Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
The Daisy Garland

  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Contact Us Donate
Menu
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Daisy's Story
    • Our charity film
    • Our team
    • Our patrons
    • Latest news
    • COVID-19
  • About childhood epilepsy
    • What is childhood epilepsy?
    • Types of epilepsy
    • Treatment for epilepsy
    • Medication & side effects
    • Vitamins & minerals
    • First aid for seizures
    • Monitor grant enquiry form
  • The Ketogenic Diet
    • What Is the ketogenic diet?
    • Ketogenic FAQs
    • Our Ketogenic Dietitians
    • Daisy's Keto Café
    • Recipes from Daisy's Keto Café
    • Keto Café Recipe Videos
    • Daisy Garland ketogenic resources
    • Request ketogenic resources
  • Support our work
    • Donate
    • Desperately seeking fundraisers
    • Ways to fundraise
    • Our fundraisers
    • Create a fundraising page
    • Request a fundraising pack
    • Attend our events
  • Stories & Impact
    • Stories
    • Share your story
    • Purple Day 2020
    • Our impact and achievements
    • Our newsletters
  • Our Daisy shop
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • what-is-childhood-epilepsy
  1. About childhood epilepsy
  2. What is childhood epilepsy?

What is childhood epilepsy?

Childhood epilepsy: facts and terminology

Normal brain function is made possible by millions of tiny electrical charges passing across nerve cells in the brain and to all parts of the body. In a seizure, this normal pattern may be interrupted by intermittent bursts of electrical energy that are much more intense than usual. These 'storms' affect the delicate systems responsible for the brain's electrical energy, and may affect a person's consciousness, awareness, movement and bodily posture for a short time. Normal brain function cannot return until the electrical bursts subside. In a nutshell, epilepsy is the tendency to have repeated seizures.

According to Epilepsy Action, epilepsy affects at least 600,000 people in the UK - just over 60,000 of these people are children under the age of 16. Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition in the world and can affect anyone at any time in their life - it has no respect for age, sex, race, or social class. Seizures tend to develop in childhood or by late adolescence, but the likelihood of developing epilepsy rises again after the age of sixty-five. There are around forty different seizure types and one in twenty people will have a single seizure at sometime in their life. You can develop epilepsy as a result of the brain being injured in some way, perhaps as a result of severe head injury, difficulties at birth or a serious infection which affects the brain, such as meningitis or encephalitis, a stroke or a tumour. Problems with a child's metabolism or faulty chromosomes can also result in epilepsy.

Epilepsy with a known cause is called symptomatic epilepsy, however, in the majority of cases, no cause can be found and this is called idiopathic epilepsy. Some children have what is known ascryptogenic epilepsy. This means that the doctors think there is probably a cause for the epilepsy, but they are unable to discover what it is.

There are more than 60,000 children in the UK who are diagnosed with epilepsy.

Over 18,000 of these children suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy. 

Back to top

Showing 10 of 0

Latest

  • Jaxon

    Jaxon

  • Chloe

    Chloe

  • Yousha

    Yousha

  • Max’s 100km Challenge

    Max’s 100km Challenge

    Max has chosen to raise money for the Daisy Garland because it has helped his friend who has epilepsy.

Most read

  • Logan

    Logan

  • Nell

    Nell

  • Ole

    Ole

  • Aaron

    Aaron

  • William

    William

  • Scarlett

    Scarlett

  • Taylor

    Taylor

  • Blayne

    Blayne

  • Hot Off the Press!

    Hot Off the Press!

    Hannah Queenan, our fabulous Daisy Dietitian at Sheffield Children's Hospital, has written an article for Complete Nutrition Magazine on 'The Role of a Daisy Garland Ketogenic Dietitian'.

  • Orla

    Orla

Donate to The Daisy Garland

Donate to The Daisy Garland

Every single penny donated goes directly to The Daisy Garland charity helping children with drug-resistant epilepsy reach their full potential in life. Read more

Donate Fundraise

Published: 9th April, 2018

Updated: 16th February, 2021

Author:

Ketogenic FAQs

Ketogenic FAQs

Parents of children with epilepsy are pleasantly surprised at the vast array of healthy food options their child can eat on the ketogenic/Low-GI Diet Read more

Published: 27th September, 2019

Updated: 18th June, 2020

Author: Karen Wyett

COVID-19

COVID-19

COVID-19 is having a big impact on all our lives, but please be assured that The Daisy Garland is here to help you. Read more

Published: 30th April, 2020

Updated: 15th January, 2021

Author: Karen Wyett

Sign up for our newsletter

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])

Find us

Registered Office:  

Units A1 and A2
 
Dart Marine Park
 
Steamer Quay Road
Totnes  
 
Devon  TQ9 5AL 
 
 
 +44 (0)1803 847999  
 [email protected] 

Links

  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Registered Charity number: 1106530