Friday 17 February 2017

Seizure versus convulsion

#KYJ. Seizure vs convulsion

Seizure - that is the chaotic electrical discharge .  It is in the brain. It is a cerebral event.

Convulsion - that is the motor movement, the shaking/ thrashing , Tonic/clonic jerking, commonly called fitting.

Convulsions are often violent movements of big muscle groups caused by the seizure ( they are not one in the same )

Seizures may not manifest in convulsions.  Some experience an absence of alertness or sensory perceptive phenomena like déjà vu, that sense that you've seen or heard the scene before.
Some seizures also manifest in a sensory perceptive phenomena like déjà vu, that sense that you've seen or heard the scene before.
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No ... my bad!
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The phenomena called Jamais vu explained as when a person momentarily does not recognize a word, person, or place that they already know.  Is commonly seen in epilepsy a major cause of seizures.

Even day dreaming has been described as a form of seizure activity.

So when a convulsion is the manifestation of seizure activity it becomes a safety issue - especially during the often violent Tonic (muscle tensing) clonic (muscle jerking) phases.  Head trauma, falls and contacting sharp furniture edges during convulsions is a real risk.
If it should be taken to provide some sort of protection particularly from banging heads on solid firm services like the floor.
Contrary to popular believe airway management is not necessary during a convulsion but the moment that the convulsion stops and the characteristic jerking ceases, Standard protocol is that the patient should be safely rolled onto this site and airway maintained.

Final note:  The term status epilepticus is defined as a convulsion that lasts for more than five minutes or more than one convulsion inside five minutes.  Status epilepticus is defined by  convulsion activity and can exist in patients in the absence of a diagnosis of epilepsy.  One of the commonest manifestations of status epilepticus is drug overdose.

Drug therapy of choice if convulsions last longer than five minutes is the Deslan often given intravenously up to 5 mg
Oh
Did I mention the déjà vu.
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