Overview

Seizures happen when your brain cells, which communicate through electrical signals, send out the wrong signals. Having just one seizure does not mean you have epilepsy. Generally, several seizures are needed before there is a diagnosis of epilepsy.
Epilepsy can happen at any age, but it is most common in the elderly. Many children with epilepsy outgrow the condition. However, even mild seizures that happen more than once should be treated. Seizures can be very dangerous if they happen while you are driving, walking, or swimming, for example.

Seizure

A seizure is an abnormal electrical discharge that occurs in your brain. Usually brain cells, or neurons, flow in an organized fashion along the surface of your brain. A seizure occurs when there is an excess of electrical activity.
Seizure Disorder

Typically, you are diagnosed with a seizure disorder once you’ve had two or more “unprovoked” seizures. Unprovoked seizures have what are considered natural causes, such as genetic factors or metabolic imbalances in your body.
“Provoked” seizures are triggered by a specific event like a brain injury or stroke. To be diagnosed with epilepsy or a seizure disorder, you need to have at least two unprovoked seizures.
Seizures are classified into two primary types: partial seizures, also called focal seizures, and generalized seizures. Both can be associated with seizure disorders.

Partial Seizures

Partial, or focal, seizures begin in a specific part of your brain. If they originate on one side of your brain and spread to other areas, they are called simple partial seizures. If they begin in an area of your brain that affects consciousness, they are called complex partial seizures.
Simple partial seizures have symptoms including:

• involuntary muscle twitching
• vision changes
• dizziness
• sensory changes

Generalized seizures

Generalized seizures begin on both sides of your brain at the same time. Because these seizures spread quickly, it can be difficult to tell where they originated. This makes certain kinds of treatments more difficult.
There are several different types of generalized seizures, each with their own symptoms:

• Absence seizures are brief episodes that may make you stare off while remaining motionless, as though you are daydreaming. They typically occur in children.
• Myoclonic seizures can cause your arms and legs to twitch on both sides of your body
• Tonic-clonic seizures can go on for a long time, sometimes up to 20 minutes. This type of seizure can cause more serious symptoms, such as loss of bladder control and loss of consciousness, in addition to uncontrolled movements.

Febrile seizures

Another type of seizure is a febrile seizure that occurs in infants as the result of a fever. About one in every 25 children, between the ages of 6 months to 5 years, has a febrile seizure. Generally, children who have febrile seizures don’t need to be hospitalized, but if the seizure is prolonged, your doctor may order hospitalization to observe your child.

Signs And Symptoms

Many different symptoms happen during a seizure. This new classification separates them simply into groups that involve movement.

For generalized onset seizures:

• Motor (Grand Mal) symptoms may include sustained rhythmical jerking movements (clonic), muscles becoming weak or limp (atonic), muscles becoming tense or rigid (tonic), brief muscle twitching (myoclonus), or epileptic spasms (body flexes and extends repeatedly).
• Non-motor symptoms are usually called absence seizures or petit mal. These can be typical or atypical absence seizures (staring spells). Absence seizures can also have brief twitches (myoclonus) that can affect a specific part of the body or just the eyelids.

For focal onset seizures:

• Motor symptoms may also include jerking (clonic), muscles becoming limp or weak (atonic), tense or rigid muscles (tonic), brief muscle twitching (myoclonus), or epileptic spasms. There may also be automatisms or repeated automatic movements, like clapping or rubbing of hands, lipsmacking or chewing, or running.
• Non-motor symptoms: Examples of symptoms that don’t affect movement could be changes in sensation, emotions, thinking or cognition, autonomic functions (such as gastrointestinal sensations, waves of heat or cold, goosebumps, heart racing, etc.), or lack of movement (called behavior arrest).

For unknown onset seizures:

• Motor seizures are described as either tonic-clonic or epileptic spasms.
• Non-motor seizures usually include a behavior arrest. This means that movement stops – the person may just stare and not make any other movements.

Causes

High fever

• Heatstroke
• Infections

Brain infections

• Abscess
• AIDS
• Malaria
• Meningitis
• Rabies
• Syphilis
• Tetanus
• Toxoplasmosis
• Viral encephalitis

Metabolic disorders

• High blood levels of sugar or sodium
• Low blood levels of sugar, calcium, magnesium, or sodium

Other disorders

• Kidney failure or liver failure, which can lead to dysfunction of the brain (encephalopathy)
• An underactive parathyroid gland
• Vitamin B6 deficiency (in newborns)

Inadequate oxygen supply to the brain

• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Cardiac arrest
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Near drowning
• Near suffocation
• Stroke
• Vasculitis

Structural damage to the brain

• Brain tumor (noncancerous or cancerous)
• Head injury
• Hydrocephalus
• Intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding within the skull)
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Dementia

Fluid accumulation in the brain (cerebral edema)

• Eclampsia
• Hypertensive encephalopathy
• Lupus

Prescription drugs*

• Buspirone (used to treat anxiety disorders)
• Camphor
• *Chlorpromazine (used to treat schizophrenia)
• Ciprofloxacin (an antibiotic)
• Chloroquine (used to treat malaria)
• Clozapine (usually used to treat schizophrenia)
• Cyclosporine (used to prevent and treat rejection of organ transplants)
• Imipenem (an antibiotic)
• *Indomethacin (used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation)
• *Meperidine (used to relieve pain)
• *Phenytoin†
• Theophylline (used to treat asthma and other airway disorders)
• Tricyclic antidepressants

Recreational drugs

• Amphetamines
• Cocaine (overdose)

Withdrawal of a drug after heavy use

• Alcohol
• General anesthetics (used during surgery)
• Sedatives, including sleep aids

Exposure to toxins

• Lead
• Strychnine)

*Various drugs can cause seizures if too much is taken. Some drugs can also lower the seizure threshold †Phenytoin, used to treat seizure disorders, can cause seizures if too much is taken.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will do blood tests and an electroencephalogram (EEG), which records the electrical activity in your brain. You may also have a computerized tomography (CT) scan, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and a positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Treatment

Medicines

Your doctor may prescribe medicines called antiepileptics, which aim to alter or reduce excess electrical activity in your brain. Some of the many kinds of these medicines include phenytoin and carbamazepine.

