A convulsion occurs when a person's muscles contract uncontrollably. They can continue for a few seconds or many minutes. Convulsions can happen to a specific part of a person's body or may affect their whole body.

What causes someone to convulse?

Convulsions can occur during certain kinds of epileptic seizures, but you can have convulsions even though you don't have epilepsy. Convulsions can be a symptom of a number of conditions, including a sudden fever spike, tetanus, or very low blood sugar.

What do convulsions feel like?

Basically, those feel like a big electric jolt to my mind and body, and my body jerks - or spasms - and I have no control of it. They usually come in clusters, almost like hiccups. I often describe them to people as being like when their foot jerks when they are trying to go to sleep.