On the relation of the 'aura' giddiness to epileptic seizures / by Charles E. Beevor.

  • Beevor, Charles, E. (Charles Edward), 1854-1908.
Date:
[1884?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the relation of the 'aura' giddiness to epileptic seizures / by Charles E. Beevor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    differ from the foregoing in the relation of the direction of the apparent rotation to the initial spasm. These four feel the rotation of themselves and objects to the right; one is described by his friends as being convulsed “ all to the left; ” another has his head drawn to the left and “ struggles round to the left side; ” a third case has the sensation of objects and herself turning to the right, and her friends state that the head turns to the left, that the left arm is drawn up more than the right, and the left side is convulsed more than the right. A last case, who is sure that objects and herself seem to go to the right, has left-sided fits, beginning with tingling and drawing up of the left foot, her head turns to the left, and in the fits she is convulsed left more than right. These last two patients are the only ones which entirely oppose the majority of the cases, in that right-sided vertigo is associated with a distinct left-sided spasm, the other three opposing cases not being in any way so certain. I am unable at present to give any explanation why these patients differ from the majority of the cases. One other patient has the sensation of apparent movement of himself and objects from right to left, but I have not yet obtained a definite account of the character of his fits. In the above cases it is very difficult to be absolutely sure of the facts, when one has to depend so much on the state- ments of patients and their friends; and as spontaneous statements are worth very much more than answers to questions which are more or less leading, I have avoided as much as possible asking questions which would prompt the patient to give answers in harmony with one’s preconceived notions. It is sometimes, however, almost impossible to avoid assisting the patients in their answers; as, for instance, a patient volunteers the information that he feels giddy before a fit, but if he is asked what he means by giddiness, he answers, as though the word giddiness expressed all that could be required or be possible to know, and he is quite unable to explain himself further; on this I usually ask whether he means by giddiness the feeling of faintness or whether he experiences any movement, when perhaps he will jump at the question and say immediately that he swims round or the