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Epilepsy is currently defined as a tendency to have recurrent seizures. A seizure is caused by a sudden burst of excessive electrical activity in the brain, causing a temporary disruption in the normal message passing between brain cells. This disruption results in the brain’s messages becoming halted or mixed up.
The brain is responsible for all the functions of your body, so what you experience during a seizure will depend on where in your brain the epileptic activity begins and how widely and rapidly it spreads. For this reason, there are many different types of seizure, and each person will experience epilepsy in a way that is unique to them. You may find it is frightening helping someone who is having a seizure, but it is not difficult and there is nothing to worry about. Get help as fast as you can, but if you are alone, help them through the seizure first. Make sure you tell a parent or teacher if someone has had a seizure.
Some facts about epilepsy
Basic first aid for seizures
Call an ambulance if…
A tonic-clonic seizure is the most common type of generalised seizure. The following gives a typical description:
Your body becomes rigid due to strong muscular contractions (the tonic part). You lose consciousness and fall. Your chest muscles contract and force air out of your mouth, often with a grunt. Your jaw muscles contract and you may bite your tongue. Saliva may escape from your mouth. Your bladder may contract and you may pass urine. This stiff or tonic phase soon passes into the clonic (shaking or convulsive) phase. This is when the muscles repeatedly contract and relax. Your whole body appears to shake. This may last from a few seconds to a few minutes.
When the seizure has stopped, you gradually regain consciousness, but you may be confused and dazed for a while. The time taken to recover varies. You may have some soreness due to the muscular contractions. You may have a headache and want to sleep after a seizure.
You may have some warning symptoms for a short while before a seizure. This is called an aura. The aura can take various forms. Some of these forms are odd movements, odd sensations, or intense emotions. However, many people do not have auras, and a seizure commonly occurs without any warning.