HealthWise KnowledgeBase
Epilepsy
What Increases Your Risk
The risk for epilepsy increases if you have:
- Reference Family history of epilepsy.
- Head injury (for example, a penetrating wound or skull fracture) with amnesia or loss of consciousness for more than 24 hours. The more severe the injury, the higher the risk.
- Stroke or conditions that affect the blood vessels (vascular system) in the brain.
- Brain tumor.
- Brain infection, such as Reference encephalitis Opens New Window or Reference meningitis Opens New Window.
- Lead poisoning.
- Problems with brain development that occurred before birth.
- Substance abuse.
- Reference Fever seizures Opens New Window that last a long time (also known as febrile convulsions).
- Reference Alzheimer's disease Opens New Window.
Epilepsy may develop even though you do not have any risk factors. This is especially true of many forms of childhood epilepsy.
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: Reference August 26, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | Reference Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics
Reference Steven C. Schachter, MD - Neurology |
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