What are the 3 types of epilepsy?

They are:
  • generalized epilepsy.
  • focal epilepsy.
  • combined generalized and focal epilepsy.
  • unknown epilepsy.
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What is the most common type of epilepsy?

Temporal lobe seizures, a category of focal seizures, are the most common type of epilepsy. The temporal lobe is located beneath the temples, on either side of the head. It is responsible for memory, emotions, interpreting sound, and understanding language.
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What are the four types of epilepsy?

Experts now divide epilepsy into four basic types based on the seizures you're having:
  • Generalized epilepsy.
  • Focal epilepsy.
  • Generalized and focal epilepsy.
  • Unknown if generalized or focal epilepsy.
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What are 3 common seizure types?

Tonic, Clonic and Tonic-Clonic (Formerly called Grand Mal) Seizures.
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What are the two main types of epilepsy?

Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain.
  • Absence seizures, sometimes called petit mal seizures, can cause rapid blinking or a few seconds of staring into space.
  • Tonic-clonic seizures, also called grand mal seizures, can make a person. Cry out. Lose consciousness. Fall to the ground.
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Epilepsy: Types of seizures, Symptoms, Pathophysiology, Causes and Treatments, Animation.



What is the difference between seizures and epilepsy?

A seizure is a single occurrence, whereas epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by two or more unprovoked seizures.
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How do I know what type of epilepsy I have?

Having tests like an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan to look at the brain and EEG (electroencephalogram) tests to record the electrical activity of the brain are very helpful to diagnose types of seizures and epilepsy properly.
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What 3 things can cause seizures?

Fever, the physical stress of being sick, and dehydration (from not drinking or eating normally, or from vomiting) can all bring on seizures. It can also be hard to get a good night's sleep while sick, and lack of sleep can be a trigger. Plus, some of the medications used to treat these ailments may be triggers.
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What are the main causes of epilepsy?

Causes of epilepsy
  • a stroke.
  • a brain tumour.
  • a severe head injury.
  • drug abuse or alcohol misuse.
  • a brain infection.
  • a lack of oxygen during birth.
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What is the difference between a seizure and a grand mal?

A grand mal seizure causes a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. It's the type of seizure most people picture when they think about seizures. A grand mal seizure — also known as a generalized tonic-clonic seizure — is caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain.
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Is epilepsy a disability?

Is Epilepsy Considered A Disability? Epilepsy is considered a disability and it has a listing in the Social Security Administration (SSA) Blue Book. For epilepsy to qualify for disability benefits, it must meet the criteria of the Blue Book listing. There are different listings for epilepsy in the Blue Book.
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What is the difference between clonic and myoclonic seizures?

The distinction between myoclonic seizures and clonic seizures is not clear. Classically, clonic seizures are rapid rhythmically recurrent events, whereas myoclonic seizures are single or irregularly recurrent events. Mechanisms are different from those of the clonic phase of generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
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Are you born with epilepsy or does it develop?

It can also happen during birth. You may not get epilepsy until long after your brain injury -- sometimes years later. Brain conditions. Most cases of epilepsy in people older than 35 happen because of brain damage from a stroke or even after brain surgery.
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What is the rarest form of epilepsy?

What is Dravet syndrome? Dravet syndrome is a rare, genetic epileptic encephalopathy that gives rise to seizures that don't respond well to seizure medications. It begins in the first year of life in an otherwise healthy infant.
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What does epilepsy do to a person?

Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Anyone can develop epilepsy. Epilepsy affects both males and females of all races, ethnic backgrounds and ages.
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Does epilepsy get worse with age?

The incidence of any type of seizure increases substantially over the age of 60, commonly due to other neurological conditions such as dementia or stroke.
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What are the warning signs of epilepsy?

Epilepsy: Seizure Triggers, Warning Signs, and Symptoms
  • Temporary confusion—often described as a “fuzzy” feeling.
  • A staring spell.
  • Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs.
  • Loss of consciousness or awareness.
  • Psychic symptoms—out-of-body feelings or not feeling “in the moment”
  • Memory lapses.
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What should epileptics avoid?

Seizure triggers
  • Not taking epilepsy medicine as prescribed.
  • Feeling tired and not sleeping well.
  • Stress.
  • Alcohol and recreational drugs.
  • Flashing or flickering lights.
  • Monthly periods.
  • Missing meals.
  • Having an illness which causes a high temperature.
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Does stress cause epilepsy?

Stress can sometimes contribute to people developing epilepsy in the first place. This is more likely if your stress is severe, lasts a long time, or has affected you very early in life. In very young children, stress affects the development of the brain.
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Can epilepsy make you tired all the time?

Epilepsy patients frequently complain of fatigue. Fatigue is the mental and/or physical experience of extreme and persistent tiredness, weakness, or exhaustion [1]. The complaint of fatigue is more common in epilepsy patients than in the general population according to a population-based study [2].
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Is epilepsy a mental illness?

Epilepsy is not a mental illness. In fact, the vast majority of people living with epilepsy have no cognitive or psychological problem.
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What part of the brain does epilepsy affect?

The temporal lobes are the areas of the brain that most commonly give rise to seizures. The mesial portion (middle) of both temporal lobes is very important in epilepsy — it is frequently the source of seizures and can be prone to damage or scarring.
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What happens to your brain when you have a seizure?

During a seizure, there is a sudden intense burst of electricity that disrupts how the brain usually works. This activity can happen on one small part of the brain and last for just a couple of seconds, or it can spread right across the brain and keep going for many minutes.
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Can stress cause seizures without epilepsy?

Even in people without epilepsy, stress and anxiety can trigger PNES, which are also known as pseudoseizures. PNES are physiologically different from the neurological seizures found in epilepsy.
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What does a seizure feel like in your head?

You're not likely to lose consciousness, but you might feel sweaty or nauseated. Complex focal seizures: These usually happen in the part of your brain that controls emotion and memory. You may lose consciousness but still look like you're awake, or you may do things like gag, smack your lips, laugh, or cry.
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