What Do Seizures Look Like? How to Spot It and Respond

Seizures are triggered by a disruption in the normal flow of signals in your brain. When this happens, a wide range of symptoms can appear.

More than 30 types of seizures have been reported, but there are a few main characteristics that can help you and your healthcare team find the trigger of your seizures and guide what you can do to manage them.

This article will review types of seizures, their symptoms, and how to respond when they happen.

Signs and Symptoms of Seizures

The first thing that might come to mind when you envision a seizure is a person falling down, eyes rolled back, with jerking movements or convulsions. These symptoms only appear in very specific categories of seizures.

You can have a seizure with all or none of these symptoms, and it takes extensive testing to uncover the true type and trigger for your seizure. It’s also possible to have more than one type of seizure at a time.

Seizure symptoms vary by type, but some of the more recognizable signs include:

What Does a Seizure Look Like?

Seizures can take many forms. The chaotic nature of the neurological signals that cause seizures shows itself in symptoms.

Different types of seizures have distinct features and symptoms, and the characteristics of your seizure can give clues about where in your brain it’s occurring and why.

Although there are many forms seizures can take, they are split into two main categories: generalized and focal seizures. The category a seizure fits into depends on where it develops in your brain.

Generalized Seizures

Generalized seizures are events that begin on both sides of the brain at the same time. The general nature of these seizures refers more to the point of origin than signs and symptoms.

A generalized seizure can cause loss of consciousness or awareness, but different types of generalized seizures can appear with specific symptoms.

Both generalized and focal seizures can lead to abnormal movements throughout your body. Seizures are often placed into subcategories based on what kinds of effects they have on your body.

• Tonic-clonic: Muscles suddenly become stiff
• Atonic: Sudden loss of muscle strength and/or tone
• Myoclonic: Short or jerking movements in your muscles
• Clonic: Periods of rhythmic shaking or jerking movements

These categories describe generalized motor seizures, but you can also have a generalized non-motor seizure. These non-motor seizures are usually called absence seizures.

Absence seizures are distinguished by their lack of activity or movement. In many cases, these seizures can even go undetected. Some things that may happen during an absence seizure include:

• Staring off into space
• Rapid eye blinking
• Repetitive chewing or hand movements

These symptoms are typically involuntary, and a person who is having a non-motor seizure may be unable or slow to respond.

Focal Seizures

Focal seizures begin in one area of the brain. The seizure may spread to other areas, but focal refers to the origination point. It’s also possible—either with a generalized or focal seizure—to have more than one kind of seizure at the same time.

When seizures begin in one area of the brain and do not move to another area, these are called simple focal seizures. Seizures that begin in one area and spread to another area of the brain are called complex focal seizures.

Although these seizures may appear with physical symptoms, focal seizures are most known for their non-physical manifestations.

The appearance of focal seizures can vary by their type.

• Focal onset aware seizures: With these seizures, you don’t lose awareness, but you may experience déjà vu (a feeling you have experienced something before), a strange feeling in your stomach, or abnormal physical movements.
• Focal impaired awareness seizures: These seizures cause a lack of awareness, making those who experience them appear dazed or confused. Unresponsiveness and abnormal physical movements may also appear with these seizures.

Other Types of Seizures

Not all seizures are caused by problems with the signals in your brain. Seizures can be neurologic in nature, but they can also have other causes that can change how they appear and how they are managed.

Febrile Seizures

Febrile seizures are convulsions that develop from a high fever’s effects on your brain. These are considered a specific type of non-epileptic seizures and are most common in young children. They are usually triggered by fevers of 101 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. These seizures can occur at the start of a fever or several hours later.

Symptoms of febrile seizures can include things like:

• Loss of consciousness
• Uncontrollable shaking
• Eyes rolling back
• Stiff limbs
• Unusual movements

Non-Epileptic Seizures

Febrile seizures aren’t the only type of non-epileptic seizures. Several injuries and conditions can cause abnormal brain signals that lead to seizure activity, even if you don’t have epilepsy (a condition with recurrent seizures).

Non-epileptic seizures typically fall into two categories: physical and functional.

Physical non-epileptic seizures can be caused by things like:

There are also mental or emotional triggers for these seizures. Functional seizures are often the result of things like:

• Past trauma
• Emotional stress
• Psychiatric disorders
• Fear

What to Do During a Seizure

Seizures can be difficult to spot, and different seizures respond to different types of treatments. If you see someone fall, convulse, or display other seizure-like symptoms, you can help by taking these steps.

• Stay with the person until they are awake and alert.
• Record the time you saw seizure activity begin and when it ends. Seizures lasting 5 minutes or more should trigger a call to medical or emergency services.
• Check for a medical alert bracelet or other identification.
• Help the person to a safe position. This may include easing the person to the ground, moving them away from water, or other dangerous situations.
• Turn the person to their side to allow saliva and other secretions to drain and to keep their airway open.
• Loosen tight clothing or accessories around the neck.
• Place a soft support under the person’s head.

Take care not to restrain someone during a seizure in any way, and do not place anything in their mouth to prevent biting on the tongue. This can be a choking hazard.

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

Not every seizure requires medical attention. People with recurrent non-epileptic seizures or epilepsy may carry identification with instructions and an emergency contact. Following the steps listed above will help, but you should contact a healthcare team or emergency services if the seizure seems to last more than 5 minutes.

Beyond the issue of basic safety during a seizure, there are also some severe effects or complications that can arise and require immediate emergency care.

When to Seek Emergency Care

The following problems can be a sign of a more severe or dangerous seizure:

• A seizure lasting longer than 5 minutes
• A seizure that starts right after one ends
• Injuries occur during the seizure
• Breathing problems appear
• The seizure happened in or around water
• The person does not regain consciousness after seizure activity subsides
• Ongoing confusion or disorientation after the seizure has ended

Summary

You don’t have to have epilepsy to experience a seizure, and not all seizures look alike. It can be difficult to know the difference between a true seizure and convulsions of another nature, but the important thing is to stay with a person during what looks like a seizure and be prepared to call for help if needed.