Question

Are nighttime seizures in children a sign of epilepsy? What are the common symptoms of epilepsy?

Answer

Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, with symptoms that can be categorized into several types based on the nature of the attack :

  1. Grand Mal Seizures (also known as Generalized Seizures): These seizures account for about half of all epilepsy seizures and are commonly seen in children around 1 year old or adolescents between 14 to 17 years. Grand Mal seizures can be divided into four stages:
    • Aura: This includes dizziness and stomach discomfort.
    • tonic phase: Sudden loss of consciousness, falling to the ground, head thrown back, muscle stiffness, accompanied by a braying sound, face turning purple, dilated pupils, temporary cessation of breathing, duration varies.
    • Clonic phase: Sudden rhythmic muscle contractions throughout the body, often biting the tongue, foaming at the mouth, possible loss of bladder and bowel control, usually lasting 1 to 3 minutes.
    • Recovery phase: May take several tens of minutes to regain consciousness; patients have no memory of the episode, experience body pain and fatigue.
  2. Petit Mal Seizures (also known as Absence Seizures): Characterized by brief loss of consciousness