Summarize the following:
Epilepsy is a neurological disease that causes seizures. It mainly works on the nervous system. It more often begins in childhood, though it can come on in adulthood. Sometimes, it appears to be genetic, while other times, it is brought on by head trauma. In epilepsy, the brain's neurons don't send out proper signals. With epileptic seizures, the brain's neurons misfire. Neurons work through electrical signals. Because these signals aren't traveling in their normal patterns, it causes electrical chaos in the brain, which leads to seizures. Seizures are one symptom, but other behaviors can be symptoms. For instance, epilepsy can cause you to behave oddly. It can give you unprovoked emotions or cause you to feel strange things throughout your body. Just because you have seizures doesn't mean you have epilepsy. Non-epileptic seizures are not caused by electrical misfires in the brain, but they do look the same on the outside. These seizures are sometimes caused by stress. Provoked seizures can be caused by abusing substances like alcohol or drugs, but they can also be brought on by other body problems, such as low blood sugar, excessive trauma, or a very high fever. Seizures can range from generalized or grand mal seizures to partial or focal seizures and absence or petite mal seizures. Generalized or grand mal seizures can cause your whole body to go stiff. The stiffness will often release into repeated movements. You may make strange noises or even stop breathing for a period of time. Sometimes, you may go to the bathroom while having a seizure. When coming out of a seizure, you may find yourself very confused and stay confused for part of a day. This type of seizure affects the whole brain. Partial or focal seizures only affect a part of the body, as they only affect a part of the brain. However, they can also lead to confusion, though not always. They can cause similar repeated movements, but it will only be in one or two parts of the body. They can also cause strange feelings, such as suddenly feeling full. Absence or petite small seizures are much smaller events. They generally lead to a person staring off into space or excessively blinking. Four main categories of epilepsy exist, idiopathic generalized epilepsy, idiopathic partial epilepsy, symptomatic generalized epilepsy, and symptomatic partial epilepsy. Idiopathic generalized epilepsy is often genetic and usually the symptoms begin in childhood or young adulthood. This type of epilepsy often isn't paired with a brain abnormality, but it can cause a variety of seizures. Idiopathic partial epilepsy can also be genetic, and it begins even earlier than idiopathic generalized epilepsy. This type of epilepsy is not as severe as other types, only causing minor seizures during sleep, and kids usually outgrow it. Symptomatic generalized epilepsy is paired with trauma in the brain, usually caused at birth. In fact, "symptomatic" means that the epilepsy has a known cause; sometimes types of epilepsy in this category are called "cryptogenic" instead, meaning the epilepsy likely has a specific cause but the doctor hasn't figured out what yet. It often accompanies other neurological problems, such as cerebral palsy, and it can lead to a variety of seizure types. Symptomatic partial epilepsy is the most common type to begin in adulthood, though it can also come on earlier. This type is also caused by some kind of trauma to the brain, leading to abnormalities, such as infections, strokes, or tumors. This type can be treated through brain surgery, which removes the part of the brain causing the problem. The main named types of epilepsy fall into one of these categories. For instance, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome falls under symptomatic generalized epilepsy.
Know what epilepsy is. Know what happens. Look for the symptoms. Know the signs of a seizure. Understand the categories of epilepsy.