Emotional Stress And Lack Of Sleep May Cause Grand Mal Seizure
Our brain functions with the help of neurons and there is a constant flow of electricity between them. Grand mal seizure has been classified as the first known epileptic seizure. This seizure basically encompasses the electrical activity of the entire surface of your brain. It can be described as the short circuit of electrical signals or impulses and can be at times very frightening. Epilepsy, sleep disorders, brain injury, trauma, sudden stroke, illicit drugs usage and side effects of medicines are common reason that can trigger seizure attack in a human body.
Low Sugar Level Can Also Trigger Grand Mal Seizure
Illicit Drugs Usage Can Trigger Seizure Attack
Grand mal seizure also known as tonic-clonic seizure can also be triggered by low blood sugar level in your body. The brain’s usual activity gets altered and hence you get seizure attacks so it is necessary to be informed about its necessary medicines and precautions. It has also been noted that most common grand mal seizure attacks mainly occurs due to epilepsy. Usually, it has been observed that people who had one grand mal seizure attack have lesser or none chances to getting another one. But to avoid any future mishap and control of seizure, they are often recommended anti-seizure medications for its proper control.
Effective Drug Filled Syringe Are A Future Cure For Grand Mal Seizure
Patients suffering with grand mal seizure often are given oral medicines or a painstaking procedure involving an IV. According to the latest study conducted by the San Francisco General Hospital, studies have been to develop a self injecting drug-loaded syringe like EpiPens which is used to treat severe allergic reactions. With the help of this, patients suffering with grand mal seizure can immediately be provided with an immediate medicine to stop seizure attacks. This is way much better than using traditional methods of treatment that included insertion of intravenous line and making the drug reach the bloodstream that is very painful indeed.
Why Is Grand Mal Seizure Attack Most Common In Morning Hours And Ways To Avoid It?
Joint Displacement May Occur During A Grand Mal Seizure
Grand mal seizure attack is most common in the morning hours. Disorganized sleep has also been a major cause for its occurrence on awakening. The patients are advised to have a sound and disciplined sleep. A regular sleep-wake cycle promotes good control over seizures attacks. Do not intake alcohol in excessive quantity and its ban from your life will be much better to have a good control over your seizure problems. During a grand mal seizure attack patient may also undergo few types of injuries like joint displacement, head injuries and fractures of bones. So it is very necessary for the patient to get immediate help and support. Medical bracelets are very essential for that purpose.
Emotional Stress Is Dangerous
Emotional stress and lack of sleep have also been seen as common causes that can trigger grand mal seizure attacks. However, the most common factor is genetic condition or family history of epilepsy. It is very essential that you consult a doctor about your seizure attack. You should tell him/her every possible detail on your family history of seizure and any head injury in the past if any. These things will help the doctor to prescribe the medicine and tests in the most accurate way. So avoid taking too much emotional stress and eat a healthy and balanced diet to cope up with your seizures.
Aspartame Consumption Can Give You A Grand Mal Seizure Attack
A seizure is an abnormal activity of cerebral neurons that affects our brain. These are mainly divided into main categories that are partial seizure and grand mal seizure. Generalized seizure often begins in the thalamus and they often show symptoms that are interlinked with unconsciousness.
Drinking Too Much Soft Drinks Can Also Cause Grand Mal Seizure Attack
Aspartame Can Cause Grand Mal Seizure Attack
Recent studies show that aspartame can cause generalized seizures too. Aspartame is a chemical compound composed of mainly amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. These are mostly present in the soft drinks and chewing gum. So whenever you are in taking these always be cautious because they prove fatal to you in later stages of life. Aspartame has also been noted and advertised for its consumption in place of natural sugar but people often don’t know the side effects of it and consume it because of its advertisement. So if you have been in taking soft drinks over a long period of time and have not been affected by its poisonous nature, consider yourself lucky because there are some serious cases that showcased an acute case of aspartame induced seizure or grand mal seizure.
Avoid Usage Of Alcohol & Drugs It May Prove Fatal To Your Health
Most of the time it is next to impossible to stop a seizure attack occurrence. But you can always insist on the following points to be cautious about it.
- Avoid use of drugs especially which are illegal
- Avoid alcohol and minimize its consumption
- If you are a patient of diabetes always follow the everyday routine of taking insulin or tablets, whatsoever prescribed.
- Always protect your head from injury. Always follow traffic rules and wear safety helmets while playing or going anywhere out.
- If you are pregnant, always be in touch with your doctor and follow the guideline as said by the doctor.
Limit The Use Of Aspartame In Your Everyday Food & Drinking Item
Factors Causing Grand Mal Seizure
There are many factors that can cause generalized seizure; following is a brief list of few of them.
