About epilepsy

If you have been diagnosed with epilepsy, it means that you have a tendency to have seizures (sometimes called fits).

Electrical activity is happening in our brain all the time. A seizure happens when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity. This intense activity causes a temporary disruption to the way our brains normally work, meaning that the brain’s messages become mixed up. The result is an epileptic seizure.

In this information, the term ‘epileptic activity’ is used to talk about this intense electrical activity.

About seizures

Seizures usually last between a few seconds and several minutes. In between seizures, the electrical activity in your brain returns to normal.

Some people have seizures only when they are awake. Other people have seizures only when they are asleep. Some people may have both.

Seizure types

There are many different types of seizure. They can be classed by which part or parts of the brain the epileptic activity starts in.

• Partial seizures (also called focal or localised seizures) involve epileptic activity in just a part of the brain. You may remain alert during this type of seizure or you may not be aware of what is happening. You may experience involuntary movements or unusual sensations or feelings. Onlookers may not be aware that you are having a seizure.
• Generalised seizures involve epileptic activity in both halves of the brain. You usually lose consciousness during this type of seizure. The muscles in your body may stiffen and/or jerk. You will often fall down and onlookers will be able to see that you are having a seizure.
• Sometimes, the epileptic activity that starts as a partial seizure can spread to the rest of your brain and become a generalised seizure.

When epilepsy begins in later life, you are most likely to have partial seizures. These could lead on to a generalised seizure.

Some people use different words to describe seizures, including the old terms ‘petit-mal’ and ‘grand-mal’. ‘Petit-mal’ refers to a type of childhood epilepsy. ‘Grand-mal’ refers to generalised seizures.

• More information about seizure types  

Some facts and figures

• There are around 50 million people with epilepsy in the world.
• There are around 600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK.
• About one in every four new cases of epilepsy occurs in people aged over 65 years.
• If you have been diagnosed with epilepsy, you are a ‘person with epilepsy’. The word ‘epileptic’ is only used to describe a seizure, not a person.