Generalized epileptic seizures are seizures in which the entire brain produces the shock that causes the seizure.
There are several types of generalized seizures, although the best known are the convulsions or generalized tonic-clonic seizures. But they are not the only generalized epileptic seizures.
Tonic seizures: are crises in which the person becomes rigid and may fall or lose balance.
Atonic seizures: the person with atonic seizures loses muscle tone throughout the body and falls. It is like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Myoclonic seizures: these are very brief crises, in which the person feels a shake of the extremities, which even makes things fall off his hands or lose his balance.
Absence seizures: these are crises in which the person stands for a few seconds, as if they had been disconnected or turned off for a few very brief seconds and then continues with the activity he was doing, as if nothing had happened. There are atypical absences in which it is accompanied by loss of muscle tone.
Convulsive crises are the most striking.
We must ensure the integrity of the person by removing dangerous objects or protecting the person from situations that put him in danger.
What should we do in response to a generalized seizures?
Generalized seizures, in general, do not require more attention than a simple observation and then provide data to health professionals.
Atonic, tonic, myoclonic crises and absences are very brief and do not require any type of attention unless they are very repeated, in which case they require medical attention.
Convulsive crises are the most striking. What we must do is to ensure the integrity of the person by removing dangerous objects or protecting the person from situations that put him in danger. NEVER PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR MOUTH. Tongue bites are minor wounds that do not require special care other than proper oral hygiene. Once the seizure is over, we can put the person on his side in a comfortable position and wait for him to recover.
The alarm signs to be taken into account and for which we should alert the emergency services is in the event of a first crisis, a very prolonged crisis (more than 5-10 minutes in duration) or a crisis in which the person does not recover completely after a prudent period of time.
