Alcoholic epilepsy: features and methods of treatment

Alcohol abuse has an extremely detrimental effect on both the physical and psychological state, provoking many psychosomatic and behavioral disorders. One of the most common disorders caused by alcoholism is psychosis, including alcoholic epilepsy.

Read in the article:
• What is alcoholic epilepsy?
• Symptoms of seizures in alcoholism
• Causes of epileptic seizure from alcohol
• How to avoid an epileptic attack from alcohol?
• Types of alcoholic epilepsy
• Beer epilepsy
• Acquired epilepsy from alcohol
• Hangover epilepsy
• Consequences of alcoholic epilepsy
• Foaming at the mouth
• Seizures in alcoholism
• Blindness
• Drunk fainting
• How long does an alcohol attack last?
• First aid for alcoholic epilepsy
• Treatment of alcoholic epilepsy at home and in the AlkoZdrav clinic

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What is alcoholic epilepsy?

Alcoholic epilepsy includes a number of physiological conditions in which the patient experiences convulsions, seizures, automatic actions or disturbances of consciousness. This disorder is classified as a psychotic disorder that occurs mainly at the third stage of addiction development.

The disorder most often manifests itself in men aged 25 to 50 years who have suffered from alcoholism for 5-10 years. But sometimes epilepsy occurs after 2-3 years of regular alcohol consumption, this is especially true for young people and adolescents whose psyche has not yet fully developed.

Symptoms of seizures in alcoholism

Long-term drinking bouts and regular intoxication of the body with ethanol products lead to disruptions in the functioning of all organs. Epilepsy is cumulative in nature - its symptoms are invisible in the first stages of the disease. The disease is most dangerous when consuming alcohol substitutes, since in this case, in addition to alcohol poisoning, other toxic substances also affect the body.

An epileptic seizure can occur both in a state of severe alcoholic intoxication and in a state of hangover, on the 1-2 day of alcohol withdrawal. The symptoms of the disease are quite varied and largely depend on the lesions.

In general, symptoms of epilepsy can be as follows:

• Blue skin;
• Loss of orientation in time and space;
• Cognitive impairment;
• The appearance of acute or pressing muscle pain and headaches;
• There is a growing feeling of anxiety, irritability, outbreaks of aggression and hysteria are possible;
• The person may utter meaningless phrases.

Unlike other types of epilepsy, before the onset of an alcoholic seizure, a person develops obvious disturbances in consciousness and thinking. His mood changes sharply, excessive activity appears, and auditory hallucinations are possible.

Causes of epileptic seizure from alcohol

The development of alcohol dependence leads to irreversible changes in the nervous system and cerebral cortex. As a result of pronounced changes in brain function and metabolism, alcoholic epilepsy develops. It manifests itself in convulsive and non-convulsive forms.

The occurrence of epileptic conditions themselves is most often associated with:

• Lack of magnesium, potassium, B vitamins;
• Metabolic disorders associated with the influence of alcohol on the body;
• 2-3 days after a long binge, a large amount of glutamate accumulates in the body, provoking an attack of epilepsy;
• An excess of gamma-aminobutyric acids, which overexcite neurons and provoke convulsive reactions;
• Damage to natural “barriers” that protect the brain from the effects of alcohol toxins;
• Problems with the liver and pancreas.

The main factor provoking the occurrence of an epileptic seizure is blood thickening during the onset of withdrawal syndrome. This greatly slows down blood flow and disrupts the nutrition of nerve tissue, resulting in oxygen starvation, which causes a withdrawal attack.

Symptoms

The symptoms of alcoholic epilepsy are similar to classic epileptic symptoms:

✔ loss of consciousness;

✔ convulsions;

✔ pale skin, blue in the area of ​​the nasolabial triangle;

✔ rolled pupils;

✔ foam, vomiting;

✔ uncontrolled movements.

Before an attack of alcoholic epilepsy, the following symptoms are observed. The person becomes nervous, overexcited, sleeps poorly, reacts aggressively to harmless things, and speaks incoherently.

When the attack passes, the patient appears depressed, tired and quickly falls asleep. Hallucinations and nightmares unique to this disease may occur.

Sleep disturbances, delirium, hallucinations after seizures manifest themselves more intensely, including after quitting binge drinking. The brain begins to deteriorate due to prolonged ethanol poisoning. And in the future the process continues without intoxication.

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The greatest likelihood of alcohol-induced epilepsy occurs in people with the following diseases:

• skull injuries;
• circulatory disorders;
• atherosclerosis;
• past infectious diseases;
• in the presence of neoplasms;
• with a genetic predisposition (a blood relative suffered from epilepsy).

How to avoid an epileptic attack from alcohol?

