What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a common condition that causes repeated seizures. The seizures are caused by bursts of electrical activity in the brain that are not normal. Seizures may cause problems with muscle control, movement, speech, vision, or awareness. They usually don't last very long, but they can be scary. The good news is that treatment usually works to control and reduce seizures.

Epilepsy is not a type of mental illness or retardation. It does not affect how well you think or learn. You can't get epilepsy from someone else, and they can't get it from you.

What causes epilepsy?

Often doctors do not know what causes epilepsy. Less than half of people with epilepsy know why they have it. Sometimes another problem, such as a head injury, brain tumor, brain infection, or stroke, causes epilepsy.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures that happen without warning. Without treatment, seizures may continue and even become worse and more frequent over time.

There are different kinds of seizures. You may have only one type of seizure. Some people have more than one type. Depending on what kind of seizure you have:

• Your senses may not work right. For example, you may notice strange smells or sounds.
• You may lose control of your muscles.
• You may fall down, and your body may twitch or jerk.
• You may stare off into space.
• You may faint (lose consciousness).

Not everyone who has seizures has epilepsy. Sometimes seizures happen because of an injury, illness, or another problem. In these cases, the seizures stop once that problem improves or goes away.

How is epilepsy diagnosed?

Diagnosing epilepsy can be hard. If you think that you or your child has had a seizure, your doctor will first try to figure out if it was a seizure or something else with similar symptoms. For example, a muscle tic or a migraine headache may look or feel like a kind of seizure.

Your doctor will ask lots of questions. He or she will want to know what happened to you just before, during, and right after a seizure. Your doctor will also examine you and do some tests, such as an EEG. This information can help your doctor decide what kind of seizures you have and if you have epilepsy.

How is epilepsy treated?

Medicine controls seizures in many people with epilepsy. The goal is to find an effective drug that causes the fewest side effects. Once you find a medicine that works for you, take it exactly as prescribed. The best way to prevent more seizures is to keep the right amount of the drug in your body. To do that, you need to take the drug in the right dose and at the right times every day.

If medicine alone does not control your seizures, your doctor may try one or more of these other treatments. They include:

• Surgery to remove damaged tissue in the brain or the area of brain tissue where seizures begin.
• A special diet called the ketogenic diet. With this diet, you eat a lot more fat and less carbohydrate. This diet reduces seizures in some children with epilepsy.
• A device called a vagus nerve stimulator. Your doctor implants the device under your skin near your collarbone. It sends weak signals to the vagus nerve in your neck and to your brain to help control seizures.

How will epilepsy affect my life?

Epilepsy affects each person differently. Some people have only a few seizures. Other people get them more often. Usually seizures are harmless, but depending on where you are and what you are doing when you have a seizure, you could get hurt. Talk to your doctor about whether it is safe for you to drive or swim.

If you know what triggers a seizure, you may be able to avoid having one. Getting regular sleep and avoiding stress may help. If treatment controls your seizures, you have a good chance of living and working like everyone else.

But seizures can happen even when you do everything you are supposed to do. If you continue to have seizures, help is available. Ask your doctor about what services are available in your area.

For parents, it is normal to worry about what will happen to your child if he or she has a seizure. But it is also important to help your child live, play, and learn like other children. Talk to your child's teachers and caregivers. Teach them what to do if your child has a seizure.

There are many ways to lower your child's risk of injury and still let him or her live as normally as possible. For example, learn about water safety for children who have seizures.