Epilepsy - Types of Epilepsy,, Types of Seizures and treatment

Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease, it can affect people of all ages.

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It is characterized by recurrent seizures:
Seizures are brief episodes of involuntary movement of body parts or the entire body, and sometimes are accompanied by loss of consciousness.
Seizures are caused by abnormally excessive, or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.
It is called electrical discharges in the group of brain cells.
Seizures can vary in frequency, from less than one per year, to several per day.
One seizure does not signify epilepsy, for diagnosis of epilepsy 2 or more unprovoked seizures are needed.
Severity and nature of seizures is defined, by abnormal activity location in brain, and how far this excessive activity spreads.
There are several types of seizures:
1. Generalized seizures. affect both sides of the brain.
Generalized seizure can be two types.
Absence seizures and Tonic-clonic seizures.
Absence seizures Can cause rapid eye blinking, or a few seconds of staring into space. Sometimes it is hard to tell, when a person is having a absence seizure. A person having a seizure may seem confused or look like they are staring at something that isn’t there.
Seconf form of Generalized seizures is: Tonic-clonic seizures. also called grand mal seizures. It can make a person
Cry out.
Lose consciousness.
Fall to the ground.
Have muscle jerks or spasms.
The person may feel tired after a tonic-clonic seizure.
Tonic means Muscles in the body become stiff.
Clonic Means, Periods of shaking or jerking parts on the body.
Myocloni means, Short jerking in parts of the body.
And Atonic means muscle relax.

2. Focal seizures, are located in just one area of the brain. These seizures are also called partial seizures.
Into focal seizures there are several different seizures like:
Simple focal seizures affect a small part of the brain. These seizures can cause twitching or a change in sensation, such as a strange taste or smell.
Complex focal seizures. it can make a person with epilepsy confused or dazed. The person will be unable to respond to questions or direction for up to a few minutes.

Secondary generalized seizures. which begin in one part of the brain, but then spread to both sides of the brain. In other words, the person first has a focal seizure, followed by a generalized seizure.
Most Seizures last for several minutes.
Causes:
In 70 % of cases the cause is unknown.
In other cases epilepsy can be caused by: Stroke, Brain tumor, Brain infection from parasites (malaria, neurocysticercosis), viruses (influenza, dengue, Zika), and bacteria, neurological diseases like Alzheimer and other rare conditions.
Epilepsy is common disease. It affects 1% of the population by age 20. And much more in later ages.
The diagnosis of epilepsy is typically made based on observation of the seizure onset, and the underlying cause. An electroencephalogram (EEG) to look for abnormal patterns of brain waves, and neuroimaging (CT scan or MRI) to look at the structure of the brain.
Treatment:
First aid, When most people think of a seizure, they think of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, also called a grand mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the person may cry out, fall, shake or jerk, and become unaware of what’s going on around them.
Here are things you can do to help someone who is having this type of seizure:
Ease the person to the floor.
Turn the person gently onto one side. This will help the person breathe.
Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. This can prevent injury.
Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under his or her head.
Remove eyeglasses.
Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make it hard to breathe.
Time the seizure. Call 911 if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.
The mainstay treatment of epilepsy is anticonvulsant medications,
Exercise is rarely a “trigger” for seizure activity. In fact, regular exercise may improve seizure control.
If epilepsy left untreated, it increases risk of death about 3 times, that’s why its proper diagnosis and management is important.
By Leitz31337 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16475401