Epilepsy symptoms are manifested by unorganized, recurring and irregular transmitting of electrical impulses in brain cells that could upset the normal functioning of the brain. Such a disturbance will cause a person to have recurring seizures which can be one of the initial signs of epilepsy. The outward exhibition of seizures may vary from one person to another. For instance, one individual experiences sudden and uncontrollable muscle spasms whenever he is having seizures while the other one often goes unconscious whenever he has attacks.
Understanding the different characteristics of the seizures you’re having is absolutely important because this gives your healthcare provider an idea on how to choose the suitable course of treatment to handle the seizures. Some of the individuals who experience epilepsy symptoms do not even recall the seizure or what was going on around them when the seizure happened. In any event, it is rather important to inform the people around you to pay attention to these occurrences so that the healthcare provider is better able to identify and find the best treatment for the epilepsy symptoms
A few of the most common epilepsy symptoms that may be experienced before, during and after a seizure is provided below. Such epilepsy symptoms will be based on what kind of seizure is experienced so some of these symptoms might or might not be applicable to you:
Anxiety
Anxiety is generally experienced in any type of seizure. Anxiety symptoms primarily signal a potential seizure attack. In other kinds of seizures, fear or anxiety can be regarded as a consistent sign of an individual who is on the verge of having a seizure attack.
Weakness
Weakness is often present to all kinds of seizure and may be felt to any part of the body. For instance, weakness can start in the arms, legs or both.
Tightening or Twitching of the Muscles
Normally if seizures happen, you could be thinking that there is an overall muscle contraction going on the patient’s body. When this occurs, the condition is called a grand mal seizure. But, there are instances wherein contraction of the muscles can happen in certain body parts. For instance, one of the striking epilepsy symptoms are the contractions of muscles in the legs that could cause an individual to lose his or her balance thus resulting in a serious injury while a muscle contraction in the arms could cause a person to lose grip of anything he or she is holding.
Staring
Staring blankly ahead is also considered among the most usual epilepsy symptoms experienced by people who are clinically determined to have absence seizures. Generally, these individuals may seem to be daydreaming but they’re actually having a light seizure. This kind of seizure may last for a couple of seconds and is followed with blinking or persistent movements like movement of the fingers or mouth.
Fainting
There are some seizures which can cause a loss of awareness that can continue for a short period of time (seconds) but in certain cases, could go on for a longer period (hours).
Repetitive or Purposeless Movements
Example of these repetitive or purposeless moves include continuous gnawing, continuous tapping of fingers, saying the exact same words over and over again, and shifting positions. These kinds of repeated moves may happen prior to or throughout an actual seizure.
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