About Your Treatment: An Introduction

A seizure is the outward sign of a malfunction in the electrical system that controls the brain. A single seizure can have many causes, such as high fever or lack of oxygen or poisoning; seizures that occur more than once, without a special cause, are called epilepsy (also called a seizure disorder).

Seizures may be convulsions, brief stares, muscle spasms, odd sensations, or episodes of automatic behavior and altered consciousness.

If you have had a seizure and you seek medical help, your doctor will want to know:

• Was the seizure caused by a short-term problem (like fever or infection) that can be corrected?
• Was it caused by a continuing problem in the way your brain's electrical system works?
• Is there anything about the structure of your brain that could cause seizures?
• Was the seizure an isolated event, or does it mean that you have epilepsy?

The doctor will try to find the answers to these questions through:

• A detailed medical history.
• A thorough physical examination, especially of the nervous system.
• Analysis of blood and other body fluids.
• Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computerized tomography (CT) scans.

Which tests and how many of them are ordered may vary, depending on how much each test reveals.