Seizures are individual events, and seizure disorders, also called epilepsy, are medical conditions that cause people to have a predisposition to seizures.

A seizure is a sudden experience that can cause changes in consciousness or movement, resulting from a brief disruption of electrical activity in the brain.

A seizure typically lasts for just a few seconds before resolving on its own, and usually involves some degree of decreased consciousness, decreased awareness, and decreased responsiveness. Many people also experience mild involuntary movements.

Certain triggers can cause a person to have a seizure. These include:

While these triggers can affect anyone, they are more likely to cause a seizure in people with epilepsy than those without. However, it is important to note that the causes of epilepsy itself are different from individual seizure triggers. Common causes of epilepsy include:

If you experience a seizure, doctors will use brain imaging scans, blood tests, and electroencephalography (a method to record the brain’s electrical activity) to identify the cause.

The type of seizure that causes a person to have a noticeable change in consciousness with repetitive, rhythmic involuntary movements is often called a generalized tonic clonic seizure. A prolonged seizure that lasts for longer than a few seconds is known as status epilepticus. This is a medical emergency that requires prompt medical attention.

Another type of seizure is a febrile seizure that occurs in infants as a result of a fever. Generally, children who have febrile seizures don’t need to be hospitalized, but if the seizure is prolonged, your doctor may order hospitalization to observe your child.

Children who experience one or more febrile seizures do not necessarily have epilepsy, but have a higher likelihood of eventually being diagnosed with epilepsy.