What is epilepsy and what are the symptoms?
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. “Unprovoked” means that there is no immediate cause for the seizure, such as a fever, an infection of the brain, or head trauma. Nearly 10% of people will have a seizure during their lifetime; most of these are “provoked” seizures during an acute illness or condition. These people may never go on to have another seizure, and therefore do not have epilepsy. Between seizures, most people with epilepsy are completely normal. Seizures can occur at any time, often without warning. In most people, seizures are able to be controlled with treatment and may go away entirely; in others, seizures continue despite treatment and may last a lifetime.
