Epileptic seizures are sudden, often dramatic "electrical storms" in the brain that affect about 1% of the population. All may be seen as symptoms of a wide variety of underlying disorders of brain or body that promote seizure activity.
Advertisement
There are several different seizure types. Some seizures cause convulsions with loss of consciousness and violent muscle spasms, while others may involve unusual sensations, brief periods of "blanking out" or manifest simply as altered behavior. The term epilepsy is used when seizures are recurrent over an extended time period.
The following examples describe two quite different settings in which seizures may occur: A solitary seizure associated with alcohol withdrawal is best thought of as an isolated seizure with a clearly defined cause (withdrawal from alcohol), whereas a child with developmental delay and recurrent seizures as a result of birth injury to the brain should be regarded as having epilepsy.
Epileptics are frequently stigmatised by others for their disease, and it should be emphasized that the tendency to have seizures is quite distinct from mental retardation or low intelligence. Although seizures are usually not life-threatening in themselves, the consequences of seizing (e.g. while driving or swimming) may be fatal. Convulsive seizures are frightening events to experience either directly or as an onlooker. Knowing something about seizures and the ways in which they can be managed is a first step towards taking control.
Bookmark with:
What are social bookmarks?