Epileptic seizures (epilepsy) that start to occur in children are more common in people after the age of 65 than is thought.

An epileptic seizure (or seizure), popularly known as epilepsy, is a clinical condition in which the normal activity of the brain is disrupted as a result of abnormal electrical activity that transiently occurs in nerve cells. In this disease, which manifests itself with epileptic seizures, when the seizure occurs, the patient experiences a temporary loss of consciousness or symptoms with different characteristics. Just because a person has one seizure does not mean they have epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a fairly common disease. The incidence of non-occurrence in society is between 0.5% and 1%, as in Türkiye and the world. There was no difference in the incidence of epilepsy disease between genders.

Epilepsy can occur at any age and at any time, not in a specific age group; however, its incidence increases up to the first 16 years of age and after 65 years of age. The most common neurological disease in children up to the age of 16 is epilepsy.

Observations of parents play an important role in diagnosis in childhood when the disease is common. Occasionally, the child may slurp their mouth, have sudden jumps and startles in their arms and legs, have a bad smell in their nose that no one can hear (for example, the smell of a burnt tire), or occasionally dive into the child's eye, or stare blankly at a place for a few seconds. Some of these behaviors are not normal and it is beneficial to consult a neurologist if they are suspected.

What to Do During an Epilepsy Seizure?

As long as the patient has an epileptic seizure, the patient should not be intervened in any way. Trying to insert a finger or spoon between the teeth to open the patient's mouth or holding it to prevent contractions may cause harm to the patient by pressing.

Under normal circumstances, the attack ends spontaneously within a maximum of 1-2 minutes. If the epileptic attack does not end at this time, the patient should be taken to the hospital. It may be necessary to take precautions only to prevent environmental factors from harming the patient during an epileptic seizure. • If there is a sharp object or a hard object that may cause harm to the patient in cases such as falling and contraction during the seizure, the patient should be removed from that danger. • Clothes such as tightly tied ties and scarves that tighten the patient's throat in case of crisis should be loosened so that the patient can breathe easily.

How to Behave During an Epilepsy Attack?

• Sniffing onions, cologne, etc. has no therapeutic meaning in epileptic seizures.

• Orthopedic problems such as holding the arms and legs by the relatives of a patient who has a seizure or people around them, trying to take them under control by pressing, can cause a shoulder dislocation.

• Trying to open the mouth while the patient is contracting may cause many negativities such as chin dislocation, breaking the teeth, biting the fingers of the person trying to open it with the patient, and causing bleeding.

• One may feel fatigued after recovering, there may be a temporary loss of consciousness, and dizziness. Therefore, the patient should rest for a while.