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Physical Changes
All bodily movements are controlled by the brain. Encephalitis may cause weakness, lack of control or loss of movement. The brain controls our ability to co-ordinate movement and balance. Individuals can therefore sometimes appear to be clumsy or unstable on his or her feet.
Epilepsy and seizures
Epileptic seizures (or fits) may occur during encephalitis, or may develop weeks, months, or even in very rare cases years afterwards. Encephalitis has the effect of lowering the threshold needed to produce a seizure, making an attack more likely. The amount by which it will be lowered varies according to the nature and extent of damage to the brain.
The types of seizures may be complex partial (also called focal, affecting one part of the brain only, and therefore only one part/half of the body), primary generalised (affecting both halves of the brain, and therefore the whole body, simultaneously) and secondary generalised (when the seizure may start as a partial seizure but then spreads to the rest of the brain, resulting in a secondary generalised tonic-clonic [“grand mal”] convulsion). Partial seizures may take the form of altered and confused behaviour with semi-purposeful actions. They may sometimes be difficult to diagnose.
Epilepsy is treated with anticonvulsant drugs, of which there are several. The aim of the drugs is to either prevent the spread of abnormal activity within the brain or to raise the threshold at which an attack may occur.
Tiredness and Fatigue
Extra rest is needed after encephalitis and as a result sleeping patterns may alter. Some individuals may need to sleep for up to 14 hours at a stretch whilst others only need or can only sleep for a few hours each night and may cat-nap throughout the day.
Feeling over-tired can be a long-term problem after encephalitis, but can be eased by not over doing things and pacing out your life. In a world where everything moves so fast it is often difficult to adjust to the fact that you may now need to slow down.
Headaches and bodily pain
Changes in sensation, headaches and pain in other parts of the body can last for several weeks after the acute illness, and sometimes may continue for some time after the acute phase. These may be made worse by lack of rest, having to concentrate hard, and/or bright lights. Dizziness also may occur, especially with sudden or rapid movement and may be accompanied by feeling nauseous. While stress and tension are usually the main causes, a doctor should always check persistent headaches or pain and referral to a pain clinic may be necessary where these problems persist.
Sensory Changes
Vision, hearing, taste, smell, temperature and touch can all be affected by encephalitis. Problems can range from complete loss of a sense to variations in sensitivity from one day to the next.
One common problem is sight recognition, for example not being able to see an object that you are looking for or not recognising familiar faces.
Hearing problems can occur for a number of reasons. Tinnitus is experienced as noise, commonly like a buzzing, hissing or ringing in the ears. Auditory agnosia is impaired recognition of non-verbal sounds and noises, but intact language function. In some cases the person can be extremely sensitive to certain noises, pitches, or where there is more than one sound at a time. They may be unable to tolerate many environments we take for granted (for example shopping malls and pubs).
Last modified 9 October 2007
