Involving complete collapse, foaming, eye-rolling and intense quivering, a seizure usually draws a concerned crowd of onlookers who are both terrified and unsure what to do to help.
An estimated one in 26 people in the United States will suffer some form of a seizure. Of those, almost 10 percent may have just a single episode in a lifetime.
Seizures are generally known as a symptom of the condition called epilepsy. It is estimated that more than 2.5 million adults, and more than 450,000 children and teens in the United States, have epilepsy. Every year more than 150,000 people are added to that statistic. Epilepsy is a brain attack that affects males and females, all races and ethnicities, and can strike at any age.
Medical professionals will only diagnose epilepsy if two unprovoked seizures occur.
All seizures require medical treatment, and all are potentially dangerous, particularly if they happen while driving, swimming or operating machinery. About 80 percent of people can be treated with medications or surgery, and some children who are stricken can outgrow the condition. In most cases, the person afflicted will have the same type of seizure each time.
WHO IS AT RISK?
Unfortunately, why someone suffers an epileptic seizure remains a mystery in about half the cases. For the other half, probable causes include a genetic link that runs in families. While genes are likely a part of the cause, there are more than 500 genes that are thought to be tied to epilepsy. It’s also theorized that some environmental triggers make carriers of the gene more likely to have a seizure. These triggers include flashing lights.