Blackout With Headache And Feeling Nausea. CAT Scan Clear. Any Suggestion?

Posted on Sat, 29 Dec 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 Answered on

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : my daughter aged 23 had a blackout 3 days ago with stiffness eyes open for about 60seconds she was not with us mind wise for hours after this she also had vomiting she still can not walk far with out having to sit down has a a continuous headache in the front of her head and nausues what do you think it is a cat scan came up all clear
thanks XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Piyush Ostwal (3 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for the query.
The blackout with stiffness with altered behaviour for prolonged period following that is suggestive of a seizure/convulsion. Apart from the CT scan she also needs to undergo EEG which assesses the electrical activity of the brain. Apart from establishing the diagnosis of seizure, it is also important to evaluate for the cause of it. If CT scan is normal, I would like to further do MRI scan of the brain.
In most of the situations, 1st episode of seizure doesn't warrant long term medications, however if anything is detected in MRI then long term prophylactic medications are recommended.
The headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue are likely to be part of recovery from the attack.
Hope that answers your query. if there are more questions, I will be happy to answer.
Good luck.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar