Convulsion
It is a condition characterized by repetitive contraction and relaxation of a group of muscles in the body. It is caused by disturbance in the function of the brain. Convulsion is usually followed by loss of consciousness.
Various causes of convulsions are as follows.
- Disease of the brain.
- Epilepsy
- Head injury
- High fever (in children below the age of 3 years).
- Inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain.
- Low blood sugar.
The condition is diagnosed by the following features.
- There is a cry
- Then there is stiffness of the body (tonic part of a convulsion). He becomes cyanotic in the phase.
- It is followed by repetitive convulsive movements (clonic part of a convulsion). The cyanosis passes away. There is frothing at the angle of the mouth.
- That is followed by the poetical phase in which the person may become unconscious. He recovers from it after a variable interval. He may lose all memory of this event.
First aid
- Keep the patient laying down, making no attempt to stop his fit.
- Make space around him.
- Place a spoon wrapped in a handkerchief or a folded cloth between his teeth to prevent him from biting his own tongue.
- Send him to a hospital immediately after the convulsion
