What is epilepsy?

It's important to educate yourself on epilepsy — what it looks like and what it means. Here is some information about what exactly epilepsy is.

SEIZURE FIRST AID

When someone is having a seizure, it's important to remember these 3 steps: STAY, SAFE, and SIDE.

1. STAY with the person and start timing the seizure.

2. Keep the person SAFE.

3.Turn the person onto their SIDE if they are not awake and aware.

what is epilepsy?

Epilepsy — sometimes called a seizure disorder — is a chronic, unpredicatable neurological condition.

Epilepsy is characterized by intermittent electrical and chemical disturbances in the brain that cause seizures which affect awareness, movement, or sensation.

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their life.

what is a seizure?

A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain.

The nature of seizures varies, because the lobes of the brain control different behaviors, movements, and experiences.

There are also different types of seizures, generally described in two major groups: generalized seizures and focal seizures. The difference in types of seizures is how and where they begin in the brain.

what causes a seizure?

Some people find that seizures occur in a pattern or are more likely to occur in certain situations.

Sometimes these connections are just by chance, but other times it’s not. Keeping track of these connections, or as we call them seizure triggers, is important to recognizing when a seizure may occur.

Some of the most common seizure triggers are a lack of sleep, increased stress, or having seizures while sleeping which can impact your amount of rest.