Eclampsia: causes, symptoms, treatment, prevention, etc.

Often equated with preeclampsia, in fact eclampsia is a different condition. Although both are associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy, you cannot equate them. So as not to be mistaken, let's take a look at the full review of eclampsia below.

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What is eclampsia?

Eclampsia is a severe form of pregnancy complication of preeclampsia. In other words, eclampsia is a condition that can be interpreted as high blood pressure that causes seizures during pregnancy.

This is a rare or rare, but quite serious condition. Most cases occur late in pregnancy. The average cases involve first-time pregnancies.

Seizures due to eclampsia are not caused directly by disorders of the brain such as seizures or epilepsy.

This is because eclampsia can attack the placenta, which is the organ that delivers oxygen, blood and nutrients to the fetus.

An increase in blood pressure in the body can reduce blood flow so that the placenta cannot function properly.

Eclampsia is a condition that can cause your baby to be born with low birth weight (LBW) or other health conditions.

Having problems with the placenta often necessitates that the baby be born prematurely for the health and safety of both the mother and the baby.

In rare cases, eclampsia is a condition that can be fatal. The reason is, complications of this pregnancy can cause the mother or baby to be stillborn (stillbirth).

Pregnant women are at a very high risk of developing eclampsia when using inappropriate straining methods during labor. Even so, most of the symptoms of this disease are quite mild.

Monitoring and changes in diet and daily lifestyle usually must be done regularly to improve the condition of both mother and baby.

How common is this condition?

Eclampsia is a pregnancy complication that is not too common or rare. This condition can affect about 1 in every 200 pregnant women who experience preeclampsia.

In fact, you are at risk for these pregnancy complications even if you don't have a previous history of seizures.

However, you can reduce your risk of developing this disease by reducing the risk factors you have.

Consult with your doctor to find out more information.

Signs & Symptoms of Eclampsia

This condition can cause symptoms at any time during pregnancy.

Be it in the first, second, or third trimester of pregnancy. As previously explained, preeclampsia during pregnancy can develop into eclampsia.

Therefore, you may experience symptoms of both diseases at once, or only symptoms of eclampsia.

The common symptoms of eclampsia are as follows:

• Body spasm
• Severe agitation such as stress and depression
• The body is unconscious

Meanwhile, the symptoms of preeclampsia that can be experienced by most women are as follows:

• Headache.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Stomach ache, especially in the upper right.
• Swelling of the hands, feet and face.
• Increased blood pressure.
• Excess weight gain, can reach more than 2 kilograms per week.
• Vision disturbances, such as loss of vision, blurred vision, double vision or areas that are lost in the visual field.
• Difficulty urinating

Since preeclampsia is a condition that can lead to eclampsia, you may experience both conditions at once.

However, some symptoms can be caused by other conditions, such as kidney disease or diabetes.

The presence of eclampsia symptoms can coincide with preeclampsia symptoms or present on their own without previous preeclampsia symptoms.

It is important to immediately check with a doctor for your health condition, so that you can find out the possible underlying causes.

If necessary, you should record all symptoms and tell your doctor.

There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about a particular symptom, consult a doctor.

Seizure frequency due to eclampsia

One of the signs of eclampsia is seizures that occur during pregnancy or after birth. Seizures can occur more than once with an average duration of 60-75 seconds.

The duration of the seizure that is experienced occurs in two phases, namely phase one during the first 15-20 seconds, which is marked by facial twitching, the body begins to stiffen, and the muscles tighten.

While the second phase lasts for 60 seconds, marked by moving facial muscles and eyelids.

Then, all the muscles of the body begin to spasm in turn. After that, people who have seizures due to eclampsia will generally be unconscious for a few moments. This period later became a critical period.

When should I see a doctor?

Pregnancy checks to determine the condition of you and your baby must always be done regularly.

However, besides that, it is recommended to immediately see a doctor if you feel that various signs and symptoms of preeclampsia appear that can develop into eclampsia.

Do not delay to consult your doctor regarding any conditions that you are not used to. For example, if there is bleeding, severe headaches, or the movement of the fetus decreases suddenly.

If you have any signs or symptoms above or any other questions, consult your doctor. This is because the health condition of each person's body is different.

Causes of eclampsia

Eclampsia is a condition that often occurs after preeclampsia characterized by high blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy.

If preeclampsia worsens and attacks your brain, it can lead to seizures or coma.

That's a sign, you have eclampsia, as quoted from the Mayo Clinic. The cause of this pregnancy complication is not known with certainty.

However, this condition is thought to occur due to the function and abnormal shape of the placenta.

Various conditions that have the potential to lead to eclampsia are as follows:

High blood pressure

Preeclampsia begins when blood pressure increases in the body, which is above 140/90 mmHg.

