Overload
Eclampsia
Category: Illness or disabilities
Type
Involuntary
Introduction and description
Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a pregnant woman before, during, or after delivery. Most often it is during the second half of pregnancy.
The seizures are of the tonic–clonic type and typically last about a minute. Following the seizure there is typically either a period of confusion or coma.
Eclampsia affects about 1.4% of deliveries. Around one percent of women with eclampsia die.
The word eclampsia is from the Greek term for lightning. The first known description of the condition was by Hippocrates in the 5th century BCE
Symptoms
Trousseau, as long ago as 1868 (Trousseau's Clinical Medicine. Translated for the New Sydenham Society by Dr. Bazire. 4 vols., p. 32) states very clearly that the convulsions arising in the course of various disorders — eclamptic seizures — are not distinguishable in their character or in their proximate cause from the convulsions of epilepsy.
"To speak unreservedly," he says, "I must at once declare that in my opinion epilepsy and eclampsia are two identical neuroses, with regard to their symptomatic expression and their proximate cause. .... An attack of eclampsia is exactly like one of epilepsy, and no physician will ever be able to distinguish between convulsions occurring in a pregnant woman long afflicted with epilepsy, and convulsions in a woman seized with eclampsia at the beginning of labour."
This has great significance as it is known that one of the principle causes of epilepsy can be nutritional deprivation – especially in the minerals that affect the nervous system and muscles.
Most of the additional symptoms of eclampsia are related to this mineral imbalance symptoms such as hypertension and other malfunctioning of organs as a consequence of the ‘misfiring’ of nerves.
…. severe pre-eclampsia is a life-threatening multisystem disease associated with eclampsia, HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) syndrome, acute kidney injury, pulmonary oedema, placental abruption and intrauterine foetal death. PMID: 23962474
Even something as serious as a stroke can be caused by what is effectively nutritional deprivation
In about one third of stroke cases during pregnancy or puerperium, pre-eclampsia or eclampsia is concomitantly diagnosed. In these women, haemorrhagic stroke is more common than ischemic stroke, probably as a result of severe hypertension. Clinical presentation may vary but severe headache is the most common symptom. PMID: 24126786
Causes
We believe that from the evidence the principle cause of eclampsia is likely to be nutritional deprivation – principally mineral imbalance.
As each mineral acts upon other minerals, something as apparently harmless as overdosing on mineral supplements in the mistaken belief that this does no harm could totally disrupt the minerals in the body.
Mineral imbalance
Illustrations Of The Influence Of The Mind Upon The Body In Health And Disease, Designed To Elucidate The Action Of The Imagination - Daniel Hack Tuke, M.D.,
Dr. Todd, Dr. Carpenter, and Van der Kolk, all employ the familiar illustration of the Leyden jar to describe the condition of the nervous tissue at the seat of the disease. Continual malnutrition causes disturbance of the polar state of some region of the encephalon. If it amounts to a certain intensity it is manifested in an epileptic fit, as the jar, " when charged with electricity to a certain state of tension, gets rid of the disturbance of equilibrium by the disruptive discharge." (Dr. Todd's "Lumleian Lectures," 1849, and Human Physiology By Dr. Carpenter. 4th Edit. 1853, p. 876.)
It is known that calcium deficiency can cause eclampsia, for example, as can magnesium deficiency or imbalance. Magnesium plays an important role in balancing the calcium in carbohydrates, thus a deficiency may affect the calcium levels.
BUT calcium overdosing can also cause eclampsia:
eHealthme.com
Eclampsia is reported only by a few people who take Calcium. We study 61,657 people who have side effects while taking Calcium supplements from FDA. Among them, 4 have Eclampsia. .
and since numerous pharmaceuticals interfere with mineral absorption in your body, by extension numerous pharmaceuticals can cause mineral imbalance leading to eclampsia. This LINK should take you to the eHealthme site providing a list of pharmaceuticals known to cause eclampsia, [if it has been broken then a search on the symptoms section on the eHealthme site will get you to this list]
All our cells function like small batteries and much of the electrical signalling that takes place along nerves and in cells is achieved via chemical manipulation of calcium ions - see Physical nervous system. Calcium is essential for all living organisms, not just us, in particular in cell physiology, where movement of the calcium ion Ca2+ into and out of the cytoplasm functions as a signal for many cellular processes. As a consequence calcium deficiency or overdose - imbalance - can cause a host of muscle and nerve related illnesses. You can get twitching, heart arrhythmias, and muscle spasms – for example eclampsia – and other 'abnormal nerve excitation'.
