Does this sound like seizure activity?

[Starburst]

I joined this forum because two of my children have epilepsy. They both have nocturnal myoclonic seizures. I am still learning, and this is the only form of epilepsy I have experience with.

A few weeks ago, their cousin was also diagnosed with epilepsy. She is 16 and started having "fainting" spells for no apparent reason. Basically she seems to get an aura where she knows something bad is about to happen, her eyes roll back, and she falls to the floor. Her lips turn blue as well but she does not shake or convulse. No one suspected epilepsy, but her EEG came back abnormal.

Since I am not familiar with the kinds of seizures my niece is having, I just wanted to ask others here if this sounds like seizure activity. Although she is seeing a doctor, we live in a developing country, and the government healthcare services here (which she is using) are not very good. So, I just wanted to make sure that blacking out with no convulsions is actually a valid seizure type.

I apologize in advance if my question seems odd, but I'd like to help my niece in any way possible.

 

[jemsister]

Could they be Tonic or Atonic seizures? http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_atonic These are seizures that can cause one to fall.

 

[Nakamova]

Sounds like a seizure to me. When the lips turn blue, that's usually an indication that the body is sending oxygen to the brain (and away from the extremities) to cope with abnormal activity in the brain.

As Josie suggests, tonic seizures sounds like a good fit. "Tonic" means tensing. A traditional grand mal seizure is called a tonic-clonic seizure because it consists of tensing followed by convulsing ("clonic"), but it's possible for seizures to only have the tonic component.

 

[Starburst]

Thank you both! After reading about tonic seizures, I definitely believe this is what my niece is experiencing.

 

[Starburst]

It turns out that she does actually convulse, but no one noticed it before. Now they are being more mindful of her condition and have observed her shaking after falling.