Because it is so high, this blood pressure can damage the arteries and other blood vessels, thus limiting and interfering with the body's blood flow.

Usually this condition occurs at gestational age above 20 weeks

Furthermore, this condition has the risk of causing swelling of the blood vessels in the brain of pregnant women and the baby in the womb.

If this abnormal blood flow affects the work of the brain, that's when seizures can occur.

As a result, more severe complications arise in the form of eclampsia, which is characterized by spasms in the body.

Proteinuria

The presence of protein in the urine or known as proteinuria can be an early indicator of the causes of preeclampsia which eventually develops into eclampsia.

The doctor will usually do a urine examination first to further confirm this condition.

What increases my risk of eclampsia?

Launching from Medline Plus, various factors that put a person at high risk of eclampsia are as follows:

• Being over 35 years of age when pregnant.
• Are under 20 years of age when pregnant.
• First pregnancy.
• Pregnancy with twins, triplets, or more.
• Diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or other conditions that affect the blood vessels.
• Family history of having had preeclampsia or eclampsia before.
• Are overweight or obese.

Lupus is another medical condition that is believed to be a potential risk factor for complications of eclampsia during pregnancy.

How is eclampsia diagnosed?

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

If you suspect or have a history of previous pregnancy complications in the form of preeclampsia, your doctor will perform tests to determine the truth of this condition.

However, if you don't have a previous history of preeclampsia, your doctor will perform related tests to determine the cause of the seizure.

The following are various tests to diagnose eclampsia during pregnancy:

Blood test

There are several types of blood tests that doctors can do to find out about health conditions.

This test includes a hematocrit, which measures how many red blood cells are in the blood and measuring the number of platelets to see the process of blood clotting in the body.

Blood tests are also useful to help check the function of the kidneys and liver.

Creatinine test

Creatinine is a waste product in the body that is produced by muscles. Normally, the kidneys are in charge of filtering creatinine from the blood.

However, if the glomerulus is not working properly, the amount of creatinine in the blood will accumulate.

Although not always, but the presence of too much creatinine in the blood can indicate preeclampsia and then lead to eclampsia.

Urine test

A doctor can do urine tests to see if there is protein in the urine, which indicates that kidney function has been impaired.

Treatment for eclampsia

Giving birth to a baby prematurely is one way to deal with preeclampsia and eclampsia.

This is because continuing the pregnancy while the mother is diagnosed with preeclampsia is fatal and can lead to more dangerous complications.

But beforehand, doctors will usually consider the severity of the disease and the health condition of the baby in the womb. Usually a caesarean section is performed to save the baby.

Even before developing into eclampsia, doctors generally will provide several types of drugs to treat mild preeclampsia.

The use of these drugs is to monitor and keep blood pressure within a safe range, at least until the baby is ready to be born.

If the eclampsia condition caused by preeclampsia is classified as severe or late being treated properly, doctors usually choose to speed up the time of birth.

Early labor can occur between the 32nd and 36th weeks of pregnancy, if the onset of symptoms is very dangerous or medication does not work.

Furthermore, the treatment plan is determined by your body condition and the severity of the disease you have.

Your doctor may order drugs to help manage seizures, called anticonvulsant drugs.

Blood pressure-lowering drugs can also be given. You are usually advised to be admitted to the hospital first until delivery arrives.

That way, the health condition of you and the baby in the womb can be monitored by doctors and the medical team regularly.

If complications occur, you may experience a medical emergency such as placental abruption.

Placental abruption is a condition that causes the placenta, or organs that protect and nourish the fetus, apart from the uterus.

Therefore, getting good medical care for preeclampsia can prevent eclampsia.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about any abnormal symptoms you experience during pregnancy.

Home remedies for eclampsia

If you experience signs or symptoms of preeclampsia in early pregnancy, your doctor will ask you to get plenty of rest at home for a few weeks.

This means that you are advised to stop working, reduce physical activity, and spend a lot of time resting.

Some of the actions that doctors usually recommend to monitor eclampsia conditions are as follows:

• Monitor blood pressure.
• Perform urine tests to detect protein.
• Weigh.
• Monitor fetal movement or the number of kicks in the womb.

Every time you do a check yourself or with a doctor, always record the results. Consult all complaints and examination results when examining a doctor.

What can be done to prevent eclampsia?

Previously it was stated that although high blood pressure is thought to be one of the main causes of this condition, eclampsia cannot be known with certainty.

That is why, it is still not known how exactly to prevent this pregnancy complication.

So far, giving aspirin has the potential to have a protective effect in women with risk factors for preeclampsia from developing eclampsia.

Consult a doctor if you have a previous history of preeclampsia. Doctors will usually consider giving these drugs along with the dosage to drink.

This provision is tailored to the health condition of you and the baby in the womb. If you have any questions, consult your doctor for the best solution to your problem.