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Haunting superstitions
My neighbour, aged 27, faints often. Everyone blames it on evil spirits. A few years ago, some unnatural deaths occurred in the neighbourhood. People here believe that the souls of the dead are wandering around. They also believe that these souls have an affinity towards women. During the "attack", my neighbour faints. Convulsions follow. And then she goes into deep sleep, with saliva trickling down her mouth. When she faints, my neighbours make her hold any object made of iron. The victim appears very tired after the attack and has no memory of what had happened. This occurs two to three times a week. How can I help her?
L.N. Chavakad, Malappuram
ATTACKS OF epilepsy, hysteria and hyperventilation are the three common causes of fainting in people, especially women. When the victim faints in the absence of fever, it is most likely to be one of the above.
From your description of the malady, it appears to me that the patient is suffering from epilepsy.
In a typical epileptic fit, the patient undergoes four stages. These are the `aura', `tonic phase', `clonic phase' and the post epileptic `relaxation'. In the phase of `aura', a patient may have visions, and sensations of taste and smell. He may also be confused and tensed up. Every person or attack may not experience `aura', which is a kind of premonition of an impending attack. `Aura', if present, is useful therapeutically, as precautions can be taken both by the patient and others.
The other three occur invariably in epileptic fits (especially the `grand mal' type). The `tonic' phase is characterised by sudden contraction of the muscles, which you have noticed in the patient. During this phase, the victim could even bite the tongue out. The `tonic' phase lasts only for a few seconds and this is followed by the `clonic phase'. During the `clonic' phase, the epileptic patient may manifest wild jerks as the muscles slowly come out of their tonicity or rigidity. The jerks may be so violent that there is a possibility of dislocation of joints. This phase may last for a few minutes. This is usually followed by deep sleep or wakefulness with confusion or severe clouding of consciousness. The patient may not have any memory of the event.
Epilepsy is a disorder pertaining to abnormal electrical disturbances in the brain. Epilepsy may occur due to an actual organic damage of some part of the brain or in majority of the cases, due to unknown disturbances in the electrical rhythm of the brain. Stress, emotional disturbances, flicker of light from the TV or anything else that disturbs the brain can disturb its rhythm. The cause of epilepsy is still largely unknown.
Epilepsy should not be taken lightly as with each attack, damage to the brain is a possibility. The right thing to do is to consult a neurologist who could prescribe anti-epileptic medicines to control further attacks. The medicines should be taken for three to five years and should not be abruptly stopped.
The rest of what you said is superstition.
(Address your questions to mindquest1@rediffmail.com or Mindquest, The Hindu, Airport Road, Vallakadavu, Thiruvananthapuram)
KRISHNA PRASAD SREEDHAR
Illustration: Manoj
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