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 aren't normal. Seizures may cause problems with muscle control, movement, speech, vision, or awareness. In most cases, they 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 intellectual disability.

Seizures may look scary or strange. But they don't make a person crazy, violent, or dangerous. You can't catch epilepsy from other people (like you can catch a cold), and they can't catch it from you.

The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures that happen without warning. Without treatment, seizures may continue and become worse and happen more often 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, an illness, or another problem. In these cases, the seizures stop when that problem improves or goes away.

It can be hard to diagnose epilepsy. A physical exam and your detailed medical history often give the best clues as to whether you have epilepsy and what type of epilepsy and seizures you have.

If you think that you've 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 to find out what happened to you just before, during, and right after a seizure. Your doctor will also check you and do some tests, such as an electroencephalogram (EEG). This information can help your doctor decide what kind of seizures you have and if you have epilepsy.

You can take medicines to control and reduce seizures. You and your doctor will need to find the right combination, schedule, and dose of medicine. After you find a medicine that works for you, take it exactly as prescribed.

If medicine alone doesn't control your seizures, your doctor may recommend other treatments. They include:

• Surgery to remove tissue in the brain or the area of brain tissue where seizures start.
• A special diet in which you eat more fat and less carbohydrate.
• A vagus nerve stimulator. This device sends weak signals to the vagus nerve in your neck and to your brain to help control seizures.
• A responsive neurostimulation system. This device senses when a seizure may be starting. It sends a weak signal to prevent the seizure.
• Deep brain stimulation (DBS). This device sends signals to change the activity in an area of the brain involved in seizures.

If you are using antiepileptic medicine, take it exactly as prescribed. These medicines will work best with the right medicine level in your body. Your doctor will set up a schedule of doses that keeps the right medicine levels in your body.

If you're on a special ketogenic diet to help prevent seizures, follow the diet carefully.

As you follow your treatment plan, try to figure out and avoid things that may make you more likely to have a seizure. These may include:

• Not getting enough sleep.
• Using drugs or alcohol.
• Being emotionally stressed.
• Skipping meals.

If you keep having seizures despite treatment, keep a record of any seizures you have. Note the date, time of day, and any details about the seizure that you can remember. Your doctor can use this information to plan or adjust your medicine or other treatment.