Unusual case study of Mehndi smell leading to seizures in 9-yr-old girl

New Delhi [India], February 7 : In a strikingly odd incident, a 9-year-old girl suffered epileptic seizures after the application of Mehndi (Henna).
The case was reported at a Private hospital in Delhi at the Department of Neurology. This case study has been published on January 23 2023 in the latest edition of Clinical Neurophysiology.
The girl had an abrupt loss of consciousness leading to a fall and convulsions for 20 seconds. A year later she suffered 2 similar seizures after the application of Mehndi. Recently she was brought to the hospital for further checkup.
According to Dr (Col) P.K. Sethi, Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, "This was an unusual case of Reflex Epilepsy, where epileptic seizures are consistently induced by identifiable and objective-specific triggers as against other epileptic seizures which are usually unprovoked. In our reported case, seizures were consistently induced by the application of mehndi."
In the hospital setting, mehndi was applied to the patient's right hand. Mehndi has a very distinctive earthy smell. As soon as the mehndi applied hand was brought near the chest of the patient, she started having seizures. Video-electroencephalography revealed an organized background with a posterior rhythm of 9 Hz. The patient became restless which was followed by seizures.
Dr Sethi further said, "In our patient seizures were not triggered by mere application of mehndi on hands and feet rather it was the fragrance which acted as the stimulus leading to stimulation of functional anatomic networks."
The patient was prescribed Sodium valproate and the parents were advised to avoid exposure to Mehndi. The patient is stable now with no reported case of seizure now.