Is twitching during sleep in children epilepsy? What are the symptoms of epilepsy?

Patient's question:

Thank you for the doctor's quick answer for me - how to treat and prevent

Doctor's answer:

1. Major seizures: Account for about 50% of epilepsy seizures, typically occurring around age 1 or between 14-17. Major seizures can be divided into four stages:
(1) Aura stage: Symptoms include dizziness and stomach discomfort.
(2) Tonic stage: Sudden loss of consciousness, falling to the ground, head extension, and rigid limbs. Due to diaphragmatic spasms, the patient may emit a "sheep-like" bellow. The face may turn purple, pupils dilate, and breathing stops for several seconds.
(3) Clonic stage: Rhythmic muscle twitching throughout the body, often biting the tongue, foaming at the mouth, and possible incontinence of urine and feces. This stage generally lasts 1-3 minutes.
(4) Recovery stage: It may take several minutes to regain consciousness. The patient cannot recall the seizure process, experiences pain and fatigue all over the body. In some cases, patients may exhibit agitation, running around, shouting, or even attacking others during recovery.
2. Minor seizures: Also known as absence seizures, characterized by brief loss of consciousness. Most patients experience complete loss of awareness, though occasionally they may have mild consciousness, aware of their surroundings, able to hear questions but unable to respond. The key feature is short and frequent episodes of impaired awareness.
3. Psychomotor seizures: Often accompanied by illusions, hallucinations, and automatisms against a background of impaired consciousness. These seizures are typically caused by temporal lobe abnormalities, hence the term "temporal lobe epilepsy." The age of onset is relatively late among all types of epilepsy, usually occurring around age 20. Approximately 40% of patients experience auras before seizures, such as stomach discomfort, auditory hallucinations, taste hallucinations, dizziness, nausea, or fear.
Reminders:
- Avoid overexertion and ensure adequate sleep. Adults should aim for at least 7-9 hours of sleep per day, while children need 8-16 hours.
- Engage in moderate exercise, such as walking, jogging, badminton, tennis, or table tennis. Avoid swimming, mountain climbing, or diving. Riding bicycles should also be minimized to prevent falls during seizures or traffic accidents.
- Limit TV watching and completely avoid playing electronic games.