Dear Dr. Roach: I have been a registered nurse for 55 years. I’m writing in about my 42-year-old son who recently suffered a focal seizure while driving. He has a history of neck pain, possibly caused by his history of skateboarding on pipes during his early teen years and drumming in a band.
I found quite a few articles in both the lay and medical literature stating that nerve compression in the neck can cause seizures, but I am unconvinced that this is a likely cause. The peer-reviewed papers I read included case reports of people who developed focal seizures after an injury, but the injury didn’t have to be in the neck; the seizures were reported even with burn injuries to the hand.
It is abundantly clear that brain and spinal cord injury, whether from trauma, stroke or cancer, can be a seizure focus and lead to epilepsy. In the ER, a CT scan is often done, but most experts in epilepsy want to see a high-resolution MRI scan to look for any brain lesions that might lead to seizures.
Now, to be completely honest, when I came home from a cruise at the end of August with seven family members, all of whom had colds during the cruise, I experienced minimal symptoms of a cold. I haven’t gone a day without sneezing since then. My sneezes are hardy, usually two or three at a time. I generally sneeze at least twice a day.Sneezing is a protective reflex to keep irritants out of your nose. In theory, frequent sneezing might somewhat reduce your exposure to germs.