Types of Seizures and their Symptoms

Seizures are one of the most common neurological disorders in the United States, affecting more than 2.3 million people in the country. This makes it very critical for Americans to try and understand what seizures are in order to fully grasp their impact on general health.

While some people may think of seizures as a single event, they can actually be broken down into smaller categories. There are also many types of seizures. This is important to know because different types of seizures affect your health differently, and that it also means there are several different treatment options for different types of seizures.

Categories of Seizures

Your brain is made up of billions of nerve cells that communicate with each other through electrical impulses. Usually, those impulses happen in an organized, rhythmic way throughout the brain. But sometimes they don't — the electrical activity becomes chaotic, which can cause seizures.

There are two main categories of them: generalized and focal (sometimes referred to as partial).

Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain, while focal seizures affect only one side. They can be further broken down into specific types, depending on the symptoms you experience during the seizure. We’ll review some of the common types of seizures.

Types of Seizures

Tonic-Clonic (or Grand Mal) Seizures

These are the types most people think of when they think about seizures. These seizures produce a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. They can last from a few seconds to several minutes.

Symptoms include:

• Stiffening of the body
• Jerking movements of the arms and legs
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Bite of tongue or inside of cheek

After the seizure, the person may remain unconscious for a few minutes up to a few hours. When they regain consciousness, they may be confused, tired, and have a headache and muscle aches. A person experiencing this type of seizure usually can't remember what happened during it.

Absence Seizures

Sometimes called petit mal seizures, absence seizures cause a short loss of awareness. This type of seizure usually lasts less than 15 seconds. Most people who experience them will have many throughout the day, sometimes in clusters.

Absence seizures are most common between the ages of 4 and 14 years old and can be difficult to diagnose because they may resemble daydreaming. They usually have no warning and are often mistaken for daydreaming or inattentiveness.

While they don't present a danger, they can still cause accidents or falls. They need to be treated because they can translate into an inability to concentrate and learn in school.

Simple Focal Seizures

Focal seizures that do not affect awareness are called simple focal seizures. Sometimes, people have an aura before a simple focal seizure. This might feel like an unusual smell or taste, a rising sensation in the stomach or a sense of déjà vu (feeling like something has happened before).

Usually, people don't lose consciousness during simple focal seizures and they might not even realize they're having a seizure unless someone sees it happening. Simple focal seizures can cause changes in behavior such as picking at clothes or lip smacking, depending on which area of the brain is affected.

Some people may feel some unusual sensations or emotions or have jerking movements in just one area of the body. Others have tunnel vision and other changes in their senses. They may hear sounds that aren't there or see flashing lights.

Complex Focal Seizures

Complex focal seizures cause some impairment of consciousness. The signs and symptoms of a complex focal seizure depend on the part of your brain involved. For example: If the seizure involves an area of your brain that controls movement, you may experience jerking or twitching in part of your body. You may also feel tingling in that body part.

If the seizure affects an area of your brain responsible for understanding language, you may not be able to speak coherently during a seizure. You may also not understand what other people are saying to you. Complex focal seizures last for about 1 minute.

Secondary Generalized Seizures

Secondary generalized seizures begin as a focal seizure and spread to involve both sides of the brain. They begin in one area of the brain, then spread to both sides. This type of seizure involves a temporary disruption of electrical activity that affects both sides of the brain.

These seizures typically happen when a person has:

• A focus that's causing a partial seizure
• Lots of nerve cell activity all over their brain (usually for a short time)

They may also be caused by:

• Other health problems like low blood sugar or infection
• Medication side effects, withdrawal, or an interaction with other medications

Secondary generalized seizures begin in a part of the brain that normally controls movements, sensations, or emotions. They usually affect both sides of the brain and have symptoms similar to those of primary generalized seizures.

An example of a secondary generalized seizure is one that begins in the temporal lobe region of the brain. It might start with a sudden feeling of fear but progress to loss of consciousness, which would occur in a primary generalized seizure.

The Bottom Line

There are many different types of seizures. In order to diagnose and treat them, it’s important to know what type you have. In some circumstances, seizures can increase the risk of injury or even death, but it’s mostly because of what happens during a seizure — not because of the seizure itself.

Make sure you’re seeking help from a qualified medical professional when it comes to your epilepsy or other seizure-related condition. A general practitioner can refer you to a neurologist who can determine the type of seizures you’re experiencing, as well as the best course of treatment for you.

If you’re concerned about how seizures may be affecting your health, talk with your doctor. They can help determine if medication or lifestyle changes could reduce the number and severity of your seizures.