How to Tell if You're Having a Seizure

Seizures occur when there is a change in the electrical functioning of the brain. If you have never witnessed a seizures before you may find it very scary. It is good to become informed about seizures and what their symptoms are. Symptoms can manifest themselves differently from person to person, but there are some symptoms that are quite common. You can use these symptoms to identify seizure activity.

Things You'll Need

• List of Symptoms
• EEG

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Instructions

• 1

  Look for a beginning. All seizures have three parts: beginning, middle and end. Each one has different symptoms. In the beginning you may begin to feel funny in your stomach, dizziness, headache, nausea, tingling feelings, feeling of agitation, blurring vision, or just a strange feeling all over. If you have never had a seizure before these symptoms might not make you think seizure, but you will begin to recognize them over time.

• 2

  Look for a middle. This is the stage that most people can't mistake for seizure activity. The most obvious is convulsions, uncontrollable shaking, passing out, rolled back eyes, biting your tongue, becoming stiff, becoming confused, blacking out, falling down, and an inability to move. You can expect a person to drop to the floor, have their eyes roll back, and begin convulsing for a matter of time. If the seizure goes on for too long you will need to call an ambulance for assistance.

• 3

  Look for an end. There are several key symptoms a person may experience after their seizure is over. The main one is physical exhaustion and going to sleep. It is okay to let an individual sleep after a seizure. A person can also be weak and may suffer some memory loss. They may be confused or embarrassed about having a seizure in front of other people. They may have some cuts and bruises if they fell when the seizure occurred.

• 4

  Get an EEG. EEG's can detect seizure activity even if you are not having a seizure at that moment. The test is simple and doesn't hurt at all, but you must be very still. You must wash your hair with shampoo only and have it dry by the time you get to your appointment. A technician will conduct the test and a neurologist will then read the results and contact you.