What are some causes of epilepsy?

Answer 1

There is no single cause. Epilepsy is a name for a broad category of causes of seizures or fits or convulsions. What causes seizures differs for different people. Some things that causes a seizure for one person may have no effect on another. Common causes can be tiredness, stress, a brain injury, flashing lights, hunger, alcohol and many other things.

Answer 2

There are many causes. The brain is a complex organ, which has constant electrical activity going on at all times. If there is an increased amount of this electrical activity, even in a small area of the brain, this disrupts the workings of the brain. It would be like an like an electrical storm or power surge. In simple terms that is what happens when someone gets a seizure. That disruption may last for a fraction of a second to several minutes. It could be a minor disruption or a more serious one. This can happen to anyone in their lifetime. For people for whom this happens regularly, they are diagnosed as having epilepsy.

What specifically can cause it is different for different people. Some people may have a slight injury on their brain, like a scar, which affects them in no other way but does result in problems with that flow of electricity. Some people may sustain an injury, like in a car accident, and do damage to their head and brain. One of the most common causes that people hear about is flashing lights triggering seizures, but that is only a trigger for some people with epilepsy, a kind of epilepsy known as photosensitive epilepsy. Lots of people who have epilepsy don't have seizures triggered by flashing lights. Some people have their seizures when they are under stress or anxious about something. If you know the Incredible Hulk; it was when under pressure that he changed. It's a funny example, but in many ways it is a bit like that for people who get their seizures because of increased activity due to stress.

Abnormal development of the brain can be another cause. If someone has some other illness which affects their brain, like a stroke or a tumour, that can cause epilepsy. Excessive uses of harmful drugs or alcohol can cause epilepsy. Lack of sleep can be a cause. Hormonal changes can be a cause. Sometimes it is hereditary, so it is in families. There are many things that can cause epilepsy.

Absolutely anything that can disrupt the proper workings of the brain can result in epilepsy. It is important to say that it is a physical condition, not a mental illness. For many people no definite cause can be established. For some people it is a temporary thing, particularly if they have some other illness and recover from it.

Answer 3

unusual electrical activity in the brain