Types of Seizures
There are many different types of seizures. People may experience just one type or more than one. The kind of seizure a person has depends on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance that produces seizures. Experts divide seizures into generalized seizures (absence,atonic, tonic-clonic,myoclonic), partial (simple and complex) seizures,nonepilepticseizures and statusepilepticus.
Generalized Seizures
Generalized seizures affect both cerebral hemispheres (sides of the brain) from the beginning of the seizure. They produce loss of consciousness, either briefly or for a longer period of time, and are sub-categorized into several major types: generalized tonicclonic;myoclonic; absence; andatonic.
| Type | Duration | Seizure Symptoms | Postictal(post-seizure) Symptoms |
| Absence (petitmalseizure) | 2 to 15 seconds | Stare
Eyes fluttering
Automatisms(such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling) if prolonged | Amnesia for seizure events
No confusion
Promptly resumes activity |
| Generalized Tonic-Clonic(grandmal) | 1 to 2 minutes | A cry
Fall
Tonicity(rigidity)
Clonicity(jerking)
May havecyanosis | Amnesia for seizure events
Confusion
Deep sleep |
Generalized tonicclonicseizures (grandmalseizures) are the most common and best known type of generalized seizure. They begin with stiffening of the limbs (the tonic phase), followed by jerking of the limbs and face (theclonicphase).
Myoclonicseizures are rapid, brief contractions of bodily muscles, which usually occur at the same time on both sides of the body. Occasionally, they involve one arm or a foot. People usually think of them as sudden jerks or clumsiness. A variant of the experience, common to many people who do not have epilepsy, is the sudden jerk of a foot during sleep. First aid is usually not needed, however, a person having amyoclonicseizure for the first time should receive a thorough medical evaluation.
Atonicseizures produce an abrupt loss of muscle tone. Other names for this type of seizure include drop attacks,astaticorakineticseizures. They produce head drops, loss of posture, or sudden collapse. Because they are so abrupt, without any warning, and because the people who experience them fall with force,atonicseizures can result in injuries to the head and face. Protective headgear is sometimes used by children and adults; the seizures tend to be resistant to drug therapy. No first aid is needed (unless there is injury from the fall), but if this is a firstatonicseizure, the child should be given a thorough medical evaluation.
Absence seizures (also calledpetitmalseizures) are lapses of awareness, sometimes with staring, that begin and end abruptly, lasting only a few seconds. There is no warning and no after-effect. More common in children than in adults, absence seizures are frequently so brief that they escape detection, even if the child is experiencing 50 to 100 attacks daily. They may occur for several months before a child is sent for a medical evaluation.
Infantile Spasms are clusters of quick, sudden movements that start between 3 months and two years. If a child is sitting up, the head will fall forward, and the arms will flex forward. If lying down, the knees will be drawn up, with arms and head flexed forward as if the baby is reaching for support. What to Do: No first aid, but doctor should be consulted.
Partial Seizures
In partial seizures the electrical disturbance is limited to a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere (side of the brain). Partial seizures are subdivided into simple partial seizures (in which consciousness is retained); and complex partial seizures (in which consciousness is impaired or lost). Partial seizures may spread to cause a generalized seizure, in which case the classification category is partial seizures secondarily generalized.
Partial seizures are the most common type of seizure experienced by people with epilepsy. Virtually any movement, sensory, or emotional symptom can occur as part of a partial seizure, including complex visual or auditory hallucinations.
| Type | Duration | Seizure Symptoms | Postictal (post-seizure) Symptoms |
| Simple Partial | 90 seconds | No loss of consciousness.
Sudden jerking
sensory phenomena | Possible transient weakness or loss of sensation |
| Complex partial | 1 to 2 minutes | May have aura
Automatisms (such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling)
Unaware of environment
May wander | Amnesia for seizure events
Mild to moderate confusion
sleepy |
Key Things to Remember about Partial Seizures
Although partial seizures affect different physical, emotional, or sensory functions of the brain, they have some things in common:
- They don't last long. Most last only a minute or two, although people may be confused and need a lot more time afterwards to recover fully.
- They end naturally. Except in rare cases, the brain has its own way of bringing the seizure safely to an end after a minute or two.
- You can't stop them. In an emergency, doctors may use drugs to bring a lengthy, non-stop seizure to an end. However, the average person should wait for the seizure to run its course and try to protect the person from harm while consciousness is clouded. People who have been shown how to use a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) magnet may try to stop a partial seizure in that way.
- They are not dangerous to others. The movements produced by a seizure are almost always too vague, too unorganized and too confused to threaten the safety of anyone else.
Nonepileptic seizures are episodes that briefly change a person's behavior and often look like epileptic seizures. The person having nonepileptic seizures may have internal sensations that resemble those felt during an epileptic seizure. The difference in these two kinds of episodes is often hard to recognize by just watching the event, even by trained medical personnel.
But there is an important difference. Epileptic seizures are caused by abnormal electrical changes in the brain and, in particular, in its outer layer, called the cortex. Nonepileptic seizures are not caused by electrical disruptions in the brain.
Most seizures end after a few moments or a few minutes. If seizures are prolonged, or occur in a series, there is an increased risk of status epilepticus. The term literally means a continuous state of seizure.
I don't know how to categorizeBrayden'sspells but since I don't believe them to be painful, nor interfere with his daily activities to an extreme, I don't even pay attention to them nor worry that they need to be controlled. We've been very lucky on that level, but that doesn't mean that it won't be something that we're faced with in the future.
