What Are The Treatments For Convulsions?

Convulsions, or motor seizures, can occur at any age and come in many forms. A seizure can occur while a patient is conscious and be limited to one limb. It can involve loss of consciousness and convulsive movements of the entire body. Seizures have many possible underlying causes. Sometimes seizures have no known cause. Treatment depends on both the underlying cause and the type of seizure.

Treating Underlying Conditions

When an underlying medical condition causes seizures, physicians direct treatment at the underlying cause first. Hyponatremia, or low sodium, can cause convulsions as well as confusion and coma. As "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine" explains, the correction of sodium levels in the blood must proceed cautiously and slowly, because rapid correction can cause permanent brain damage. Hypoglycemia, another metabolic cause for seizures, should be corrected as quickly as possible, however, to prevent permanent brain damage.

Infections, both of the brain and of the entire body, can cause seizures. Treatment includes both reducing fever and treating the infection.

Withdrawal from drugs that suppress the central nervous system, such as alcohol and alprazolam, can lead to seizures. Treatment includes monitoring the patient's vital signs, replacing fluids and electrolytes as needed, and giving medications such as lorazepam.

Medications

Doctors prescribe anticonvulsants when they can find no identifiable cause for a seizure or when the underlying cause can't easily be corrected. As the Merck Manual Home Edition explains, they're usually prescribed only after a patient has had more than one seizure. A wide variety of anti-seizure medications are available, many of which can treat several types of seizures. Examples of these include valproate and carbamazepine. Some anticonvulsants---for example, zonisamide and tiagabine---treat a specific type of seizure called a partial seizure. If one medication does not control a patient's seizures, a neurologist may switch to a different medication or add another anticonvulsant. Several months may elapse after treatment begins before the right medication is found. Patients usually need to take medications for two years after their last seizure before they can stop taking them. If seizures recur after that, they will likely need to take medications for life.

Surgery

Doctors sometimes consider surgical treatment for patients who continue to have seizures despite taking at least two anticonvulsants or for those who cannot tolerate the side effects of medication. During surgery, the area of the brain from which the seizures originate can sometimes be removed. According to the Merck Manual Home Edition, if the area involved is small, removal can eliminate seizures in about 80 percent of patients. In a different procedure, surgeons cut the fibers that connect the two sides of the brain to prevent the rapid and frequent spread of a seizure. This operation often reduces the severity of seizures, but patients who require this operation will likely need to continue to take anticonvulsants throughout their lives.