Patient's question:
The baby's grandfather suffers from epilepsy, but the baby's father is fine. However, after the baby was born, the doctor discovered that the baby had infantile epilepsy but had never had an attack. Last month, one day the baby suddenly rolled his eyes back, frothed at the mouth, twitched all over his body, and didn't respond even when his name was called. He also wet his pants.Doctor's answer:
Hello, friend. The symptoms of epilepsy can be primarily categorized into grand mal seizures, petit mal seizures, psychomotor seizures, focal seizures, and complex partial seizures based on the nature of the seizures.(1) Grand mal seizures (also known as generalized seizures): Half of the cases have prodromal symptoms, such as dizziness, confusion, discomfort in the upper abdomen, disturbances in vision, hearing, and smell. During the seizure (tonic-clonic phase), some patients may first emit a sharp cry, followed by loss of consciousness and falling to the ground. There is generalized muscle rigidity and cessation of breathing, with the head and eyes possibly turning to one side. Within seconds, there is a series of clonic convulsions, which gradually intensify and last for tens of seconds. Breathing resumes during the clonic phase, and foam may be expelled from the mouth (if the tongue is bitten, blood may be present). Some patients may experience incontinence of urine and feces, followed by relaxation or a state of drowsiness (the postictal phase), after which consciousness gradually returns.
(2) Petit mal seizures: These involve brief (5–10 seconds) episodes of impaired consciousness or loss of awareness without generalized convulsions. Multiple episodes may occur daily, sometimes accompanied by rhythmic blinking, head drooping, straight gaze, or twitching of the upper limbs.
(3) Psychomotor seizures (also known as complex partial seizures): These may manifest as sudden onset, confusion, and irregular, uncoordinated movements (such as sucking, chewing, searching, calling out, running, or struggling). The patient's actions are motiveless, aimless, (blindly) and impulsive. The seizure may last for hours, sometimes even days. The patient has no memory of the episode.
(4) Focal seizures: These are typically seen in patients with organic damage to the cerebral cortex. They are characterized by focal motor or sensory symptoms, such as twitching of the mouth corner, fingers, or toes, which may spread to one side of the body. If the seizure involves both sides of the body, it may manifest as a grand mal seizure.