Fortunately, there are many ways to treat seizures...unfortunately, some things work better for some than for others. Some medications can be used in combination, but it takes a lot of trial-and-error to find a combination that works, and then sometimes the combination will work for a while then need some adjusting. There is also a special diet, called theKetogenicDiet, which works very well for some children that can tolerate the very high fat content entailed. It also has the plus side of controlling seizures on it's own, while eliminating some or all of the medications. In some cases, seizures are so difficult to control that a surgery is the best means to control them. AVagusNerve Stimulation which is a simple, outpatient surgery that last about an hour and is highly effective without the side-effects of various medications.
Yes, seizures with a question mark. Actually, I've kind of come to realize that everything involving the brain should be followed with a question mark! The first time I mentioned seizures to my neurologist, they informed me that sinceBraydendidn't have the parts of his brain where seizure activity takes place, the cortex, they were certain that he wasn't having seizures. Now after doing a whole lot of research, I knew that to be different, and even after an EEG was performed to "rule out" seizure activity I continued to push the issue.
Types of Seizures
There are many different types of seizures. People may experience just one type or more than one. The kind of seizure a person has depends on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance that produces seizures. Experts divide seizures into generalized seizures (absence,atonic, tonic-clonic,myoclonic), partial (simple and complex) seizures,nonepilepticseizures and statusepilepticus.
Generalized Seizures
Generalized seizures affect both cerebral hemispheres (sides of the brain) from the beginning of the seizure. They produce loss of consciousness, either briefly or for a longer period of time, and are sub-categorized into several major types: generalized tonicclonic;myoclonic; absence; andatonic.
Eyes fluttering
Automatisms(such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling) if prolonged
No confusion
Promptly resumes activity
Fall
Tonicity(rigidity)
Clonicity(jerking)
May havecyanosis
Confusion
Deep sleep
Generalized tonicclonicseizures (grandmalseizures) are the most common and best known type of generalized seizure. They begin with stiffening of the limbs (the tonic phase), followed by jerking of the limbs and face (theclonicphase).
Myoclonicseizures are rapid, brief contractions of bodily muscles, which usually occur at the same time on both sides of the body. Occasionally, they involve one arm or a foot. People usually think of them as sudden jerks or clumsiness. A variant of the experience, common to many people who do not have epilepsy, is the sudden jerk of a foot during sleep. First aid is usually not needed, however, a person having amyoclonicseizure for the first time should receive a thorough medical evaluation.
Atonicseizures produce an abrupt loss of muscle tone. Other names for this type of seizure include drop attacks,astaticorakineticseizures. They produce head drops, loss of posture, or sudden collapse. Because they are so abrupt, without any warning, and because the people who experience them fall with force,atonicseizures can result in injuries to the head and face. Protective headgear is sometimes used by children and adults; the seizures tend to be resistant to drug therapy. No first aid is needed (unless there is injury from the fall), but if this is a firstatonicseizure, the child should be given a thorough medical evaluation.
Absence seizures (also calledpetitmalseizures) are lapses of awareness, sometimes with staring, that begin and end abruptly, lasting only a few seconds. There is no warning and no after-effect. More common in children than in adults, absence seizures are frequently so brief that they escape detection, even if the child is experiencing 50 to 100 attacks daily. They may occur for several months before a child is sent for a medical evaluation.
Infantile Spasms are clusters of quick, sudden movements that start between 3 months and two years. If a child is sitting up, the head will fall forward, and the arms will flex forward. If lying down, the knees will be drawn up, with arms and head flexed forward as if the baby is reaching for support. What to Do: No first aid, but doctor should be consulted.
Partial Seizures
In partial seizures the electrical disturbance is limited to a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere (side of the brain). Partial seizures are subdivided into simple partial seizures (in which consciousness is retained); and complex partial seizures (in which consciousness is impaired or lost). Partial seizures may spread to cause a generalized seizure, in which case the classification category is partial seizures secondarily generalized.
Partial seizures are the most common type of seizure experienced by people with epilepsy. Virtually any movement, sensory, or emotional symptom can occur as part of a partial seizure, including complex visual or auditory hallucinations.
Sudden jerking
sensory phenomena
Automatisms (such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling)
Unaware of environment
May wander
Mild to moderate confusion
sleepy
Key Things to Remember about Partial Seizures
Although partial seizures affect different physical, emotional, or sensory functions of the brain, they have some things in common:
Nonepileptic Seizures
Nonepileptic seizures are episodes that briefly change a person's behavior and often look like epileptic seizures. The person having nonepileptic seizures may have internal sensations that resemble those felt during an epileptic seizure. The difference in these two kinds of episodes is often hard to recognize by just watching the event, even by trained medical personnel.
But there is an important difference. Epileptic seizures are caused by abnormal electrical changes in the brain and, in particular, in its outer layer, called the cortex. Nonepileptic seizures are not caused by electrical disruptions in the brain.
Status Epilepticus
Most seizures end after a few moments or a few minutes. If seizures are prolonged, or occur in a series, there is an increased risk of status epilepticus. The term literally means a continuous state of seizure.
I don't know how to categorizeBrayden'sspells but since I don't believe them to be painful, nor interfere with his daily activities to an extreme, I don't even pay attention to them nor worry that they need to be controlled. We've been very lucky on that level, but that doesn't mean that it won't be something that we're faced with in the future.
Fortunately, there are many ways to treat seizures...unfortunately, some things work better for some than for others. Some medications can be used in combination, but it takes a lot of trial-and-error to find a combination that works, and then sometimes the combination will work for a while then need some adjusting. There is also a special diet, called theKetogenicDiet, which works very well for some children that can tolerate the very high fat content entailed. It also has the plus side of controlling seizures on it's own, while eliminating some or all of the medications. In some cases, seizures are so difficult to control that a surgery is the best means to control them. AVagusNerve Stimulation which is a simple, outpatient surgery that last about an hour and is highly effective without the side-effects of various medications.