This typically involves bending and straightening of the major joints (elbows, hips, and knees). The person’s face may turn bluish if they have trouble breathing during a prolonged seizure. A tonic-clonic seizure has a tonic (stiffening) and clonic (rhythmic jerking) phase. It can start on one side of the body and spread to the whole body. This may be accompanied by a groan or cry as air is forced through the vocal cords. Biting or the tongue or the inside of the cheek can cause blood-tinged saliva.

How Dangerous are Alcohol Seizures?

Outline how counseling combined with medications can ease chemical imbalances caused by addiction. According to the Epilepsy Society, consuming alcohol may make your epileptic medications less effective and may make the side effects of your medications worse. This article explores how alcohol affects people with epilepsy and provides recommendations for how much alcohol is best to consume. Additionally, if a seizure cannot be stopped or multiple seizures occur in rapid succession, it could result in permanent injury or prove fatal. Before a seizure, people may experience an aura or feel a change in sensation — such as smell, taste, sound, or vision — due to abnormal activity in the brain. But the amount of alcohol in one drink may be much higher than those in the list above.

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This may be due to neuroadaptive changes in the brain because of prolonged drinking. Another thing to keep in mind is that alcohol and anti-seizure medications can cause similar side effects, such as fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, and blurred vision. Therefore, drinking alcohol while on antiepileptic drugs can make these adverse effects more severe. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous for many reasons, but seizures and the possible development of delirium tremens increase the risk of severe complications or even death. Drinking moderately at the most will help you avoid developing alcohol dependence. This means drinking seven drinks a week for women and 14 for men at the most.

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They also do not cause changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) readings (brain activity tracings). In people with epilepsy, drinking three or more drinks may increase the risk of seizures. People who drink a lot of alcohol for an extended period can develop permanent changes in their brains, and removing alcohol can lead to withdrawal symptoms. Seizures, and a severe condition called delirium tremens, are possible complications of alcohol withdrawal.

1. The amount of alcohol intake before alcohol-related seizures was at least 7 standard drinks, or the equivalent of 1.4 liters of beer or 700 milliliters of wine.
2. In other words, there may be a link between chronic alcohol use (alcoholism) and epilepsy risk.
3. Excessive consumption of alcohol causes alcohol-related neurologic disease.
4. In this article, learn what alcohol does to the brain, how it can lead to seizures, and what you need to know about alcohol use if you already have a seizure disorder.
5. Consuming alcohol is a common seizure trigger for people with epilepsy.

These changes can promote seizure activity in people with and without epilepsy during periods of alcohol withdrawal. Consuming alcohol seems to aggravate seizures in people with epilepsy and may lead to increased seizure frequency. Doctors Drinking too much alcohol can harm your health Learn the facts often warn people who have epilepsy to avoid alcohol or to only drink in moderation.

Call 911 and tell the operator you think the person is experiencing an alcohol seizure. The emergency operator will often direct you on further steps to take. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it promotes water loss by increasing urine output. Dehydration is a common seizure trigger for people with epilepsy.

In other words, repeated detoxifications increase the likelihood, severity, and duration of alcohol withdrawal seizures. Alcohol-induced seizures are triggered by alcohol withdrawal in people with a long history of drinking. Alcohol withdrawal seizures can occur a few hours to a few days after a person stops drinking after chronic alcohol abuse. Research also suggests that repeated episodes of alcohol withdrawal seizures can make the brain more excitable.

SUDEP is the sudden and unexpected death of a person with epilepsy who is otherwise healthy without a known cause. The risk in people with epilepsy is roughly 1 in 1,000 people per year. Unprovoked seizures that occur more than 48 hours after a person’s last drink may be due to another cause, such as head injury or withdrawal from other drugs. When people stop consuming alcohol after chronic use, they lose the inhibitory effects of the GABA receptors, resulting in the central nervous system being overstimulated. Heavy alcohol consumption is a common trigger for seizures in those who already have epilepsy.

Seizures can also disrupt the oxygen supply to the brain, potentially leading to permanent brain damage. Also, if there are 3 or more seizures in a row and the person does not regain consciousness in between seizures, they should be evaluated in a hospital emergency room. Boca Recovery Center is here to provide the best quality care in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. When the person you love has recovered from the seizure, explain how treatment works.

However, people who are on antiepileptic drugs may have a lower tolerance for alcohol. In other words, they may experience more rapid intoxication compared to people who aren’t taking these medications. Additionally, alcohol and antiepileptic drugs cause many of the same side effects, and the combination can make these side effects worse. Since alcohol-induced seizures often repeat, consider this a medical emergency.

For some people, certain situations can trigger (set off) a seizure. Common triggers include lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and not taking their prescribed anti-seizure medication (ASM). It is followed by the clonic phase in which the person’s limbs jerk rhythmically and rapidly with bending of the large joints such as the elbows and knees. This is what causes the signs of alcohol intoxication, such as sedation (calmness, relaxation, sleepiness) and disinhibition. Chronic alcohol use leads to neuroadaptive changes in the brain when the body tries to restore the balance in neurotransmitters. If you or a loved one are struggling with alcoholism and need help safely detoxing, we are here for you.