What Causes Seizures

Seizures can be caused by a number of reasons, first and foremost, seizure disorders can be caused by genetic factors, head injury, toxins, and degenerative disorders.

With your doctor, you will want to go through any and all possibilities as to the cause of your seizures.

In most causes these triggers do not cause seizures but do provoke the onset of a seizure or cause a seizure in a patient who's seizures are otherwise under control. Other common triggers can include alcohol consumption, hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle, sleep deprivation, flashing light, and stress.

In cases of seizures in children, the most common seizure is a febrile seizure, which is caused by high fever.

Not every trigger or cause will be the same for each person, but in susceptible person, these triggers are common causes for onset seizure behavior.

High fever

• Heatstroke
• Infections

Brain infections

• Abscess
• AIDS
• Malaria
• Meningitis
• Rabies
• Syphilis
• Tetanus
• Toxoplasmosis
• Viral encephalitis

Metabolic disorders

• High blood levels of sugar or sodium
• Kidney or liver failure
• Low blood levels of sugar, calcium, magnesium, or sodium
• Phenylketonuria
• Underactive parathyroid gland

Inadequate oxygen supply to the brain

• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Near drowning
• Near suffocation
• Stroke

Structural damage to the brain

• Brain tumor (noncancerous or cancerous)
• Head injury
• Intracranial hemorrhage
• Stroke

Fluid accumulation in the brain (cerebral edema)

• Eclampsia
• Hypertensive encephalopathy
• Lupus erythematosus

Exposure to toxic drugs or substances

• Amphetamines
• Camphor
• Chloroquine
• Cocaine overdose
• Lead
• Pentylenetetrazol
• Picrotoxin
• Strychnine

Withdrawal after heavy use

• Alcohol
• General anesthetics (used during surgery)
• Sedatives, including sleep aids

Prescription drugs

• Ceftazidime
• Chlorpromazine
• Ciprofloxacin
• Imipenem
• Indomethacin
• Meperidine
• Phenytoin
• Theophylline

Degenerative Disorders

• Alzheimer's disease
• Creutzfeld-Jakob disease
• Neurofibromatosis
• Phenylketonuria (PKU)
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Sturge-Weber syndrome
• Tay-Sachs disease

Cerebral Palsy

I am not a doctor, physician, or specialist. The information that I have provided is from personal research. For more information, always ask your neurologist for help.