Epilepsy affects people of all ages, male and female. It often begins in childhood or adolescence. The disorder tends to run in families but is not contagious. The most common symptom is a seizure, of which there are many types. The type depends on the part of the brain the seizure starts in, how fast it takes place, and how wide an area of the brain it involves.
Involvement is confined to small areas of the brain with a partial seizure.
These are also called absence or petit mal seizures. Symptoms include staring into space and repeated blinking. The person is not aware of the seizure. Someone else may think he or she is daydreaming or not paying attention. These types of seizures can occur once a day or more than 100 times a day.