What causes epilepsy/seizure disorder?
Many parents wonder if they have somehow caused their child’s epilepsy. They search for a way to understand why this is happening to their child. But it is not likely that a parent or anyone did anything to cause epilepsy.
Finding the cause is difficult. For most children there is no known cause. These children are said to have “idiopathic” epilepsy. Idiopathic means “of unknown cause.”
However, there are many known causes of epilepsy. Understanding and identifying the causes helps to diagnose the types of epilepsy. Possible causes include6,7:
- Problems with brain development before birth
- Lack of oxygen during or following birth
- A serious head injury that leaves a scar in the brain
- Unusual structures in the brain
- Tumors
- Complications resulting from a prolonged fever-induced seizure
- The after-effects of severe brain infections, such as meningitis or encephalitis
- Genetic or inherited factors