How Long Does An EEG Take (And Why)?

Exact Answer: Up to 60 minutes

The electrical activity of the brain can be measured by using the EEG test. Here, EGG refers to an electroencephalogram that means a medical test. This medical test is done with the help of many electrodes (applied to your scalp). The test takes around 60 minutes for getting complete. Sometimes the test can get completed in 30 to 45 minutes.

The test would be effective in finding out many disorders or brain issues. Epilepsy can be diagnosed with the help of the medical test electroencephalogram. This test may show some discharges (abnormal) in some cases. Many doctors take the help of EEG tests for finding out any head injuries or brain infections.

Any person went suspected of brain tumors or stroke has to do the EEG test. Epilepsy is a very common suspected disease for EEG tests.

How Long Does An EEG Take?

The whole procedure of the EEG test would take around 60 minutes. There are some steps that are taken for conducting the test without any chaos. For conducting an EEG test, the patient must have cleaned the hair properly. The hair should be dry and without any moisture before the test. The expert would put (apply) a gel on directly your scalp.

This gel would help in placing and sticking the electrode properly. The number of electrodes applied on the human scalp would be different for people and would be around 8 to 23 in numbers. The doctor would have to scrutinize and examine the patient’s condition properly to know how many electrodes are required for the test.

During the test, it’s vital for the patient to hold the position constantly without any disturbance. A little movement of the body can disturb the position and would not call for a successful test. The doctor would ask you to do several movements of your eyes and to breathe heavily.

All these should be done only after the professional or expert ask the person to do so. Here, eye movement in simple terms means, the opening and closing of eyes. Many test centers for EEG keep the recording of the test for better clarity about the diseases.

After the completion of the test, the person would be able to sit and get up after the electrodes are removed from the scalp. A brain neurologist is the one who can check the test results for diagnosing the disorder or health issues in the brain.

Why Does An EEG Take So Long?

EEG tests can be very easy and with no side effects. Some patients diagnosed with epilepsy can have minor abnormal discharge. People with epilepsy can go through seizures. The seizure trigger is mainly due to all the stimuli (used in the procedure). The flashing lights can be a cause for hosting some side effects for people with epilepsy.

Having a seizure is a signal and helps in diagnosing the issue of epilepsy. The diagnosis of any disease or disorder is not possible instantly after the EEG procedure. The neurologist has to go through the video recording of the test procedure to find out all the necessary issues in the human brain (or any other related to the brain).

Conclusion

The main reason to get EEG done is to know the electrical activity of the brain. The test is not risky but needs to be done carefully.

There is no such EEG post-care. The person has to do general care such as hair washing. To remove all the gels and other liquids (fluids) applied to don the scalp, it’s better to wash hair after the EEG test. Then the doctor will be the best person to suggest any type of treatments required for issues (if found in the EEG test).

After the EEG (test) is completed, the doctor will be able to get the reports in 48 hours.

References

1. https://academic.oup.com/brain/article-abstract/142/4/932/5364317
2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/552241/