Epilepsy - having 'fits'
Epilepsy; seizure; fit; infection; brain; power surge; petit mal; grand mal; convulsion; absence; disability; first aid ;
Contents
What is epilepsy?
Sometimes people can have seizures, (many people would call them 'fits') because they have a high fever or have had a severe head injury. Another name for a seizure is a convulsion (say con-vul-shun).
Epilepsy is when people have seizures when there is no fever or injury. |
 |
Most times doctors cannot find out what causes epilepsy but sometimes it can be because of a severe head injury, a brain infection or maybe there were problems before the person was born.
Sometimes other people in the family have epilepsy too.
About 4 to 6 children in every thousand have epilepsy.
What happens?
seizure happens when there is a sudden 'power surge' of the electrical activity in the brain.
There are many different types of seizures but the most common ones are;
 |
Absence seizures - sometimes called 'petit mal' (say p-tee mal)
Petit mal are the French words for 'small bad'. |
 |
The person suddenly stops moving or talking and looks blank (or 'absent') for a short time, then goes on with whatever he or she was doing before.
This type of seizure usually only lasts for seconds but this can happen many times a day. The person does not know that he has just had a seizure. |
 |
Generalised tonic-clonic seizures (sometimes called 'grand mal')
Grand mal are the French words for 'big bad.' |
 |
The person goes unconscious, eyes roll back and then the body goes stiff, relaxes and goes stiff again several times. This can look really scary because the person may stop breathing for a while and look blue.
Sometimes the person may do a wee as bladder control is lost.
Afterwards the person will usually sleep for a while. |
How to help your friend
If your friend has a grand mal seizure then this is how you can help.
 |
Don't panic! Most seizures will stop by themselves in less than 5 minutes. |
 |
|
Move anything that might hurt your friend away from her, eg table or chair that she could bang into. |
|
Ask others to move away. |
 |
|
Send someone for help from an adult. |
|
Put soft things like jumpers or towels around your friend, especially near her head to protect it from getting hurt. |
|
Once the convulsion has stopped, help your friend by rolling her onto her side in the recovery position and let her sleep if she is in a safe place. It not - help move her to a safe place where she can sleep and recover. |
In the 'olden days' people thought that a person who was having a fit might swallow their own tongue and choke! This is not true.
You do not have to hold your friend still to keep her safe. Just give her some space and watch over her.
If the seizure happens at school, the teachers have been trained in how to help someone who has had a seizure, so make sure someone goes to the teacher for help.
What if you have epilepsy?
 |
If you know that you have epilepsy then mum or dad will have taken you to the doctor and you may be having some medicine, which will help your brain to control those 'power surges'. Mum or dad will have talked to people at your school and the teachers there may talk to kids in your class so that they will understand and know what to do if you should have a seizure. |
You may need to be a bit careful to have someone with you if you are going swimming or playing on water slides.
If you take your medicine and take a bit of care, then you can have as busy and active a life as you want. |
 |
What some children say
"My friend has epilepsy. He has been my friend since we first started school and everyone in our school knows what to do if he has a seizure." Josh
"I felt embarrassed when my teacher told everyone that I had epilepsy, but now I am glad because everyone knows what is happening to me. Everyone knows what to do and they are not scared or mean to me."
Dr Kim says:
"In the 'olden days' children who had any disabilities either did not go to school or went to a 'special school'. Nowadays there are lots of 'special children' in ordinary schools. How good is that?
Everyone gets to be a 'regular kid' in a 'regular school' and everyone gets to know and understand that we may be different in some ways but inside we all have the same feelings."
If you have epilepsy you need to know as much as possible about it. This site, Epilepsy Action (Australia), will give you good information and you will be able to learn about other kids who have epilepsy too.
http://www.epilepsy.org.au/kids/index_kids.asp
We've collected this information to help you to understand important things about staying healthy and happy. However, if you feel sick or unhappy, it is important to tell your mum or dad, a teacher or another grown-up.