Paroxysm is a word within the scope of medicine, and describes the moment of maximum intensity of a pain, illness or attack.
Originating in Greek paroxymos, etymologically was related to an irritation. Paroxysm is the culminating moment of some attack or crisis, where a symptom manifests itself more strongly, causing dysfunction in a particular organ or system.
One of the main examples of paroxysms are the epileptiform paroxysms, that is, the characteristic symptoms of epilepsy.
There are also paroxysms that are not related to epilepsy, such as syncope (reduced blood flow in the brain that culminates in loss of consciousness) and loss of breath.
O cough paroxysm are the coughing fits, when a person coughs convulsively. Pertussis disease usually manifests in childhood and has coughing as one of its main symptoms. This disease has a paroxysmal phase, with coughing attacks.
In other diseases, such as malaria, the malarial paroxysm, which consists of the symptoms of fever, which occur mainly in the acute phase of the disease.
In a figurative sense, paroxysm can refer to the peak or peak of something.
hysterical paroxysm
Hysterical paroxysm, or female hysteria, was considered a disease in the 19th century. It was characterized by symptoms such as headache, irritability, insomnia, fluid retention, muscle spasms and many others. Doctors at the time believed that this paroxysm was caused by women's repressed sexual desire. As a treatment, pelvic massages or hydrotherapy (water jets) were often used.
In the 20th century, thanks to scholars like Freud, the hysterical paroxysm lost notoriety because knowledge of the mind and the unconscious was deepened.
