I have always been intrigued by the mysterious world of seizures and the various treatment options available, including homeopathy. As someone who values natural remedies, I decided to delve deeper into the topic to understand how homeopathy can aid in managing seizures. In the last 12 months I have worked with four seizure cases, which is more seizure cases than I have worked with for people and pets in one year in over the last 43 years as a Homeopath. You’ve got to wonder what’s going on that these many children are having seizures. The seizure cases I have recently helped came from high fever (febrile seizure), head injury, vaccination, and from an emotional trigger such as stress in the family dynamics, stress in school or the death of a family member or pet. Here’s one of the seizure cases I recently discussed with a mother.
Emotional Stress Can Cause Seizures Too!
A client recently called me about her six-year-old son who developed a seizure after having a very high fever. The mother explained that during his seizure, his body arches, his head tilts back, his thumbs clench into fists, and he becomes restless with his eyes rolled upward. I asked the mother to explain what the fever symptoms were before he went into a seizure. She mentioned that his temperature shot up quickly from 100 degrees to a sudden 102 to 104 degrees when he woke up in the middle of the night. Her son told her she seemed really far away, and she couldn’t tell if he was actually awake or dreaming because he was talking to her in slow motion. Not long after, he started showing seizure symptoms – his fists were clenched with his thumbs tucked underneath, and he was restless with his eyes rolled upward. That’s when she took him to the hospital, and they said he had a seizure due to the sudden spike in temperature. She told me she wants to try a natural approach if he gets a high fever and seizure again.
I explained to my client that when her son’s fever shot up quickly, and he had a flushed face and pounding headache, the homeopathic remedy Belladonna 200c was the way to go. Then, when he woke up in the middle of the night, saying she seemed far away and it was hard to tell if he was dreaming, the homeopathic remedy Pyrogenium 30c was needed. I asked the mom what had happened to her son before all this started. I also mentioned that when he had a seizure, the homeopathic remedy Cuprum Metallicum 30c was the right choice. It’s a homeopathic remedy for seizures, especially when the thumbs are tucked under the fingers and the back is arched.
When taking a seizure case like this, I look for what’s called “Etiology, Never Well Since” something happened to him. I asked the mother what had happened the last few weeks prior to him having a seizure. She mentioned that in her son’s kindergarten class, the teacher’s mom had suddenly passed away. That same week, one of the little girls in the class was in a car accident with her mom, and sadly, her mom didn’t make it. The teacher was out for about a week, and the young girl was in the hospital during that time. Later, my client found out that several kids in the class were sick, including her son, likely because of the teacher’s absence and the situation with the little girl.
I explained to the mother that the next time her son has a seizure she will give him Cuprum 30c which will be in a homeopathic remedy solution bottle, and she would be administering it topically on his body such as on his arm. If she notices the high fever and bright red face, she’ll give him Belladonna to try to prevent the fever from getting so intense that it leads to the Pyrogenium state (the beginning of the seizure state). I suggested to the mother, that I take her son’s complete health history to put him on a 6c homeopathic remedy to be taken daily at bedtime to help strengthen his overall core (immune system), to address why he has high fevers that develop into a seizure.
What is a Seizure?
A seizure is abnormal and excessive nerve cell activity in the brain in which different symptoms show up as abnormal behavior and sensations including loss of consciousness, depending on the part of the brain involved and the type of seizure you are having. There are a variety of seizures, and they can affect you at any age from an underlying health condition, an injury, mental or emotional or an outside cause such as vaccination. Your seizure can last for a few seconds to minutes up to 15 minutes and longer if you have had several seizures. You may only have one seizure or have multiple seizures in a day. Not all seizures look alike. The most common symptoms you will have with a seizure are a staring off into space for a brief time, uncontrollable jerking movement(s) or muscle twitching or convulsions (uncontrollable shaking, rapid muscle contraction/relaxation), and or temporary loss of consciousness.
The Two Main Types of Seizures
1). Generalized Seizure – Occurs when all areas of the brain are involved. The seizure stems from abnormal electrical activity that begins on both sides of your brain simultaneously.
Types of Generalized Seizures:
- Tonic-Clonic – The most common type, the body stiffens (tonic phase) followed by jerking movements (clonic phase).
- Absence – Has brief, sudden lapses in consciousness, often appearing as staring into space.
- Myoclonic – Has a short, sudden, uncontrollable jerks or twitches in muscles.
- Atonic (Drop Attacks) – Has a sudden loss of muscle tone, leading to a limp collapse or fall.
- Tonic – The muscles in your arms, legs, or back to become suddenly stiff.
- Clonic – Has rhythmic, and jerking muscle movements.
2). Focal Seizures (Partial Seizure) – Affects only one side of your brain and body and commonly with epilepsy and seen with strokes, head injuries, etc. These seizures tend to be less severe than generalized seizures.
Types of Focal Seizures:
- Focal Aware Seizures (Simple) – You are conscious and aware of your surroundings, you may experience involuntary movements, sensory hallucinations, or emotional changes.
- Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures (Complex) – Yourawareness is affected, often causing you confusion, dazed behavior, or repetitive, automatic movements like lip-smacking or picking at clothes.
- Focal to Bilateral Tonic-Clonic Seizures – These begin as focal seizures but spread to involve both sides of your brain, leads to a loss of consciousness and full-body convulsions.
Other Seizure Symptoms You Can Have:
- Sudden Emotional Changes (confusion, fear, joy, anxiety)
- Teeth Clenching
- Drooling
- Abnormal Eye Movements
- Loss of Bladder or Bowel Control
- Noise Making (grunting or snorting)
What Can Cause You to Have a Seizure?
- High Fever
- Head Injury
- Heat Illness
- Sleep Deprivation
- Stress
- Dehydration
- Flashing or Flickering Lights
- Aneurysms, Brain Tumors
- Infections such as Encephalitis, Meningitis or Sepsis
- Congenital Brain Abnormalities Occurring with Birth
- Electrolyte Problems, such as Low Sodium (hyponatremia), calcium or magnesium
- Missed Meals and Abnormal Blood Sugar Levels (low or very high blood sugar)
- Diabetes
- Hormone-Related Changes, Eclampsia
- Strokes
- Toxins and Poisons such as Carbon Monoxide Poisoning or Heavy Metal Poisoning
- Certain Medications (Wellbutrin® or bupropion), especially Missed Medications
Warning Signs of Seizures May Occur
You may or may not experience warning signs before a seizure:
- Sensory Symptoms – You may notice that seeing bright lights or distortions in how objects appear, hearing unexpected sounds, sudden unexpected tastes (metallic or bitter) or smells and strange feelings on your skin (numbness or tingling) can mean a seizure may occur.
- Emotional Changes – You may have strong emotions such as a fear or joy, Deja vu (a new experience somehow feels familiar) or Jamais vu (when a familiar experience somehow feels new) could mean a seizure may occur.
- Autonomic Symptoms – These affect body systems that your brain runs automatically, like sweating, making too much saliva (drooling), an upset stomach and pale skin may start to occur before a seizure starts.
Seizures Occur in Stages
Whether you have warning signs or not that you are going to have a seizure, you may recognize your seizures go through phases, especially the aura.
The Stages or Phases of a Seizure
As you go from start to finish you may notice there are a few stages or steps that you will go through when having a seizure.
- Prodromal Phase (warning) – Before a seizure, you may notice mood or behavioral changes, feel lightheaded or have trouble focusing. Sometimes, hours or days before a seizure, you may have trouble sleeping.
- Aura Phase – You will most like feel this phase seconds to minutes just before the first symptoms of your seizure starts. Such as vision changes, headache, dizziness, nausea, anxiety or fear, and changes to your senses (i.e., taste, sound, smell and feeling).
- Ictal Phase – This is when you have a seizure and are experiencing the seizure symptoms.
- Postictal Phase (Recovery)– This phase occurs immediately after your seizure ends and can last 5 to 30 minutes or longer in some cases. You may feel confused, exhausted, and sore, strong emotions. etc.
Homeopathy Addressing Seizures
As stated in the beginning of this Blog, when I consult with a client who is having seizures, I am doing a complete health history on that person building a timeline to see what has occurred six months prior to them developing seizures to see what shifted or happened prior to them having a seizure. Such as high fever, head injury, stressful situation, etc. In doing so, I will select a 30c or 200c homeopathic remedy according to the symptoms they are exhibiting during the seizure, which is taken acutely for when they have a seizure episode. The selected 30c or 200c acute homeopathic remedy will be administered to the person topically on their body while the seizure occurs. The remedy is applied on their body while they are going through the seizure because sometimes putting something into their mouth can freak them out and cause more symptoms or you become bitten in doing so. In the big picture, a 6c homeopathic remedy will be taken once a day at bedtime to address why the seizure is occurring.
What is the Difference Between a Seizure, Epilepsy and Convulsions?
The term “seizure” and “epilepsy” are often used interchangeably, but not all seizures are epilepsy. A seizure is a symptom or a single event (i.e., from a fever, stroke or an injury) with individual occurrences of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Whereas epilepsy is a long-term (chronic) brain disease or chronic neurologic disorder where the nerve cells don’t signal properly by damaged brain cells and cause repeated seizure activity. You are considered having epilepsy when you have two or more unprovoked seizures and more likelihood of having more occurring at least 24 hours apart. The great news in homeopathy does not matter is whether you are experiencing a seizure or epilepsy; the same homeopathic remedies are used for both conditions.
So, there you have it – homeopathy’s got your back, whether you’re dealing with seizures or epilepsy. The fact that the same remedies can be used for both conditions is a gamechanger, and it’s clear that homeopathy’s approach is more about treating the whole person, not just the symptoms. With the help of a qualified Homeopath, you can get personalized guidance on how to manage your seizures and take control of your health. By taking the first step towards homeopathy, you’re taking a step towards a healthier, happier you.
Take the next step and schedule a complimentary 20-minute Discovery Call to discuss how I can help you tackle your seizures with homeopathy. Please click the link below to book your Discovery Call today.
