Myoclonic seizures
Myoclonic seizures affect a small number of children and adults with generalized epilepsy of unknown cause (idiopathic). In children and teens with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, the seizures seem to occur most often after waking up or while falling asleep.
During a myoclonic seizure:
Understanding Seizures -- the Basics
A seizure occurs when there’s abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Seizures may go virtually unnoticed. Or, in severe cases, they may produce a change or loss of consciousness and involuntary muscle spasms called convulsions. Seizures usually come on suddenly and vary in duration and severity. A seizure may be a one-time event, or you may have seizures repeatedly. Recurrent seizures are called epilepsy, or seizure disorder. Less than one in 10 people who has a seizure develops epilepsy. Experts...
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- The arms, legs, torso, or facial muscles jerk rapidly as though they are being shocked.
- The body may jerk once or many times, on one or both sides of the body, in a rhythmic or random pattern.
- The person usually does not lose consciousness.
Myoclonic seizures are almost always very brief.
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