How do you know what type of seizure you have?

Seizure signs and symptoms may include:

Temporary confusion.
A staring spell.
Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs.
Loss of consciousness or awareness.
Cognitive or emotional symptoms, such as fear, anxiety or deja vu.

Regarding this, how do I know what type of epilepsy I have?

Generalized Seizures

Tonic-clonic (or grand mal) seizures: These are the most noticeable.
Clonic seizures: Your muscles have spasms, which often make your face, neck, and arm muscles jerk rhythmically.
Tonic seizures: The muscles in your arms, legs, or trunk tense up.

Likewise, how many types of epilepsy are there? Experts now divide epilepsy into four basic types based on the seizures you're having:

Generalized epilepsy.
Focal epilepsy.
Generalized and focal epilepsy.
Unknown if generalized or focal epilepsy.

Simply so, what are the 4 types of seizures?

The different types of generalized seizures are:

absence seizures (formerly known as petit mal)
tonic-clonic or convulsive seizures (formerly known as grand mal)
atonic seizures (also known as drop attacks)
clonic seizures.
tonic seizures.
myoclonic seizures.

What is the most common type of seizure?

The most common and dramatic, and therefore the most well known, is the generalized convulsion, also called the grand-mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the patient loses consciousness and usually collapses.

39 Related Question Answers Found

What is the most dangerous type of epilepsy?

Several different types of seizures can be seen in Dravet syndrome, the most dangerous of which are tonic-clonic seizures, sometimes called a generalized seizure or a grand-mal seizure.

Can you feel a seizure coming on?

Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, and sometimes it's hard to tell that a person is having one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seizure signs and symptoms may include: Temporary confusion—often described as a “fuzzy” feeling. A staring spell.

What is the difference between a seizure and epilepsy?

A seizure is a single occurrence, whereas epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by two or more unprovoked seizures.

What does a petit mal seizure look like?

Absence seizures involve brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. Someone having an absence seizure may look like he or she is staring blankly into space for a few seconds. Then, there is a quick return to a normal level of alertness. This type of seizure usually doesn't lead to physical injury.

What does a mini seizure look like?

Absence seizures, previously known as petit mal seizures, often occur in children and are characterized by staring into space or by subtle body movements, such as eye blinking or lip smacking. These seizures may occur in clusters and cause a brief loss of awareness.

Can stress cause a seizure?

Stress is known to cause worry, depression, frustration and even anger. Areas of the brain important for some types of seizures, for example partial seizures, are the same areas of the brain involved in emotions and responding to stress. Stress can cause problems sleeping which is also a seizure trigger.

Can you drive if you have epilepsy?

Driving. If you drive, one immediate effect of having a seizure is that you have to stop driving. This is true for all types of seizures, and whether you have a diagnosis of epilepsy or not. Specific regulations also apply after a provoked seizure and after an isolated seizure or first unprovoked seizure.

What is a staring spell?

An absence seizure is the term for a type of seizure involving staring spells. This type of seizure is a brief (usually less than 15 seconds) disturbance of brain function due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

What would cause a seizure all of a sudden?

Epileptic seizures – People with epilepsy have a type of brain dysfunction that intermittently causes episodes of abnormal electrical activity. This can be caused by any type of brain injury, such as trauma, stroke, brain infection, or a brain tumor. In many cases, the cause of epileptic seizures is not clear.

Can a seizure kill you?

Death from epilepsy is rare. The leading cause of death among people with uncontrolled epilepsy, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP, kills 1 in 1,000 people who have the disorder. Heart rhythm: Rarely, a seizure may cause a dangerous heart rhythm or cardiac arrest.

What can trigger a seizure?

seizure triggers. Triggers are situations that can bring on a seizure in some people with epilepsy. Some people's seizures are brought on by certain situations. Triggers can differ from person to person, but common triggers include tiredness and lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and not taking medication.

Can seizures cause brain damage?

Sometimes severe seizure can cause brain damage, but most seizures do not seem to have a detrimental effect on the brain. Epilepsy has many possible causes, from illness to brain damage to abnormal brain development. Generalized seizure symptoms may cause loss of consciousness, falls, or massive muscle spasms.

Can anxiety cause seizures?

Research Shows Anxiety-Induced Seizures Can Resemble Epilepsy. Although epilepsy is one of the most common causes of seizures, it's not the only cause. Extreme emotional states can give rise to seizures. According to one study, as many as 20% of people diagnosed with epilepsy might have PNES instead.

What happens during a non epileptic seizure?

Some people experience symptoms similar to those of an epileptic seizure but without any unusual electrical activity in the brain. When this happens it is known as a non-epileptic seizure (NES). NES is most often caused by mental stress or a physical condition. Dissociative seizures (uncontrollable)

How do you feel after a seizure?

After a seizure, you may feel anxious or depressed for days or weeks, if the parts of the brain that affect mood are recovering from the seizure. Confusion or memory loss after a seizure can also be worrying or depressing. Before a seizure you may feel irritable, anxious, depressed or aggressive.

Can a seizure last 10 seconds?

Typical Absence Seizures

It may look like he or she is staring off into space or just has a blank look. The eyes may turn upwards and eyelids flutter. The seizures usually last less than 10 seconds.

What does seizures look like?

There are slight variations, but a typical tonic clonic seizure will look like: A sudden loss of consciousness, sometimes with vocalisation or calling out. The eyes, head and body may turn in one direction. The body becomes stiff (tonic), followed by jerking of the muscles (clonic)