Symptoms of Epilepsy

Partial or Focal Seizures

These seizures start from one part of the brain. You may have:

• Tingling or numbness in the arms, legs, hands, or feet
• Muscle twitching on one side of a leg, arm, hand, finger, or muscle
• Sensing smells, tastes, sights, sounds, or other things that are not real
• Strange, repeating, motions or movements that you cannot control, such as chewing or smacking your lips

Partial seizures may spread from one part of the body to another. Focal seizures may spread to both sides of the brain.

Generalized Convulsive (Grand Mal) Seizures

These seizures start from both sides of the brain. You may have:

• Loss of consciousness
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Muscle spasms or stiffening
• A sudden fall to the ground
• Strange, repeating motions or movements that you cannot control
• Biting your tongue
• A sense of a strange warning before it happens, such as the smell of burning rubber.
• After it happens, you may have:
  • Deep sleep, tiredness, confusion, or a change in responsiveness
  • Headache
  • Problems remembering the seizure

General Seizures Without Convulsions    TOP

Absence seizures, also called petit mal, are more common in children. A child may have:

• A look of daydreaming
• Blinking of the eyes rhythmically
• Twitching of the face
• No memory of the seizure after it happens

There are also other types of generalized seizures without convulsions.