Epilepsy

epilepsy

neurological condition that affects the nervous system. AKA seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures (or after one seizure with a high risk for more) that were not caused by some known medical condition.

*Just because you have had seizures does not mean you have this disorder

seizures in epilepsy

caused by disturbances in the electrical activity of the brain. May be related to a brain injury, genetics, immune, brain structure or metabolic cause, but most of the time the cause is unknown.

prevalence

10% of people will have seizures in their lifetime

1 in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime (about 4%)

According to the latest estimates, about 0.6% of children aged 0-17 years have active epilepsy

what happens during a seizure

Difficulty talking

Unable to swallow, drooling

Strange eye movements

Unusual muscle movements

Repeated non-purposeful movements, such as lip smacking or chewing

Pupils may dilate or appear larger than normal

Biting of tongue

Loss of awareness (often called “black out”)

Distracted, daydreaming

Loss of consciousness, unconscious, or “pass out”

Unable to hear or see

Unusual tastes and smells (often bad smells like burning rubber)

Flashing lights

Formed visual hallucinations (objects or things are seen that aren’t really there)

Numbness, tingling, or electric shock like feeling in body, arm or leg

aura

warning, first symptom of a seizure. not everyone has one

tonic

Muscles in the body become stiff.

atonic

Muscles in the body become loose/floppy.

clonic

Periods of jerking or shaking in parts of the body.

myoclonic

Brief muscle jerking in parts of the body.

focal seizure

one part of brain is involved

generalized seizure

entire brain is involved (bunch of different types like absence, tonic, febrile, etc.)

Focal Seizures without loss of consciousness

May alter emotions or change the way things look, smell, feel, taste or sound. Some people experience deja vu. This type of seizure may also result in involuntary jerking of one body part, such as an arm or leg, and spontaneous sensory symptoms such as tingling, dizziness and flashing lights.

Focal Seizures with impaired awareness

Involve a change or loss of consciousness or awareness. During a focal seizure with impaired awareness, you may stare into space and not respond normally to your environment or perform repetitive movements, such as hand rubbing, chewing, swallowing or walking in circles.

absence seizure

Typically occur in children. Characterized by:

staring into space with or without subtle body movements

only last between 5-10 seconds

may occur in clusters, happening as often as 100 times per day

cause a brief loss of awareness

tonic seizure

Characterized by:

Stiff, rigid muscles

may affect consciousness

usually affect muscles in your back, arms and legs and may cause you to fall to the ground

atonic seizure

Characterized by:

loss of muscle control, muscles become loose/floppy

often causes you to suddenly collapse or fall down

clonic seizure

Characterized by:

repeated or rhythmic, jerking muscle movements

Usually affect the neck, face and arms.

myoclonic seizure

Characterized by:

Consciousness not impaired

Short jerking in parts of the body, usually arms, hands, face

Only lasts about a second or two

tonic-clonic seizure

Characterized by:

previously known as grand mal seizures

most dramatic type of epileptic seizure

cause an abrupt loss of consciousness and body stiffening, twitching and shaking

sometimes cause loss of bladder control or biting your tongue.

febrile seizure

Characterized by:

Staring, severe shaking, tightening of muscles

May last a few minutes

Not an epilepsy syndrome

Seizure provoked by fever

Occurs mostly children

increased risk

Those with developmental disabilities often have epilepsy and/or seizures as a comorbidity, especially:

Autism

Cerebral Palsy

how to help someone having a seizure

stay with the person until they are awake and alert. remain calm and time the seizure. check for medical ID. keep the person safe. turn the person onto their side if they are not awake and aware. call 911 if it lasts longer than 5 minutes, they are having difficulty breathing, or it occurs in water. DO NOT restrain or put objects in their mouth

seizure dogs

Trained to sense and/or respond to a seizure.

Some bark or otherwise alert families when a child has a seizure while playing outside or in another room.

Some lie next to someone having a seizure to prevent injury.

Some put their body between the seizing individual and the floor to break the fall at the start of a seizure.

Some activate some kind of pre-programmed device, such as a pedal that rings an alarm.