- Drugs and alcohol – Few drugs that can cause generalized seizures attack include sleep medicines and anesthetics that are mostly given while doing surgery. Excessive amount of cocaine in take may also result in severe attacks.
- Injury or infections in brain – Tetanus and rabies are few among the dangerous infections that almost make the brain functioning to a zero level. These often if not cured results in seizures attack of severe nature.
- Malnutrition – Low level of blood sugar in a diabetic patient and people with irregular blood pressure may also be victims of seizure attacks.
Seizure Is Unpredictable
Many factors prevail in saying that a person suffering with grand mal seizure can be free of seizure attacks. It’s always considered that if a person with initial seizure attacks if show significant control on further attacks he/she may be showing some good symptoms of having no attacks in future. It has been noted that proper medication and proper guidance helps patients to overcome their attacks but they are not certain. Most children who had seizure attacks in past may lead a good life if are being given proper care and medication and can also participate in sports and other activities with lesser restrictions.
Brain Injury of All Sizes can Trigger Grand Mal Seizure
Brain injury has been called a major trigger for grand mal seizure (GMS). The injury can be of any scale, whether mild, moderate and severe. Our brain functions through the electrical signals that are produced by the various nerves in different parts of the body. The nerves fire charges that go from one cell to the other. The brain injury ransacks the nervous system. It leads to the production of erratic electrical activity in the brain. This is the cause of grand mal seizure.
Erractic eletric signals in the brain cause grand mal seizure
How Soon does GMS Occur After Brain Injury?
There is no set time span for the GMS to occur followed by a brain injury. It can occur to persons of all ages. But children run a higher risk of developing it after a brain injury compared to adults. The onset of a seizure within the first seven days after the injury is called early onset seizure. The late onset seizure occurs after the first week of the brain injury. Early onset seizure increases the intracranial pressure inside the brain that can lead to further damage. Such cases should be attended to with urgent importance.
How is GMS Diagnosed?
GMS has explicit symptoms for diagnosing it. The person under grand mal seizure would show violent convulsions and lose consciousness. But to ratify clinically, doctors recommend ECG (electroencephalogram). But ECG done at a time when the symptoms have subsided would not show the abnormality in the brain. Therefore, the patient is kept under 24-hour continuous ECG. In many hospitals the patient is kept under video tape to monitor his activities and juxtapose it with the ECG tracings. Along with it the doctor takes into account the the symptoms noticed by the patient’s family to confirm a case of grand mal seizure.
Brain injury can lead to erratic eletrical impulses
Final Words on Grand Mal Seizure after Brain Injury
I hope this article on grand mal seizure caused by brain injury was useful in highlighting that in case minor symptoms of GMS was noticed in anyone followed by an injury in the brain , a doctor should be reported immediately.
What Causes Grand Mal Seizures?
A grand mal seizure, also known as a tonic-clonic seizure, is characterized by loss of consciousness and loss of muscle control. Grand mal seizures occur when the brain’s electrical activity changes, altering how it effectively communicates, causing severe muscle contractions and spasms. MedlinePlus warns that patients who experience grand mal seizures might become incontinent of urine and stool, bite their tongue or stop breathing.
Brain Injuries
When the brain experiences an injury through illness or accident, a grand mal seizure might occur, warns MayoClinic.com. The type of brain injury implicated in grand mal seizures is called an anoxic brain injury. This condition stems from lack of oxygen to the brain, which causes improper functioning of brain cells. Accidents such as near drownings and exposure to elevated carbon monoxide levels can cause anoxic brain injuries. Abnormal heart rhythms and stroke can also cause a brain injury and cause a grand mal seizure, as can trauma to the brain resulting from a severe head injury.
Drugs and Alcohol
MayoClinic.com says that drug and alcohol withdrawal can contribute to grand mal seizures. Drugs that can cause a grand mal seizure include sleep medications and general anesthetics that are used during surgery. In addition, cocaine overdoses and amphetamines can promote this type of seizure, as can overdosing on tricyclic antidepressants, warns the Merck Manual Home Edition, who also says that in those cases where the cause of seizures cannot be identified, they are referred to as idiopathic.
Brain Infections
Encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, tetanus, rabies and brain abcess are types of brain infections that can alter the electrical activity of the brain. MayoClinic.com states that a past medical history of a brain infection can cause a grand mal seizure.
Low Levels of Blood Nutrients
If individuals have low levels of selective nutrients in the blood, a grand mal seizure can occur, says MayoClinic.com. When diabetic patients experience low levels of blood glucose levels, hypoglycemia can occur, increasing the risk of this type of seizure. In addition, decreased levels of calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6 and sodium can also lead to grand mal seizures, which are usually more common in those under the age of two, explains the Merck Manual Home Edition.