Grand Mal Seizures

The minute you hear the word epilepsy or seizure, you picture a person who suddenly collapses with violent muscle contractions and maybe loss of consciousness. Well, this kind of seizure occurs when the electrical impulses sent out of the brain goes haywire. This dramatic seizure that scares the daylights out of those experiencing as well as witnessing these seizure episodes is called the grand mal seizure.

What is a Grand Mal Seizure

A grand mal seizure is also called the tonic clonic seizure. This kind of seizure is caused by the abnormal electrical impulses that are running throughout the brain. These seizures are generally triggered by certain health related disorders. These problems can include low blood sugar level or even a stroke. Epilepsy is the most common reason that leads to grand mal seizures.

Grand Mal Seizures Causes

Grand mal seizures last about 1 to 3 minutes and if the seizure lasts for about 5 minutes, you need to call for medical help. There are various grand mal seizures causes that can trigger an episode. In case of grand mal seizures in infants under the age of 2, they are generally caused by high body temperature or changes in metabolism. These metabolic changes include glucose, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6 and sodium in abnormal level present in the blood stream. If the above reasons are not found to be the cause of grand mal seizures in infants, then it may be attributed to congenital condition like Down's syndrome or a genetic defect.

Grand mal seizures in children most of the time are idiopathic in nature. These unknown grand mal seizures causes may be associated with temporary irritations to the brain wave pattern. Other causes of grand mal seizures in children include infection of the brain or nervous system like meningitis, or due to use of certain drugs or medications for treatment of a totally different health problem.

Grand mal seizures in adults can be associated with many different causes. These grand mal seizures causes are generally an indication of an underlying health concern. These causes of grand mal seizures in adults include the following:

• Very low glucose, sodium, calcium or magnesium levels in the blood
• Trauma to head or head injury
• Withdrawal symptom from alcohol, drugs, other substance abuse
• Brain tumor
• Stroke
• Encephalitis or meningitis infection
• Injury to the brain due to lack of oxygen
• Malformation of blood vessels in the brain
• Genetic disorders

Grand Mal Seizures Symptoms

There are certain specific grand mal seizures symptoms that make this disorder so dramatic. This is a very serious health condition and should never be taken lightly if one witnesses someone having an episode. If you don't know what to do to help the person with grand mal seizures, call 911 immediately. Your promptness can help save someone from major medical complications or even save a life. The grand mal seizures symptoms are divided into two stages that are discussed below:

Tonic Phase: The tonic phase is characterized by loss of consciousness, sudden contraction of muscles that leads to a fall. This phase lasts for about 10 to 20 seconds.

Clonic Phase: The clonic phase occurs when the muscles begin to have rhythmic contractions, that is, flexing and relaxing alternately. This phase lasts for less than two minutes.

The grand mal seizures symptoms that may occur in some people are as follows:

Aura: A person may feel a strange feeling or smell or dread something unknown before they experience a grand mal seizure. Not all may experience this warning sign or aura before having a seizure.

Scream: You may see some people give out a loud scream before they fall unconscious. This is because their muscles around the vocal cords tend to get seized that forces the air out of their mouth. The result, a loud scream.

Loss of Bladder Control: During or after a seizure, some individuals may have a loss of control over their bladder or bowel muscles.

Unresponsiveness: A patient may remain unconscious for several minutes after a seizure. They may remain unresponsive even after the seizure.

Confusion: A patient may get confused after coming out of a grand mal seizure. He may be disoriented and this phase is called postictal confusion.

Fatigue: The patient may get fatigued and feel very sleepy after a mentally and physically draining seizure.

Severe Headache: Few patients generally tend to have a very severe headache after undergoing a seizure. These headaches are not seen as a symptom in each and every individual with grand mal seizure.

What to do to Help a Person with Grand Mal Seizure

In case you witness a grand mal seizure in an individual, do not panic. The person may fall on the ground and shake violently. You need to immediately call for medical help and gently roll the person to his/her side. Then take something soft like a pillow or rolled up towel and place it under the person's head. If the person is wearing a tie or a tight collar button, loosen it. Many people think putting something in the mouth of the person may help. But, avoid doing so as the person may swallow the object or bite into it hard breaking the object causing injury. Do not try and restrain the person, you won't be able to do so and will get injured yourself. Instead see that there is nothing around that the person bangs into or gets hurt. You can even look for a medical alert bracelet, that may have a number to contact in case of medical emergency.

A grand seizure generally last for less than 5 minutes. If the seizure continues for more than 5 minutes or the person gets a second attack after the first, this is a sign of urgent medical emergency. You need to call for emergency medical services without wasting anytime.

In case of grand mal seizure treatment, the doctor may advice anti-seizure medications. These medications for seizures depend on the type of seizures, frequency, duration and origin of seizures. These medications depend on individual case of an individual. Therefore, a doctor is the only person who will help you to provide the correct treatment for grand mal seizure. A grand mal seizure is not a life-threatening condition. But, the sight of a person having a grand mal seizure tends to become a very scary experience for a witness. Overcome your fear and help the victim by at least dialing the emergency number on your cell phone.

Disclaimer
The information in this article is intended as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, the expert and professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a healthcare professional. The reader is advised to consult with a medical consultant before taking any home remedies, supplements or following any treatment advised. A medical consultant will be able to provide the reader with an advice that is safe and effective for an individual's specific needs and diagnose a particular health problem based on their personal medical history.