Alcoholic epilepsy develops only when there is a developed dependence on alcoholic beverages. To avoid seizures, it is necessary to carry out full treatment of alcoholism.

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To prevent the development of epilepsy after long-term drinking bouts, it is necessary not to try to overcome withdrawal symptoms on your own, but to go to a drug treatment clinic to detoxify the body. Using a drip, doctors will remove alcohol toxins from the body, which will help avoid an epileptic attack.

Types of alcoholic epilepsy

Beer epilepsy

Beer drinks and other alcoholic substitutes are very strong provocateurs of epileptic conditions, since, in addition to alcoholic toxins, they contain a large number of other substances that poison the body.

Another danger of beer is drinking the drink in large quantities. Many people consider low-alcohol drinks to be harmless, so they consider it normal to drink liters of them. As a result, acute intoxication with toxins occurs, which can provoke an attack of epilepsy.

Acquired epilepsy from alcohol

Drunken epilepsy is an acquired disease that develops against the background of pathological changes that arise due to addiction. Epilepsy most often occurs after binge drinking, with sudden withdrawal of alcoholic beverages. Frequent attacks due to severe alcohol intoxication or a hangover lead to the disease becoming chronic. Then attacks can be observed even with complete sobriety.

Hangover epilepsy

Epilepsy after heavy drinking occurs when there is a sharp decrease in the concentration of alcohol in the blood. Most often this occurs in a hangover after prolonged use, when the level of the convulsive threshold decreases.

Contributing Factors

These phenomena occur under the influence of alcoholic beverages, but then occur without ingesting alcohol, because processes of damage to the membranes of the brain have occurred. And they accompany a person throughout his life who has already recovered from addiction. Basically, seizure processes occur at stages 2-3 of alcoholism. The second phase forms a permanent bad habit. People drink at least once a week. Without this, they feel oppressed and life is burdensome. The choice between deciding to do it or not is no longer possible. Loyalty to alcohol is lost, the alcoholic drinks more and more milliliters of liquid. On the third, the addiction to intoxicating liquids reaches such a level that life without it no longer makes sense. Addiction is reaching its peak. The decline in the socialization of the individual is advancing.

Risk factors for the development of epilepsy are associated with disorders of the organ in the cranium:

• Head injuries (craniocerebral);
• Previous infectious diseases that involve damage to brain cells (meningitis, encephalitis);
• Benign and malignant tumors in the skull. Also, hereditary diseases associated with epileptic seizures lead to the risk of seizures due to alcoholism.

People who drink alcohol with impurities that reduce the purity and quality of the drink and who engage in heavy drinking are at greater risk. Binge drinking is the continuous consumption of alcoholic beverages in large doses (more than two days).

Consequences of alcoholic epilepsy

After each epileptic seizure, serious disorders occur in the brain, often irreversible - nerve tissue in the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures die. As a result, rapid intellectual and personal degradation can be observed.

Alcohol episyndrome significantly aggravates changes in the personal and cognitive spheres that occur due to alcohol, characterized by:

• deviant behavior;
• irritability;
• bitterness;
• decrease in intellectual and mental activity.

Even one-time epileptic attacks with the manifestation of convulsive syndromes always occur against the background of developed alcoholic encephalopathy, which leads to irreversible pathologies of the brain.

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Foaming at the mouth

Foam at the mouth that appears during an epileptic seizure can cause a person to choke. It occurs due to spasm of the stomach muscles and muscle tissue.

Seizures in alcoholism

At the beginning of an epileptic attack, the patient experiences convulsions; due to muscle tension, he falls, arches, and throws his head back. At this time, breathing stops, the skin turns pale, the pupils dilate.

During seizures, the greatest danger is injury from falling or being near dangerous objects. Muscle spasms may cause temporary paralysis.

Blindness

Blindness, deafness and disruption of the speech apparatus are frequent companions of alcoholic seizures. Disruption of the normal transmission of signals from the central nervous system and severe muscle spasms lead to disruption of the functioning of the sensory organs.

Drunk fainting

Stopping breathing and convulsions during an epileptic attack often leads to loss of consciousness of the patient. This can be observed especially often in a state of severe intoxication (binge), which provokes disruption of the nervous system, which leads to the appearance of fainting.

Diagnostic features

At the moment, there are no specific diagnostic procedures and techniques that can detect the presence of epilepsy against the background of alcohol dependence. But still, if a person knows the initial symptoms, he will be able to identify the disorder at the first stage.

When identifying a disorder, you should rely on the main signs:

• Prolonged convulsions;
• A person walks or shakes violently while sleeping;
• Talking while asleep;
• If there is no previous history of the above conditions.

