Mayo Clinic Care Network Content
Definitions

Tonic-clonic seizure


Overview

A tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure involves a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. It's usually caused by epilepsy, but may have other triggers, such as extremely low blood sugar, high fever, or a stroke.

Treatments

Many people will have only one such seizure. Others may need daily medications to control and prevent such seizures.