Royal Hospital for Children and Young People

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Vision and Development

Epilepsy Department

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Epilepsy is a condition that affects the normal electrical activity our brains use to communicate with the rest of our body.  A seizure happens when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity in the brain. This causes a temporary disruption to the way the brain normally works, so the brain’s messages become mixed up or scrambled. A seizure could cause your body to move involuntarily, have altered sensation, have altered behaviour or a change in the level of awareness.  Infants and children can sometimes have a one-off seizure, and this does not mean they have epilepsy.  Epilepsy is diagnosed if you have recurrent seizures, and a specialist doctor reviews the history of events and the results of some tests.

Epilepsy can start at any age, and there are many different epilepsies. Some epilepsies last only for a limited time, with the seizures stopping never to return, but for some children and young people, epilepsy is a life-long condition.

The video, called Me & My Epilepsy, was created by some of Edinburgh’s team and can help you understand more.

Young epilepsy information booklets:

Childhood epilepsy Opens in new window

Epilepsy in infants and young children Opens in new window

Meet the team

Consultants:

Dr Ailsa McLellan, Dr Kamath Tallur, Professor Richard Chin, Dr Jay Shetty

Specialist Nurses:

Celia Brand & Michelle Small

Epilepsy Nurse Specialists

We are very privileged to have an Epilepsy Nurse Specialist team supporting families in Edinburgh and the Lothian region. Families will be offered a meeting following a diagnosis of epilepsy, either at home or during a hospital appointment.  The team currently consists of an epilepsy nurse consultant, epilepsy nurse specialist and epilepsy surgery nurse specialist. Epilepsy Nurse Specialists are available as a point of contact should families, GPs, schools or respite units need any information about epilepsy or the treatment of this but are not available in an emergency. In an emergency such as a prolonged convulsive seizure, call 999 for an ambulance. If you feel you need immediate support or help, a child or family should contact their GP or attend the nearest Emergency department.

Get in touch

Telephone: 0131 312 0607 (answer service) Our help line is for parents, carers and anyone involved in the care of your child. It has an answering service – please leave your child’s name, date of birth and a short message, as well as the best number to contact you on return. We may not always be able to return calls on the same day and will deal with the most urgent messages first.  Calls left after 12 noon on a Friday might be returned the following week, due to clinics running on Friday afternoons. In a life-threatening emergency, always call 999.

Contact NHS Lothian