It is a condition wherein your body muscles contracts and relaxes repetitively medically termed as seizures. This usually affects single or group of muscles of the body.

CAUSES:

• These are generally due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Although the exact cause remains unclear.
• It can also be caused due to certain chemicals in blood, certain infections like meningitis, encephalitis; celiac disease, lack of oxygen supply to brain, head trauma or stroke.
• Other causes include: low blood sugar, vitamin B6 deficiency.

RISK FACTORS:

• Age
• Dementia
• Family History.
• Head Trauma.

TYPES OF CONVULSION:

There are 3 types of convulsions:

1. EPILEPTIC: Seizures that are characterised by disturbances in the brain.

• Generalised tonic-clonic seizures: there’s stiffening during the tonic phase and violent jerking during clonic phase.
• Myoclonic seizure: brief shock-like jerks of a muscle or group of muscles.
• Tonic seizure: that involves only sudden stiffness or tension in the muscles.
• Clonic seizure: involves repetitive jerking movements.
• Atonic seizure: seizures that causes sudden loss of muscle strength.

2. FEBRILE: that which usually appears during high fever.
3. NON-EPILEPTIC: multiple causes for it includes brain trauma, meningitis, encephalitis, head stroke, brain tumor.

SIGN AND SYMPTOMS:

An episode of convulsion may involve any part of your body. This episode may be breif lasting for few seconds or may even continue for a longer period of time.

• Brief blackout.
• Drooling
• Loss of bladder/bowel control.
• Involuntary spasm or jerking.
• Gasping.
• Clenched jaw.
• Confusion
• Shaking of entire body.