It can be very scary to be talking to an individual, only to have him or her suddenly start to shake uncontrollably. Most people know that seizures can happen but not how or why. If your work often takes you among the public, you should know what seizures are and how to help someone who is having one just in case something happens. This article will give you an overview of seizures.

Seizures are the result of electrical misfires in the brain that come on suddenly, rather like a power surge to your home electronics suite. Sometimes these misfires will result in body convulsions if they occur in the parts of the brain that control motor functions. Other times the misfires may simply cause a person to zone out while listening to a lecture on how to catch a spouse cheating. These are called absence seizures. Each seizure usually lasts a maximum of a few minutes and goes away on its own.

When a seizure occurs, it's not necessarily the whole brain that gets involved. Focal seizures are partial seizures that affect only one part of the brain while generalized seizures affect its entirety. Symptoms of these types can include absence seizures or convulsions. In order to determine what type of seizures you are having, your doctor will need to give you an electroencephalogram, or EEG, which cannot be performed in your Kitchener real estate. This test will measure your brain activity while you seize.

Most people assume that only people suffering from epilepsy, a seizure disorder, are likely to have seizures, but the fact is that anyone can have a seizure. Head injuries, exposure to toxins, fevers, drugs, infections, pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and brain tumors can all cause seizures too. Sometimes even drinking too much water or watching a TV show with flashing lights at home can give some people seizures. Having seizures does not necessarily mean you suffer from epilepsy.

People who know they are likely to suffer from seizures can control their seizing with medication. Even then, there are certain jobs which may be too dangerous for them to perform. Any seizure, regardless of whether the sufferer has epilepsy, should be considered a medical emergency if it lasts longer than five minutes. Seizures that occur close on each others' heels are also a cause for concern.