An epileptic seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain and is caused by an abnormal and excessive electrical discharge of a group of neurons within the brain. “Epilepsy is the condition of recurrent spontaneous seizures arising from abnormal electrical activity in the brain.” (Stafstorm & Rho 2014) Anyone can experience a seizure under the right conditions while epilepsy suggests an enduring variation of brain function that facilitates seizure reoccurrence. At a basic level seizures can be perceived as an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory processes of the brain. The generation and spreading of seizure activity within the brain include abnormalities in the membrane properties of neurons, decreased inhibitory neurotransmission
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People often feel numbness, tingling or a burning sensation in a region of the body, there may be jerking of a limb or twitching of the face. In focal dyscognitive seizures a persons conscious state is altered and people often appear vague, confused or dreamlike. Some response from the person might be gained but it is often inappropriate, strange or repetitive. For example fidgeting or taking off clothing. These seizures usually last between 30 seconds to 3 minutes. When the person recovers from the seizure there is usually confusion and little to no memory of the event. Generalised tonic clonic seizures appear as fits and convulsions. A person will lose consciousness with the body becoming stiff (tonic) shortly followed by jerking of the muscles (clonic). There may be loss of bladder control. These seizures last approximately two minutes. When a person recovers from these seizures a period of confusion, agitation and extreme tiredness occurs. Absence seizures appear as staring, loss of facial expression, unresponsiveness, stopping of an activity and eye blinking and upward eye movement. These seizures last approximately two to ten seconds. Recovery of these seizures is immediate and most people return to their previous action with no memory of the seizure. Myoclonic seizures consist of brief but significant muscle jerks mainly of the upper body but can involve the lower or whole body. There is no imparement of consciousness however if multiple seizures occur over a short period of time a person may become confused. These seizures normally happen shortly after waking up. Tonic seizures are a brief stiffening of the muscles of the whole body causing ridgidity. Recovery in these seizures is immediate but injuries can be sustained. These seizures can occur in your sleep. Atonic Seizures are a sudden brief loss of muscle tone of the whole body.
People often feel numbness, tingling or a burning sensation in a region of the body, there may be jerking of a limb or twitching of the face. In focal dyscognitive seizures a persons conscious state is altered and people often appear vague, confused or dreamlike. Some response from the person might be gained but it is often inappropriate, strange or repetitive. For example fidgeting or taking off clothing. These seizures usually last between 30 seconds to 3 minutes. When the person recovers from the seizure there is usually confusion and little to no memory of the event. Generalised tonic clonic seizures appear as fits and convulsions. A person will lose consciousness with the body becoming stiff (tonic) shortly followed by jerking of the muscles (clonic). There may be loss of bladder control. These seizures last approximately two minutes. When a person recovers from these seizures a period of confusion, agitation and extreme tiredness occurs. Absence seizures appear as staring, loss of facial expression, unresponsiveness, stopping of an activity and eye blinking and upward eye movement. These seizures last approximately two to ten seconds. Recovery of these seizures is immediate and most people return to their previous action with no memory of the seizure. Myoclonic seizures consist of brief but significant muscle jerks mainly of the upper body but can involve the lower or whole body. There is no imparement of consciousness however if multiple seizures occur over a short period of time a person may become confused. These seizures normally happen shortly after waking up. Tonic seizures are a brief stiffening of the muscles of the whole body causing ridgidity. Recovery in these seizures is immediate but injuries can be sustained. These seizures can occur in your sleep. Atonic Seizures are a sudden brief loss of muscle tone of the whole body.