What do focal seizures look like?

Patients experiencing a complex focal seizure may stare blankly into space, or experience automatisms (non-purposeful, repetitive movements such as lip smacking, blinking, grunting, gulping or shouting).
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What are the symptoms of a focal seizure?

What are the symptoms of a focal seizure?
  • muscle contractions, followed by relaxation.
  • contractions on just one side of your body.
  • unusual head or eye movements.
  • numbness, tingling, or a feeling that something is crawling on your skin.
  • abdominal pain.
  • rapid heart rate or pulse.
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What does a focal impaired seizure look like?

Someone who's having a focal impaired awareness seizure has a blank look on their face or might look like they're daydreaming. They can't respond to what is going on around them. They may also: open and close their lips loudly or make chewing motions.
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What happens during a focal aware seizure?

Focal aware seizures (also called focal onset aware or simple partial seizures) is a seizure that happens while a person is awake and alert and aware of what is going on. During the seizure, the person may have movements, feelings, or sensations that are out of their control. They usually last less than 2 minutes.
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Can you talk during a focal seizure?

A person may even be able to speak, but the words are unlikely to make sense and he or she will not be able to respond to others in an appropriate way. Although complex partial seizures can affect any area of the brain, they often take place in one the brain's two temporal lobes.
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Epilepsy in schools: what does a focal seizure look like?



What do mini seizures look like?

Absence seizures involve brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. They're more common in children than in adults. Someone having an absence seizure may look like he or she is staring blankly into space for a few seconds. Then, there is a quick return to a normal level of alertness.
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How do you feel after a focal seizure?

You might feel fine after a focal seizure and be able to get back to what you were doing straight away. Or you might feel confused or tired for some time afterwards. You might need to sleep. Some people find they have temporary weakness or can't move part of their body after they've had a seizure.
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How do I know if I've had a seizure?

What are the symptoms of a seizure?
  1. Staring.
  2. Jerking movements of the arms and legs.
  3. Stiffening of the body.
  4. Loss of consciousness.
  5. Breathing problems or stopping breathing.
  6. Loss of bowel or bladder control.
  7. Falling suddenly for no apparent reason, especially when associated with loss of consciousness.
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Which of the following is characteristic of a focal onset aware seizure?

When people have focal aware seizures, they are fully awake, alert, and able to recall events during the seizure. Some are "frozen" during the seizure, so they may or may not be able to respond to others during the seizures. Overall, these seizures are brief, usually lasting less than 2 minutes.
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Do focal seizures come in clusters?

Who Gets Seizure Clusters? People who get seizures that start on one side of the brain (called focal onset) are more likely to have clusters.
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What age do focal seizures start?

Epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures is a very rare form of epilepsy. The typical age of onset is before 6 months with an average age of onset of 3 months of age. It equally affects boys and girls. The seizures in this syndrome are characterized by focal tonic seizures or focal clonic seizures.
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What is the main difference between focal and generalized seizures?

Focal onset seizures start in one area and can spread across the brain and cause mild or severe symptoms, depending on how the electrical discharges spread. Generalized seizures can start as focal seizures that spread to both sides of the brain.
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What are the four types of focal seizures?

Focal epilepsy seizures come in four categories:
  • Focal aware seizures. If you know what's happening during the seizure, it's an "aware" seizure. ...
  • Focal impaired awareness seizures. ...
  • Focal motor seizures. ...
  • Focal non-motor seizures.
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Can stress cause focal seizures?

Emotional stress also can lead to seizures. Emotional stress is usually related to a situation or event that has personal meaning to you. It may be a situation in which you feel a loss of control. In particular, the kind of emotional stress that leads to most seizures is worry or fear.
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How common are focal seizures?

Focal seizures are the most common type of seizure that affects both adults and children. Approximately 36% of people who experience seizures have complex focal seizures involving a loss of consciousness.
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How is focal seizure diagnosed?

Imaging. If your doctor suspects a focal onset seizure, it's very common to follow up with a CT or MRI. Both can help find out where in the brain it happened and what caused it. An MRI is more likely if your doctor needs an image with fine detail.
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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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Can a doctor tell if you've had a seizure?

Electroencephalogram (EEG) – Using electrodes attached to your head, your doctors can measure the electrical activity in your brain. This helps to look for patterns to determine if and when another seizure might occur, and it can also help them rule out other possibilities.
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Do focal seizures cause brain damage?

Most types of seizures do not cause damage to the brain. However, having a prolonged, uncontrolled seizure can cause harm. Because of this, treat any seizure lasting over 5 minutes as a medical emergency.
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Do people remember seizures?

In focal aware seizures (FAS), previously called simple partial seizures, the person is conscious (aware and alert) and will usually know that something is happening and will remember the seizure afterwards. Some people find their focal aware seizures hard to put into words.
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Can focal aware seizures get worse?

Focal seizures can get worse if they are not treated, allowing for more serious symptoms to develop.
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What can mimic a seizure?

Episodes Mistaken for Seizures
  • About Seizures. Neurologists define seizures as abnormal and excessive electrical signals in the brain. ...
  • Types of Seizures. There are 3 broad categories of epileptic seizures. ...
  • Fainting Disorders. ...
  • Staring. ...
  • Movement Disorders. ...
  • Confusional Migraines. ...
  • Night Terrors.
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Is an absence seizure a focal seizure?

Seizures that involve staring and a change in awareness are sometimes mislabeled as absence seizures. People often confuse absence seizures with focal impaired awareness seizures. There are some key signs that happen before and after a seizure that help us to decide which type of seizure a person is having.
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Can anxiety cause seizures?

If you have already been diagnosed with epilepsy then yes, anxiety can cause seizures. Severe stress is a very common seizure trigger, and those with severe anxiety often experience severe stress. However, it should be noted that this is far more common with those who already have epilepsy.
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