A whole host of other nervous system problems – headaches, menstrual pains, fibromyalgia – in effect any illness where the nervous system has gone into overload can be caused by an excess or imbalance of calcium and the other minerals involved in the nervous system - potassium, sodium and chloride.
High negative emotion
Biochemical processes in the brain are known to affect mood. Minor dietary inadequacies, which are responsible for a decline in an enzyme's efficiency, can cumulatively influence mood states. Interestingly, however, the reverse is also true, that high levels of stress, anger, fear or similar negative emotion are known to inhibit nutrient uptake, for example, itself causing a decline in an enzyme's efficiency. Thus a person who is depressed or anxious, fearful or lonely may well not absorb the nutrients they receive even though their intake may not be normally classified as a deficiency.
Illustrations Of The Influence Of The Mind Upon The Body In Health And Disease, Designed To Elucidate The Action Of The Imagination - Daniel Hack Tuke, M.D.,
the cerebral hemispheres act upon the ganglia below them, so far as the Intellect and Will are concerned; and, further, whatever cerebral physiology may teach as to minute points, the cases …… none the less illustrate the truth, and the importance of the truth, that the Mind or brain influences — excites, perverts, or depresses — the sensory, motor, vasomotor, and trophic nerves, and through them causes changes in Sensation, Muscular Contraction, Nutrition, and Secretion. …………
The Intellect may powerfully excite, modify, or suspend the Organic Functions, causing changes in nutrition, secretion, and excretion, and thereby affecting the development and maintenance of the body. …..
The following paper also highlights the problems from a different angle – pregnancy in adolescents. Here high levels of negative emotion combine with nutritional deprivation. It is not the age of the person per se, but that adolescent mothers tend to come from low socio-economic backgrounds and thus often experience high negative emotions:
Adolescent pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, low birth weight (LBW), and infant mortality. Complications include urinary tract infections, acute pyelonephritis, and preeclampsia. Full eclampsia is often fatal, thus pre-eclamptic women are delivered immediately. ….. In 1991, a random sample of 389 adolescent mothers who had given birth in 1983 indicated a 54% rate of depression, and even higher rates existed among those with 2 or more pregnancies. Additional risk factors include socioeconomic circumstances (poor housing, nutrition, and cultural deprivation). In a 1991 study of adolescent mothers, ….. 45% of Whites and 58% of Blacks lived in poverty. …. Nutritional problems included skipping meals and eating junk food, as well as not getting enough food, although they were entitled to government food stamps.PMID: 12318642
Treatment
In a somewhat horrifying list of recommendations provided by the medical community, a vast array of pharmaceuticals are recommended to deal with each of the symptoms of eclampsia.
Needless to say this is not only a waste of money and does nothing to tackle the cause, it also adds great risk for the baby.
The treatment is obviously to address the cause – mineral deficiency or imbalance [overload] and high negative emotion – or both. BUT DO NOT TAKE SUPPLEMENTS. There is the constant risk with supplements that you go into imbalance with a mineral. The most important thing is to eat for health. Our site provides you with the plants and food that contain each of the minerals you need to avoid eclampsia - see the Natural chemicals section.
Background
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1920_-_Self_portrait
The paintings we have used to illustrate this section are by Henry Scott Tuke RA RWS (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer.
His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is probably best known for his paintings of nude boys and young men.
He was born into a Quaker family and was the second son of Dr Daniel Hack Tuke, whose work on emotions and the impact they have on health in general is mentionned in this entry and had considerable impact on the 'alternative medicine's' [cause and not symptom based] rise to prominence.
References and further reading
Given that mineral deficiency or imbalance as well as vitamin imbalance can cause hallucinations and mental illness the following papers are to be expected:
- Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 1968;203:145-8. [Severe cases of eclampsia, treated under intensive care; a psychiatric study]. [Article in German] Lindqvist BR, Lindqvist G. PMID: 5248219
- J Ky Med Assoc. 1964 May;62:376-7. ECLAMPSIA WITH POSTPARTUM PSYCHOSIS. GRIMES AE, REDD H. PMID:14145875
Related observations
Healing observations
- A novel protocol for postpartum magnesium sulphate in severe pre-eclampsia: a randomized controlled pilot trial 027622
- Calcium and Magnesium Metabolism in Pre-Eclampsia 026078
- Clinical pharmacokinetic properties of magnesium sulphate in women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia 027623
- The Healing Power of Sleep 026790