Surgery

Surgery may be another treatment option if you have partial seizures that aren’t helped by medicine. The goal of surgery is to remove the part of your brain where your seizures begin.

Nutrition And Supplements

A ketogenic diet. A diet that is high in fat and low in protein and carbohydrates — may help control the frequency of seizures. This type of diet is most commonly used in children, and seems to work better for children than adults. If you are on a ketogenic diet, your doctor should monitor you both for side effects and effectiveness. You may need to take vitamin and mineral supplements, because this diet is very restricted. DO NOT attempt a ketogenic diet on your own. Work with your physician to make sure you are doing it safely.

Some studies have shown a connection between food allergies and seizures in some children. But the evidence is not clear. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and any supplements that have stimulating effects. A holistically-oriented health care provider may help you identify possible food allergies.
Some supplements may make certain antiseizure medications less effective. Ask your doctor before taking any herbs or supplements.

• Taurine is an amino acid that may be involved in the brain’s electrical activity and is often low in people with seizures. It acts like GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), another amino acid that is often low in people with seizures. But there is no scientific evidence that taking either supplement will reduce seizures. Taurine may interact with many medications. DO NOT take taurine or GABA supplements without your doctor’s supervision. DO NOT take taurine or GABA if you have a history of bipolar disorder, or if you take psychoactive medications.
• Folic acid levels may drop during seizures and may be low in some people with seizures, however, taking extra folic acid may make anticonvulsant drugs less effective. That could raise your risk for more seizures. DO NOT take folic acid without your doctor’s supervision.
• Vitamin B12. Some anticonvulsant drugs may cause low levels of B12 in the body.
• Vitamin E may help reduce the frequency of seizures when used with prescription drugs. But some studies show that it does not help. DO NOT take vitamin E if you take blood thinners. Vitamin E can interact with a number of medications. So ask your doctor before taking it.
• Anticonvulsant drugs may cause low levels of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K. If you take anticonvulsant drugs, ask your doctor about taking a supplement. Calcium can interfere with anticonvulsant drugs. So DO NOT take calcium without your doctor’s supervision.

Herbs

Herbs are a way to strengthen and tone the body’s systems. As with any therapy, you should work with your health care provider to diagnose your problem before starting treatment. You may use herbs as dried extracts (capsules, powders, or teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). Unless otherwise indicated, make teas with 1 tsp. (5 g) herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 to 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 to 20 minutes for roots. Drink 2 to 4 cups per day. You may use tinctures alone or in combination as noted.

Many of the herbs used to treat seizures have sedative effects, and they interact with other herbs, supplements, and prescription medications. Take these herbs only under a doctor’s supervision. It is important for a health care professional to monitor side effects and interactions. Most of these herbs have been used traditionally for seizures, but lack scientific evidence showing they work.

• Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri). An herb used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat epilepsy. Some studies found that bacopa may reduce the frequency of seizures. More research is needed. Take special care if you have a history of lung or urinary problems or a history of ulcers.
• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita). A sedative herb. Ask your doctor to help you find the right dose. Chamomile can make the effects of other sedatives stronger. It also interacts with many other medications.
• Kava (Piper methysticum). Has been used traditionally as a sedative herb for seizures. However, there is some concern that kava can damage the liver, even if taken for a short time. Take kava only under your doctor’s supervision, so they can monitor liver function. Kava may interact with a number of other drugs. DO NOT take kava if you have Parkinson’s disease.
• Valerian (Valeriana officinalis). A sedative and anticonvulsive. It interacts with several medications, herbs, and alcohol, so take it only under your doctor’s supervision. Valerian is sometimes combined with lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), another herb that has sedative effects.
• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). May help treat and prevent seizures.

DO NOT take the following herbs:

• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and ginseng (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius) have caused seizures in some people.
• There is some evidence that GLA, a kind of fatty acid found in evening primrose oil(Oenothera biennis) and borage oil (Borago officinalis), may worsen epilepsy. More research is needed.
• St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) interacts with a number of medications and herbs used to treat epilepsy.
• White willow (Salix alba) may interact with epilepsy medications.

Avoid these essential oils:

• Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)
• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
• Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
• Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
• Sage (Salvia officinalis)
• Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
• Thuja (Thuya occidentalis)
• Wormwood (Artemesia absinthium)

Homeopathy

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of specific homeopathic remedies. Professional homeopaths, however, may recommend one or more of the following treatments for seizure disorders based on their knowledge and clinical experience. Before prescribing a remedy, homeopaths take into account a person’s constitutional type, includes your physical, emotional, and intellectual makeup. An experienced homeopath assesses all of these factors when determining the most appropriate remedy for a particular individual.

• Belladonna. For seizures that occur in individuals with a high fever.
• Causticum. For individuals whose seizures may be triggered by receiving bad news or by feelings of sadness such as from grief; this remedy is most appropriate for individuals who tend to feel hopeless and fearful.
• Cicuta. For individuals who develop seizures after a head injury.
• Cuprum metallicum. For individuals whose seizures are accompanied by mental dullness; may be triggered by menstruation or vomiting.