Seizures are sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity in the
brain that may affect a person's muscle control, movement, speech, vision, or
awareness (consciousness). The effects of seizures depend on a person's
individual response, as well as the seizure type, frequency, and
severity.
Some seizures make a person fall to the ground in convulsions, in
which the muscles stiffen or jerk out of control. Others may stare in a
trancelike state, have only a few muscle twitches, or sense a strange smell or
visual disturbance not experienced by anyone else.
Sometimes a seizure is a symptom of another medical problem, such
as a high fever (especially in children), a stroke, infection, low blood sugar
(hypoglycemia), very low blood pressure, or a brain tumor.
