WHAT IS EPILEPSY?

Epilepsy is a desease which defined as paroxysmal and temporary disturbance of brain characterized by loss of consciousness or muscle tic or abnormal sensation, emotion and behaviour. In Accupuncture word, this desease is categorized as 'xian zheng'(epilepsy syndrome) and 'dian xian'(epilepsy).

CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS

1. Histories of the family, epileptic attack and encephalopathia.

2. Clinical manifestations are vary greatly. There may be grand mal, rolandic mal, infantile spasms and petit mal. Grand mal is characterized by suddenly loss of consciousness, involuntary of muscular contraction with foam in the mouth, which last for 1 to 5 minutes. The patients may then fall into sleep and awake after a few hours. The petit mal is sudden, short loss of awareness without aurea and muscle tic, come with interruptions of speech or action which persist for 2 to 10 seconds. The patients often normally comes to consciousness quickly.

TYPES OF SYNDROMES

1. Epilepsy Induced by Fear

Main symptoms are sudden panic, confusion and loss of self-control, frighten and may be alarm and restlessness, crying with fear during sleep, tendency to remain in the mother's arms, alternative flush and pallow on the face, red tongue with white fur, taut and rapid slippery pulse.

2. Epilepsy due to Accumulation of Phlegm

Main symptoms are convulsion of extremities during a fit od epilepsy, unconsciousness, headache and abdominol pain, come with stridor produced by phlegm in the throat, salivation, yellow face, thick fur of tongue, and slippery and rapid pulse.

3. Epilepsy due to Blood Stasis

Main symptoms are with a history of birth injury or tramuma which characterized as paroxysmal localized headache, occasional vomitting, paroxysmal convulsion of the whole body or half body or local region upon attack, dark purple tongue, thready and unsmooth pulses and dark purple superficial venule of the index finger.

TREATMENTS

Usually it takes between 1 to 6 months for recovery by Chinese Master's theory of medication.

WHAT IS ACUTE TOXIC ENCEPHALOPATHY

    Acute toxic encephalopathy is caused by the abrupt appearance of symptoms and signs of the central nervous system in the course of primary diseases. The reason of the desease is unknown. The disease may be associated with immunoreaction to infection and its toxin invading the brain tissue directly. In Acupuncture, this is called 'jing feng'(infantile convulsion).

    CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS

1. It may occur at any age, but usually in infants from 1 to 3 years old. The brain damage always follow by the primary disorders within a few days or 1 to 2 weeks after their attack.

2. The diagnosis is usually abrupt with high fever, headache, vomitting, restlessness, convulsion, coma, delayed reaction to light, always come with holotonia, decerebrate rigidity. Some of the patients may have the symptoms of meningeal irritation, increased or reduced of tendon reflex and have cerebellar symptoms, such as ataxia and kinetic tremor.

3. The lab exam shows that cerebrospinal fluid is clear. All are normal only the pressure is high and sometimes there is a slight increase of protein.

4. By fundus exam, Arteriolar spasm, blood stasis of small vein and retinal edema can be observed.

TYPES OF SYNDROMES

1. Always seen in the stage of cerebral edema of toxic encephalopathy, in the case of the primary disease, with abrupt high fever, headache, vomitting, restlessness, delirium, drowsiness, convulsions of the limbs, involuntary staring, lockjaw or unconsciousness, deep-red tongue with yellow and dry fur, stiffness of the extremities and neck, either taut and rapid or slippery and rapid pulse.

TREATMENTS

Usually it takes between 1 to 6 months for recovery by Chinese Master's theory of medication.