During the examination, the doctor must conduct a survey; it is important in making an accurate diagnosis. But still, it is not the patient himself who should be interviewed (he often does not remember anything); it is better to talk to people who were nearby at the time of the seizure.

In addition, other procedures are carried out with which the doctor can make an accurate diagnosis:

• General blood test;
• Performing magnetic resonance imaging - MRI;
• CT;
• Sometimes electroencephalographic studies may be prescribed;
• General urine examination.

How long does an alcohol attack last?

The active phase of an epileptic seizure is usually short, it can last from 30 seconds to several minutes. After an attack, a person may lose memory, be distracted and disoriented, and feel weak and in pain.

The frequency of epileptic attacks usually does not exceed 2-3 times a year. However, their main danger lies in the transition to a chronic form. Then seizures can occur even during long periods of sobriety, since a pathological focus of excitation will form in the brain, causing an epileptic attack.

Convulsions

Seizures may be accompanied by convulsions or occur without them. The type and severity of attacks range from slight clouding of consciousness to status epilepticus.

Seizures without convulsions occur more often. They can be recognized by motor automatisms, severe dysphoria, and clouding of consciousness.

In the case of convulsive seizures, the tonic phase predominates. Absences (short shutdowns), psychosensory (ringing, flash) and psychomotor (changes in consciousness in combination with convulsions, motor automatisms) are observed less frequently.

Some types of seizures are impossible for the average person to recognize. For example, when a patient suddenly interrupts his speech, pronounces inappropriate words or phrases, becomes anxious and irritated for no reason. This is usually taken as a sign of withdrawal.

First aid for alcoholic epilepsy

Epilepsy is a very serious disease that threatens human life, which is impossible to cope with on your own. Therefore, full treatment of the disease is carried out only in medical institutions.

Before the ambulance arrives, it is important to protect the person so that during an attack he cannot harm himself. It is necessary to lay him on the floor, put something soft under his head, and remove heavy and hard objects from his reach. To prevent the tongue from sinking, it is necessary to lay the victim on his side; a rolled up towel should be placed in the mouth to prevent strong clenching of the teeth.

What are the symptoms of the disease?

When diagnosing epilepsy of alcoholic origin, the doctor pays attention to the presence of typical complaints. They partially coincide with the classic form of epilepsy. However, there are also those that help differentiate. Typical symptoms of alcoholic epilepsy that precede an attack are:

• severe headaches;
• general weakness;
• nausea;
• hypersalivation (secretion of large amounts of saliva);
• breathing with “hoarseness”;
• blue coloring of lips.

The patient notes that he has become confused and touchy. He tends to find fault with people around him and show aggression. As a result, his personality completely degrades.

Spontaneous urination and uncontrollable screaming are possible. At the same time, the eyeballs roll back and fainting may occur. An attack of epilepsy is often accompanied by unnatural body positions and throwing back the head.

It is important that when one area of ​​the brain is damaged, convulsive contractions have a unilateral manifestation. With massive pathologies of brain tissue, spasmodic movements during a seizure are generalized.

A medical examination during an attack provides the doctor with several more diagnostic criteria. The pulse becomes low - 120-170 beats per minute. Breathing slows down - 8-10 movements per minute. Reflexes are reduced. The patient does not respond to calls addressed to him.

Pain and muscle hypertonicity can persist as consequences of an attack and last until the next day. After this, the person often falls asleep, feeling exhausted. However, this does not always happen. Alcoholic insomnia with hallucinations and chills is the second manifestation of the post-seizure state. It may be accompanied by fever and delirium tremens.

Even if a person abstains from drinking alcohol in the future, the advanced form of epilepsy does not go away. In a couple of days the attack may recur. It can even be provoked by treatment with anticonvulsants.

Some patients note the ability to anticipate the approach of an epileptic attack. Their coordination of movements decreases, their speech becomes slurred, and their ability to concentrate decreases. Against this background, a person loses his appetite and becomes irritable, sleeps poorly.

The occurrence of epileptic seizures is a dangerous condition for health. At this moment, the patient may be injured, choke on his own saliva or vomit, or die from dysfunction of vital centers.

Treatment of alcoholic epilepsy at home and in the AlkoZdrav clinic

If an alcoholic seizure occurs, the specialists of the AlkoZdrav clinic are ready to provide quick, qualified assistance both in our clinic and at home. Narcologists will carry out detoxification of the body to remove ethanol breakdown products and drug treatment to maintain the functioning of vital organs and systems. These measures will help restore the patient’s normal condition and reduce the risk of secondary complications after an attack.

After returning to normal health, it is important to continue treatment for alcoholism in a drug treatment clinic and rehabilitation center. Only complete abstinence from alcohol gives a favorable prognosis in the treatment of alcoholic epilepsy.