The main symptoms of epilepsy are repeated seizures.

Doctors who treat epilepsy classify seizures by how much of the brain is affected. There are:

• partial seizures - where only a small part of the brain is affected, and
• generalised seizures - where most, or all, of the brain is affected.

Partial seizures

There are two types of partial seizure:

• simple partial seizure - this is a seizure where you remain conscious, and
• complex partial seizure - this is a seizure where your consciousness is affected, you lose your sense of awareness and have no memory of the event.

Symptoms of a simple partial seizure include:

• experiencing changes in the way things look, smell, feel, taste, or sound,
• experiencing an intense feeling of déjà vu (a feeling that these events have happened before),
• experiencing a sudden intense emotion, such as fear, or joy,
• the muscles in your arms, legs and face may become stiff, and
• you may experience twitching on one side of your body.

The symptoms of a complex partial seizure are normally characterized by apparently strange and random bodily behavior, such as:

• smacking your lips,
• rubbing your hands,
• making random noises,
• moving your arms around, and
• chewing, or swallowing.

During a complex partial seizure, you will not be able to respond to anyone else, and you will have no memory of the event.

Complex partial seizures are quite common, accounting for 20% of all seizures experienced by people living with epilepsy.

Generalised seizures

There are six main types of generalised seizure which are described below.

Absences

This type of seizure mainly affects children. They cause the child to lose awareness of their surroundings for between 5 to 20 seconds. The child will appear if they are just staring vacantly into space, though some children will flutter their eyes or smack their lips. They can occur several times a day. Though they are not dangerous, they may affect the child's performance at school.

Myoclonic jerks

These types of seizures cause your arms, legs or upper body to jerk or twitch - much like if you have received an electric shock. They often only last for a fraction of a second, and you should remain conscious during this time.

Clonic seizure

This causes the same sort of twitching as myclonic jerks, except the symptoms will last longer, normally up to two minutes. Loss of consciousness may occur.

Atonic seizure

This causes all of your muscles to suddenly relax so there is a chance you will fall to the ground.

Tonic seizure

Unlike an atonic seizure, this causes all of the muscles to suddenly become stiff and you can then lose balance and fall over.

Tonic-clonic seizure

This type of seizure has two stages. Your body will become stiff and then your arms and legs will begin twitching. You will lose consciousness and some people will wet themselves. The seizure normally lasts between one and three minutes. This is the most common type of seizure, accounting for 60% of all seizures experienced by people living with epilepsy.

Tonic-clonic seizure are typically what people are referring to when the use the term 'epileptic fit'.

People can experience any of the above types of seizure, but usually the pattern of somebody's symptoms remains the same. This pattern is known as an epilepsy syndrome.

Auras

People who have epilepsy often get a distinctive feeling, or warning sign, that a seizure is on its way. These warning signs are known as auras.

Auras differ from person to person, but some common auras include:

• noticing a strange smell, or taste,
• having a feeling of déjà vu,
• feeling that the outside world has suddenly become unreal, or dreamlike,
• experiencing a sense of fear or anxiety, and
• your body suddenly feels strange.

While it is normally not possible to prevent the seizure from occurring, you can act on the warning sign by telling people that you think a seizure is on the way. Also get into a safe place and position so you do not damage your body during the seizure.