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What is an epileptic seizure?

Back to Epileptic Seizures

On this page we tell you about what an epileptic seizure is, signs and symptoms of an epileptic seizure, epileptic seizures in babies and infants, and non-epileptic seizures and episodes.

What is an epileptic seizure?

An epileptic seizure happens when there is a sudden electrical discharge in the brain. It can happen in different parts of the brain. The type of seizure you have depends on where in the brain the sudden electrical discharge happened.

Watch one of our nurses explain what an epileptic seizure is:

Kirsten, an epilepsy consultant nurse, explains what a seizure is from a medical setting.

There are many different types of epileptic seizure. They can cause a range of symptoms which vary from person to person. For most people, epileptic seizures can cause involuntary muscle movements, changes in sensation in their body, behaviour or awareness of their surroundings, falling down, and loss of consciousness, and more.

See our seizure types page for more information about the different types of seizures.

Signs and symptoms of an epileptic seizure

Possible symptoms of an epileptic seizure include:

uncontrollable jerking and shaking
losing awareness and staring blankly into space
becoming stiff (rigid)
strange sensations, such as a ‘rising’ feeling in the tummy, unusual smells or tastes, and a tingling feeling in your arms or legs
changes to your vision
suddenly feeling scared
collapsing

Some people only have one type of seizure, and some people have more than one type. We explain the most common seizure types on our seizure types page.

Seizures in babies and infants

What do seizures look like in babies and infants?

It can be hard to spot seizures in babies and infants because often the signs are not very obvious. Because their brains have not yet developed fully, lots of babies have brief jerks or facial twitching that can look similar to signs of epilepsy in older children. These are just a part of normal development, usually from birth to 6 months old.

But there are other signs which may be more likely to be epilepsy. These include:

movements that are not triggered by an activity
movements that do not stop when you gently move your baby’s limbs
movements that happen repeatedly in the same pattern

Contact your child’s GP if you notice any of these signs or if you’re worried about epileptic seizures.

Non-epileptic seizures and episodes

There are different types of seizures and episodes that may look similar to epileptic seizures. But they are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain and they can happen for many different reasons. 

Febrile seizures

Febrile seizures are also called febrile convulsions. These seizures happen when a child has a fever or high temperature and usually affect children aged 6 months to 6 years.

A diagnosis of epilepsy is not usually needed. This is because febrile seizures are often isolated seizures with a known cause, for example, an ear or throat infection that usually improves after a few days.

Not all children will go on to develop epilepsy after experiencing a febrile seizure. Data shows that there is a one in 50 chance of a child developing epilepsy if they have a history of febrile convulsions.

However, some children may be at risk of having other seizure types because of the following risk factors:

abnormal development before the first febrile seizure took place
a family history of non-febrile seizures

If you’re worried about febrile seizures or your child’s risk of developing epilepsy after having a febrile seizure, talk to their GP.

Functional seizures

Functional seizures are sometimes called dissociative seizures or ‘non-epileptic attack disorder’ (NEAD). Functional seizures may look similar to epileptic seizures. They are periods of uncontrolled movements, sensations or behaviour that are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. When these seizures happen, the person has no control over them.

It’s not always clear what causes functional seizures. They happen for different reasons in different people. Some things have been linked to causing functional seizures, such as very stressful, frightening or traumatic experiences, family problems, physical or mental health problems, or a build-up of stress over time.

Other conditions

There are also some other conditions or episodes that can cause symptoms similar to epileptic seizures, such as: 

fainting or passing out 
heart rhythm problems 
some sleep conditions 
panic attacks 
migraines

Contact your GP if you are experiencing any of these conditions and don’t know their cause.

Last updated July 2025.

We’re currently reviewing this information. The next update will be 2027. If you would like to find out more about how we produce our information, or the sources of evidence we use, please contact us at healthinfo@youngepilepsy.org.uk