Think about your self behind the wheel, coming up on a 4-way stop. You have got places you'd really prefer to be, so you're impatient with the rules of the street, which dictate a certain order by which drivers advance by way of the intersection. But you recognize that in case you have been to barrel via the cease sign, you'd probably cause an accident with those drivers that had the fitting-of-manner. Automobiles would pile up, horns would honk and your neck may really feel out of whack. Your feelings would quickly change as you consider all the things out of your quickly-to-rise insurance coverage premiums to considerations for occupants of the opposite cars. ­The mind operates in a lot the identical way. Most of the time, neurons launch ordered electrical pulses which dart across the brain delivering messages to the spinal cord, muscles and nerves. But when all of the neurons start firing at once, the brain may be topic to site visitors jams as nicely.
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The neurons' fast and wild firing overwhelms the rest of the mind, causing a seizure to occur. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurring seizures. A seizure was proof-positive that you had been dealing with a witch throughout the fifteenth century. Some may image actress Natalie Portman carrying a helmet within the 2004 movie "Garden State" after they consider epilepsy. The title of the 1997 e book "The Spirit Catches You and you Fall Down" refers to how a family from Laos described their daughter's seizures. Others call seizures electrical storms in the brain. However what causes these electrical storms, these traffic jams? And the way does an individual deal with epilepsy? We'll examine these questions, starting with how a seizure works. Obviously something's occurring within the mind, but how does that manifest itself within the body? Turn the web page to search out out. However not all seizures are the identical. Docs classify seizures into two broad groups: focal seizures (typically referred to as partial seizures) and generalized seizures.

Generalized seizures occur in both sides of the brain. But within those two teams, there's nonetheless a variety of seizure types, which in flip create an immense vary of sensations. Focal seizures are further damaged down as both simple or complex. When a person suffers a simple focal seizure, he or she maintains consciousness, but experiences abnormal feelings or sensations. The individual might sense issues that are not there. Sometimes a easy focal seizure is an aura, or an indication that a posh focal seizure is about to come. A complex focal seizure does involve a lack of consciousness, memory improvement solution in order that the individual enters a dreamlike state. To an observer, a person experiencing a fancy focal seizure could interact in repetitive behaviors including twitching, blinking or walking in a circle. Absence seizures typically occur in children. Because the name implies, the person briefly goes absent from the acutely aware world. It is just like the baby is staring into area, although eyelids might flutter and muscles might twitch.

These seizures final for just a few seconds, after which the little one resumes exercise nearly as rapidly as before. Clonic seizures trigger convulsions, or jerking movements on each sides of the body. Myoclonic seizures contain jerking of the higher physique and the limbs. It could look like the particular person has been shocked. Tonic seizures lead to sudden stiffness within the muscles. These seizures are extra widespread in sleep. Atonic seizures involve a loss of muscle management, inflicting the particular person to droop or fall. Though these seizures could also be quick, they could cause sudden falls, leading to additional damage. Tonic-clonic seizures involve a combination of both tonic and clonic seizure symptoms. The person rapidly stiffens, loses consciousness after which convulses with repeated jerking of the arms and legs. You could have heard the phrases "grand mal" and "petit mal" used to describe a seizure. These phrases are thought of outdated and inaccurate, so you should not hear a doctor utilizing them. Tonic-clonic seizure is the extra applicable time period for a grand mal seizure, whereas absence seizures describe the seizures formally often called petit mal.

Most seizures are usually temporary, lasting both only a few seconds or at most a couple of minutes. The period after a seizure is thought as the postictal state