Hesperian Health Guides
Understanding epilepsy and seizures
What is a seizure?
The brain is the center of electrical activity in our bodies. Every thought, feeling, and body movement we have is a result of the brain’s electrical activity. A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled, and temporary disturbance to the brain’s electrical activity.
Seizures can make a person lose control over their muscles and sometimes fall to the ground. Their muscles may stiffen and cause their arms and legs to make jerking movements. With some seizures, a person may stare blankly, become unresponsive for a few seconds, move suddenly, or do things like smack their lips, drool or chew, or pick at their clothing.
How a seizure affects a person’s awareness is different for each person. Some people lose consciousness. Others can hear but cannot respond, while some can hear but are confused and take longer to respond. Sometimes people feel a tingling in their arms or legs, hot or cold flashes, or other sensations, including emotions such as fear, anxiety, or unexpected joy.
Most seizures last less than 2 minutes. Some are only a few seconds.
After a seizure, people may feel tired, confused, dizzy, or have a headache.
Although they feel poorly, most cannot remember anything about their seizure.
Not all seizures are caused by epilepsy, but a main feature of epilepsy is that seizures happen repeatedly.