![]() Some underlying conditions may cause no other problems apart from seizures. The condition may irritate the surrounding brain cells and trigger seizures. Previous infections of the brain, such as meningitis and encephalitis.A patch of scar tissue in a part of the brain.There are many such conditions - for example: In some cases, an underlying brain condition or brain damage causes epilepsy. This is called a secondary generalised seizure. Sometimes a focal seizure develops into a generalised seizure. These differ from simple focal seizures in that your consciousness is affected. In addition, you may have odd emotions, fears, feelings, visions or sensations. For example, you may fiddle with an object, or mumble, or wander aimlessly. Depending on the part of the brain affected, you may behave strangely for a few seconds or minutes. Therefore, this type is sometimes called temporal lobe epilepsy. These commonly but not always arise from a part of the brain called the temporal lobe - you have two temporal lobes, one on each side of the brain just behind your temples. Complex focal seizures are another type.You do not lose consciousness or awareness. You may develop an odd taste, or pins and needles in one part of your body. You may have muscular jerks or strange sensations in one arm or leg. Different parts of the brain control different functions and so symptoms depend on which part of the brain is affected: Therefore, you tend to have localised (focal) symptoms. In focal seizures the burst of electrical activity starts in, and stays in, one part of the brain. An atonic seizure causes you to become limp and to collapse, often with only a brief loss of consciousness.A tonic seizure causes a brief loss of consciousness and you may become stiff and fall to the ground.These can affect the whole body but often occur in just one or both arms. A myoclonic seizure is caused by a sudden contraction of the muscles, which causes a jerk.Absence seizures mainly occur in children. There is no convulsion, you do not fall over and it usually lasts only seconds. With this type of seizure you have a brief loss of consciousness or awareness. An absence seizure (these used to be called petit mal) is another type of generalised seizure.With this type of seizure your whole body stiffens, you lose consciousness and then your body shakes (convulses) due to uncontrollable muscle contractions. A tonic-clonic seizure (these were previously called grand mal seizures) is the most common type of generalised seizure. ![]() There are various types of generalised seizure: The symptoms tend to be general and involve much of your body. These occur if the abnormal electrical activity affects all or most of the brain. See also the separate leaflet called Types of Epilepsy and Seizures. However, some people have different types of seizures at different times. If you have epilepsy you usually have recurrences of the same type of seizure. There are also other uncommon types of seizure. Seizures are divided into two main types - generalised and focal (used to be called partial). The different types of seizures are discussed below. Symptoms that may occur during a seizure can affect your muscles, sensations, behaviour, emotions, consciousness or a combination of these. Therefore, the symptoms that occur during a seizure depend on where the abnormal burst of electrical activity occurs. Different areas of the brain control different parts and functions of the body. Normally, the nerve cells are constantly sending tiny electrical messages down the nervous system to all parts of the body. The brain contains millions of nerve cells (neurons). (Older words for seizures include convulsions and 'fits'.) Typically, a seizure lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. Seizures caused by these external factors are not classed as epilepsy.Ī seizure is a short episode of symptoms caused by a burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Other causes of seizures include lack of oxygen, a low blood sugar level, poisons and a lot of alcohol. For example, a high temperature (fever) may cause a febrile seizure (febrile convulsion). A seizure can also be caused by external factors which may affect the brain. Around 456,000 people in the UK have epilepsy.Įpileptic seizures arise from within the brain. For others, the frequency of seizures is somewhere in between these extremes.Įpilepsy can affect anyone at any age. At the other extreme, in some cases the seizures occur every day. In some cases there may be years between seizures. The frequency of seizures in people with epilepsy varies. The definition of epilepsy is more than one seizure. About 1 person in 20 has a seizure at some time in their life. If you have a single seizure, it does not necessarily mean that you have epilepsy. If you have epilepsy, it means that you have had repeated seizures.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |