Nocturnal Seizures

Nocturnal seizures occur in a person while he is in a state of drowsiness or is sleeping. They can occur minutes after the person has slept or they may occur just before a person is about to awake. They can even occur in a person if he is sleeping during the day. People who experience this may be unaware that a seizure has occurred during their sleep. Occurrence of these seizures, can however be identified by the headache which the person may be experiencing when he wakes up from his sleep or through some other out of the way and destructive behavior that he might display during the day. They affect both children as well as adults. Below are the causes as well as treatment options for nocturnal seizures.

Causes

• Nocturnal seizures may occur if a person suffers from head injuries or trauma, caused due to an object hitting the head or if the head has been bumped against a hard surface. It can even start years after the head injury has actually occurred.
• Intake of alcohol in excess or other toxic substances such as drugs, may trigger an epileptic attack in the person too. Many times, it's been observed that people who are trying to get rid of these toxic substances may experience nocturnal seizures as a withdrawal symptom.
• An infection of the brain is another reason behind a person experiencing this.
• Presence of brain tumors
• Problems with brain development before birth and certain hereditary conditions.
• Lead poisoning, meningitis and encephalitis, are some other causes behind such epileptic seizures.
• A rise in the temperature of the body or fever can cause this in children. Such seizures which are caused due to fever in children are known as fibrile seizures. It may be a temporary condition in children and might not lead to epilepsy in them in their later life.
• Although it is not confirmed, yet certain researches have shown that diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine could also be a possible cause of nocturnal seizures in children.

Treatment

Treatment for nocturnal seizures in adults, starts with an appointment with a sleep specialist or a neurologist. These physicians recommend a sleep study which lasts for a night, in which complete video monitoring of a person's sleep is done. This helps in identifying the type of seizure that has occurred, i.e. generalized, partial or status epilepticus, based on the epileptic symptoms present. Afterwards, based on the findings, appropriate medication is recommended. The Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), have been successful in preventing these seizures in patients to a great extent.

For children, the medication depends upon a number of factors such as, the weight and age of the child, his health condition and of course the kind of seizure he is experiencing. Seizures in children may stop as they grow old, while in others, long term medication to control the seizures may be required.

A person who experiences nocturnal seizures, besides taking the epilepsy medication, should take a number of other precautions while sleeping. He should sleep on a low bed which has padded headboards, should avoid using pillows, should keep furniture away from bed so that no injury occurs in case he falls because of an epileptic attack, should keep safety mats next to the bed in case of a fall, and lastly should avoid smoking in bed. Also, having a comfortable and stress free sleep is very important. For that, eliminating caffeine from the diet, following certain relaxation techniques and forming a fixed sleeping routine and pattern is very essential.