms of an attack, it is necessary to take all necessary measures to stop it, otherwise irreversible changes in the central nervous system are possible.
According to the degree of danger, anticonvulsant drugs for children can be divided into two groups:
- Drugs that practically do not depress breathing. These include benzodiazepines: Droperidol, Lidocaine.
- Respiratory depressants. These are barbiturates, "Magnesium Sulfate."
If you have diagnosed a seizure in your child, then you do not need to wait for it to recur, but you must immediately consult a doctor. With single cramps during high temperature, the next time you should not wait for the thermometer to rise above 38 degrees, knock it down earlier and do not provoke an attack.
If such conditions are often observed in the child, then he will be prescribed treatment. Any anticonvulsant is used strictly at the dosage prescribed by the doctor. In young children, "Phenobarbital" is most often used in treatment.
It not only prevents the appearance of seizures, but also calms the nervous system and has a small hypnotic effect.
Doctors often prescribe one anticonvulsant in the treatment of such conditions - a mixture of Sereysky and its variants. It consists of: luminal, caffeine and papaverine. In combination, they relieve spasms well and improve nerve cell nutrition.
Muscle spasm in the legs
If an epileptic seizure, which is accompanied by seizures, is a relatively infrequent phenomenon, since the percentage of such patients is relatively small, then almost everyone has experienced a sharp spasm in the legs. It appears at a time when the muscle stops contracting. Most often, this phenomenon can be observed in the calf muscle. Such a spasm usually lasts several minutes. After its end, the pain can disappear without a trace, and in some cases for several days you can feel muscle pain.
Often such attacks happen at night, some remember the sensation when in the water while swimming in the sea, a leg cramps. In this case, it is advisable that someone be nearby and provide assistance.
If this happens often enough for you, then you should not brush off this problem, but you should consult a doctor.
Causes of Leg Cramps
If we talk about the reasons that can provoke the development of a sharp muscle spasm in the leg, then the following can be noted:
- Idiopathic leg cramps. They arise for an unknown reason, most often at night, especially in elderly people. Such problems are known to athletes. According to scientists, this occurs when the muscle is already in a contracted state, and to it the nervous system sends another impulse to contract. If you periodically train your muscles and perform stretching exercises, you can reduce the number of such attacks or even eliminate them.
- Another group of seizures can signal a number of problems in the body:
- Dehydration.
- Pregnancy
- Flat feet.
- Overweight.
- Lack of calcium and magnesium.
- Nervous overvoltage.
- Thyroid disease.
- Imbalance of potassium and sodium in the blood.
- Narrowing of the arteries of the legs, which is often observed in smokers.
- Alcohol abuse.
- Subcooling legs.
- Lack of B vitamins, lack of vitamins D, E.
As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why leg cramps can bother you and complicate your life.
First aid and treatment for leg cramps
When a person brings a leg or arm, the primary task is to remove this attack as soon as possible. What can be recommended to make the spasm stop?
- Stand on the leg, which brought, just holding on to a chair. Although this action is painful, it is considered quite effective.
- You can substitute your foot under hot water, if possible.
- Press sharply on the middle of the muscle.
- Make self-massage, starting from the ankle to the thigh.
- With both hands, grab the fingers of the brought together leg and pull upwards and towards you.
- Try to pinch yourself several times for a spasmodic place.
- Advice from athletes is to inject a pin into the muscle.
After you manage to remove a painful muscle spasm, it is advisable not to delay a visit to the doctor, especially if you often have cramps. Treatment should be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account the established causes of this condition.
There are several ways to deal with this problem:
- Drug treatment.
- The use of folk remedies.
- Special gymnastics.
If we talk about drug treatment, the best anticonvulsants for the legs are Orthocalcium + Magnesium and Ortho Taurin Ergo.
The first medicine saturates the body with magnesium, as well as other minerals and vitamins, without which normal muscle function is impossible. Sometimes, after the first application, an effect is noticeable, but most often it is necessary to undergo a monthly course of treatment with this drug.
"Ortho Taurin Ergo" is even more effective, it is prescribed even for epileptic seizures. He, like all anticonvulsants (anticonvulsants), relieves the attack. Its effect is enhanced by the presence of vitamins E, B, zinc and lipoic acid in the composition.
Doctors often prescribe anticonvulsants for a new generation of legs, because they not only help relieve spasm quickly, but also reduce mental and physical fatigue.
An even greater effect will be achieved if these two drugs: Orthocalcium + Magnesium and Ortho Taurine Ergo are taken together. Spasms will bother less and less, and treatment will go faster.
Gymnastics can have a positive effect on the speed of treatment and ego. Some exercises (it is better to perform them in the morning) will help your muscles return to normal faster:
- Standing near a chair, place your feet crosswise and lean on the outside. After a few seconds, take up the starting position.
- Sitting on a chair, bend your fingers with all your strength, and then straighten.
- From a standing position, raise on your toes so that the heels are behind the floor, and then drop sharply.
- Before going to bed, you can perform rotational movements of the feet, as well as flexion and extension of the toes.
The abilities of traditional medicine should also not be discounted. Doctors offer the following tips for leg cramps:
- Rub lemon juice into the skin of the legs daily in the morning and evening. Do not wipe, it is necessary that he absorbed.
- Laurel oil helps well. You can prepare it in the following way: 50 grams of the sheet must be filled with 250 ml of vegetable oil and left for two weeks in a dark place. After filtering, it is necessary to smear them with the places where convulsion most often reduces.
- Mix celandine juice and petroleum jelly in a ratio of 1: 2, with this mixture rub your hands or feet where cramping occurs.
Any disease requires an integrated approach. Convulsions are not an exception. Treatment will be more effective if you use drugs, folk remedies, and exercise together.
Prevention of convulsive conditions
If the cause of seizures is epilepsy, then this requires serious treatment. Only regular intake of drugs and the implementation of all the recommendations of doctors will avoid periodic convulsive seizures.
With frequent muscle cramps in the arms or legs, you can be advised to follow these recommendations:
- Build a diet so that it contains a sufficient amount of all the necessary minerals and vitamins.
- In winter, you can replenish the supply of elements by taking synthetic vitamins and biological additives.
- About 2 liters of water should be drunk per day.
- You need to limit your sugar intake.
- Do not get carried away with caffeine, it is able to leach calcium from bones.
- If you play sports, then you need to correctly distribute the load.
- Do not go into too cold water when resting on the sea.
- When sitting on a chair, never put your feet under you, especially both at once.
If, nevertheless, prevention did not help you, and convulsions happen, then you should consult a doctor. No need to purchase anticonvulsant drugs without prescriptions, otherwise you can only harm yourself even more.