The body will at first become stiff and then their arms and legs will begin twitching.

Tonic-clonic seizures or convulsions, which used to be known as ‘grand mal’, have two stages.

Like atonic seizures, there is a risk of injury. Tonic seizures cause all the person’s muscles to suddenly become stiff, which can mean they lose balance and fall over. Atonic seizures cause all of the person’s muscles to suddenly relax, so there is a chance they may fall to the ground and there is a risk they could suffer an injury.Clonic seizures cause the same sort of twitching as myoclonic jerks, except the symptoms will last longer, normally up to two minutes.Myoclonic jerks often happen in the first few hours after waking up and can occur in combination with other types of generalised seizures.The seizures often only last for a fraction of a second, and the person will normally stay conscious during this time.Myoclonic seizures cause a person’s arms, legs or upper body to jerk or twitch, as if they have received an electric shock.Absences can occur several times a day - they may affect a child's performance at school, and can be dangerous if they occur at a critical time, such as crossing a busy road.The person will have no memory of the seizure.They cause the person to lose awareness of their surroundings, usually for up to 15 seconds - the person will seem to stare vacantly into space, although some people will flutter their eyes or smack their lips.

Absence seizures, which used to be called ‘petit mal’, mainly affect children, but they also occur in adults.There are six main types of generalised seizure. chewing or swallowing repeatedly, though not eating anythingĪ person experiencing a seizure like this will not be able to respond to anyone else during the seizure, and will have no memory of the event afterwards.Complex partial seizuresĬomplex partial seizures are when you lose your sense of awareness and can’t remember what happened after the seizure has passed.ĭuring a complex partial seizure, a person will be unresponsive and may display unusual and random bodily behaviour, such as: These seizures can occur in isolation, but sometimes they can be a sign that another type of seizure is on its way, and are described as 'warnings' or 'auras'. This can give a person experiencing them time to warn people around them and make sure they are in a safe place before suffering a complex seizure. stiffness or twitching in part of the body, such as an arm or hand.a sudden intense feeling of fear or joy.a tingling sensation, or ‘pins and needles’, in your arms and legs.an intense feeling that events have happened before (déjà vu).a ‘rising’ feeling in your tummy – sometimes likened to the sensation in your stomach when on a fairground ride.a general strange feeling that is hard to describe.Symptoms of a simple partial seizure can include: Simple partial seizures are where you stay fully conscious throughout. There are two main types of partial seizure. Some seizures do not fit into these categories and are known as unclassified seizures. generalised seizures – where most or all of the brain is affected.partial (or focal) seizures – where only a small part of the brain is affected.Seizures can occur when you are awake or asleep.ĭoctors classify seizures by how much of the brain is affected. Seizures may lead to a person experiencing changes to: The symptoms experienced during a seizure depend on where the abnormal electrical activity in the brain is, and the extent to which it spreads. The type, frequency, duration and severity of seizures can differ from person to person. Seizures, caused by epilepsy, are due to abnormal uncoordinated electrical activity in the brain. Symptoms of epilepsyīrain cells and nerves normally conduct electrical signals in a controlled and coordinated way, when they are active. Epilepsy can start at any age, but it most often begins during childhood. The type of seizures and symptoms they cause can differ from person to person. Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes seizures (fits) to occur.

Nocturnal epilepsy treatment