So far you have read about petit mal seizures also known as absence seizures and grand mal seizures also known as generalized clonic tonic seizures. These are both types of generalized seizures. Generalized seizures are seizures that affect both halves of the brain. With my son we saw on his EEG that he was having spikes in the brain waves in all four areas of his brain. There are sub-types of generalized seizures. They include:
Myoclonic seizures, these include spasms of most often occur on both sides of the body.
There is no loss of consciousness and the person may just think it is a bad muscle spasm.
Atonic Seizures, these are when the person falls. It is complete loss of muscle tones and
the person just drops. These seizures often cause head injuries as they happen so quickly.
If the person has spikes on the EEG in just one side of the brain they are referred to as partial seizures as it only affects part of the brain. Within partial seizures a person may have a simple partial seizure where they will have muscle spasms but they stay conscious. These are quick seizures and usually stop within 90 seconds. The other type is complex partial seizures. The person may pick at their clothes, move their face in odd manners such as licking lips or smacking them, they may also wander away. The person will experience this for 1-2 minutes and will be confused and sleepy when it is over.
There is so much to learn about seizures and there is so many resources for you to get the information that you need. The Epilepsy Foundation has literature that they can send you so that you can explain the disorder and first aid to teachers, friends and family. They even have comic books that classmates can receive to make learning about it easier for kids. The person with epilepsy needs to know that they did nothing to get this disorder, they cannot give it to their friends and that they can live a full life with epilepsy. If a child is diagnosed with epilepsy they have a good chance of out growing the disorder. The medications offer great seizure control and there is new research being done every day to help people with epilepsy.