Generalized Seizures (Grand Mal Seizures)

If doctors can successfully treat the physical or chemical disturbance in the brain, the seizure problem often goes away. If not, seizures may return again and again, whenever the underlying problem flares up.

Sometimes, a person will experience an unprovoked generalized seizure, one that occurs for no apparent reason. In some people, this type of seizure may be related to a genetic (inherited) vulnerability that makes the brain cells unusually sensitive to minor changes in the environment. In other cases, seizures may be related to lingering brain damage caused by prior head trauma, or by a previous stroke, brain tumor or brain infection.

Many people who have one unprovoked seizure never experience a second one. However, if a second seizure occurs, the risk of having a third or even more is about 80%. For this reason, doctors often regard the second seizure as a sign of epilepsy.

Symptoms

A seizure begins suddenly. Without warning, the person loses consciousness and experiences the following symptoms:

• Becomes rigid (extends the arms and legs, arches the back) and falls down

• Utters a cry (the "epileptic cry") as the diaphragm contracts and forces air out between the contracted vocal cords

• Has jerking movements of the arms, legs, and trunk muscles

• Involuntarily passes urine and sometimes feces

The seizure usually subsides within two minutes or less, leaving the person confused and sleepy. Over the following 24 hours, he or she may complain of sore muscles, headache, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.