Early symptoms of epilepsy

Mental illnesses can often cause devastating damage to people's bodies. For example, epilepsy is one of the common problems. Its onset characteristics are relatively obvious, and it has certain genetic characteristics, which has a huge adverse impact on the patient's life. This disease can be detected and treated early. What are the early symptoms of epilepsy? Let’s take a look at the explanation below.

1. Generalized tonic-clonic seizure

Characterized by sudden loss of consciousness and generalized rigidity and convulsions, the typical course of the seizure can be divided into the tonic phase, clonic phase, and post-ictal phase.

2. Absence seizures

Typical absence symptoms include sudden onset, cessation of movement, staring, and unresponsiveness to calls. They usually last for 5-20 seconds and rarely exceed 1 minute. Mainly seen in childhood absence epilepsy.

3. Tonic seizures

It manifests as paroxysmal strong and continuous contraction of the whole body or bilateral muscles, muscle rigidity, which fixes the limbs and torso in a certain tense posture.

4. Myoclonic seizures

It is a sudden, rapid and short muscle contraction, which manifests as electric shock-like shaking of the body or limbs, sometimes several times in a row, and often occurs after awakening. It can be a whole-body movement or a local movement.

5. Spasticity

Refers to infantile spasms, characterized by sudden, brief, rigid flexion or extension contractions of the trunk muscles and bilateral limbs, often manifested as paroxysmal nodding and occasionally paroxysmal backward leaning. The entire process of muscle contraction takes about 1 to 3 seconds and often occurs in clusters.

6. Atonic seizures

It is caused by the sudden loss of bilateral partial or whole body muscle tension, resulting in the inability to maintain the original posture, and the occurrence of symptoms such as cataplexy and falling limbs. The attack time is relatively short, usually lasting from a few seconds to more than 10 seconds. Those with a short attack duration are usually not accompanied by obvious impaired consciousness.

7. Simple partial seizures

The patient is conscious during the attack, which lasts from a few seconds to more than 20 seconds, rarely exceeding 1 minute.

8. Complex partial seizures

The attacks are accompanied by varying degrees of impaired consciousness. Symptoms include sudden cessation of movement, eyes staring straight ahead, no response when called, no falling, and no change in facial expression. Some patients may experience automatisms, which are involuntary, unconscious movements.

9. Secondary generalized seizures

Simple or complex partial seizures can lead to generalized seizures, the most common of which is generalized tonic-clonic seizures.