It is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world. It accounts 150,000 cases every year in the U.S. In this situation, there is a temporary disturbance occurring in the messaging system of our brain. You will experience seizures and fits in this disorder, where the person’s brain becomes “halted”. It is not easy to deal with epilepsy, as there is the mixing of the brain messages. But, you can easily deal with this type of problem if you can recognize the early signs of it.
The seizure we get in epilepsy is known as epileptic seizures. You may get tonic-clonic (grand mal), focal and generalized seizures. The basic reason behind the occurrence of these seizures is the excessive and irregular cortical nerve cell activity in the brain. The children are most affected by epilepsy who can even experience more than 100 seizures in a day. Such kind of disability and retardation may even result in death. So, it is very important to deal with epilepsy sincerely.
Causes of Epilepsy:
Contents
- Head injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Brain tumor
- Stroke
- A brain infection
- The experience of lack of oxygen at the time of birth.
- Suffering from the disease like Alzheimer.
- The hardening of arteries of the brain.
Symptoms of Epilepsy:
- Confusion occurring on a temporary basis.
- A staring trance
- Unmanageable jerky movements of the arms and legs.
- Loss of awareness
- Showing symptoms of psychic
- Dizziness
- Repetitive motions
- Emotional changes
Types of Epilepsy:
1.) Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy:
It usually appears in childhood and the time of adolescence, but it can only be diagnosed until adulthood. In this type of epilepsy, you will not find any type of abnormalities rather than the seizures. Only minor changes come in the brain that is present since birth. People suffering from this epilepsy will experience myoclonic, absence, and generalized clonic seizures.
2.) Symptomatic Generalized Epilepsy:
It causes the major damage to our brain. The common cause of this type of epilepsy is an injury caused at the time of birth. The people experience the neurological problems like mental retardation. It can even be caused due to brain diseases like meningitis and ADL (adrenoleukodystrophy).
Ways to Deal with Epilepsy:
1.) Preventive Measures
Do:
If any of friend or known person has a seizure and you are stuck with them. Then, first recognize the symptoms and then you need to follow these steps to deal with epilepsy.
- Note the time when the seizure starts.
- Then, protect the person from injury and remove all the harmful objects which are near to him.
- Speak calmly with the person suffering from epilepsy.
- If the person collapsed on the ground, then cushioned their head or put some soft cloth under their head.
- Check the time, if the seizure doesn’t get stopped till 5 minutes, then take help of other people. And call an ambulance (just dial 911,112).
- If the seizure has stopped, check the breathing sounds of the sufferer. If you find any blockage and difficulty, then just call an ambulance for the help.
- Give support to the sufferer and stay with him till they don’t recover completely.
Don’t:
- Don’t put anything in their mouth. You should never try to force something into the mouth of the person having a seizure. The best first aid is to gently roll a person to one side and support their head so that they don’t get any injury.
- Don’t grasp them down.
- Don’t try to restrain the movements of the person. Don’t restrain another person having a seizure. Remember few seizures end in a few seconds and minutes.
2.) Diet to Follow in Epilepsy
- The diet plan that should be followed if you are suffering from epilepsy is Ketogenic diet. It is another best way to deal with epilepsy.
- Basically, the ketogenic diet is low carbohydrate and high-fat diet that helps in controlling the seizures. It should be followed by the prescription given by a physician.
- It must be followed seriously under the guidance of a dietitian. It includes the careful and sincere measurements taken of fluids, calories, and protein intake on a regular basis.
- The body takes the energy from the fat. It is the major source of the energy in our body. The basic motto of this diet is to produce ketones in our body.
- In general, the body uses carbohydrates like sugar, pasta, bread as a fuel. As you consume a low amount of carbohydrate in the ketogenic diet. Therefore, fat is used as a primary fuel.
- The higher is the ketones amount in your body the more it will improve the seizure control. So, deal with epilepsy effectively while following a proper Ketogenic diet.
3.) Consume Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs)
To cure this problem, and to deal with epilepsy, just consume anti-epileptic drugs under the guidance of a physician or a doctor. These medicines are taken as a ‘course of treatment’ to treat epilepsy. These are used to stop the seizures that happen on a regular basis. These medications reduce the excessive electrical activities in the brain that is the major cause of a seizure. The ‘Optimal Therapy’ must be followed that includes the lowest dose must be consumed to control seizure without any side effects. It is a good way to deal with epilepsy. But, consult a doctor before consuming AEDs.
4.) Epilepsy Surgery
In this surgery, the part of your brain is separated where the seizure happens. This surgery is only feasible in the patients whose epilepsy occurs from a certain and a distinct part of the brain.
5.) Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
This basic aim of this therapy is to reduce the length, number and severity of seizures. It involves the electrode implantation into specific parts of the brain, which gives the direct signals to the part of the brain where seizure usually occurs. It is another great way to deal with epilepsy.
6.) Complementary Therapies
There are various complementary therapies like homeopathy, herbal remedies, acupuncture, aromatherapy, and training therapies that reduce stress. They can be accompanied along with Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs). It helps in maintaining the underlying health. It is a good way to deal with epilepsy effectively.
7.) Biofeedback
It is another great way to deal with epilepsy. Biofeedback is the way of changing the body functions like breathing, heart rate, and bloodstream by using relaxation or imagery. In this process, a practitioner measures the functions with the help of the electrodes and monitor. He analyzes the stressful situation and then tell various relaxation techniques to the patient. Though, researchers could not find any encouraging results while using this technique to control seizures. But, it is an effective way to deal with seizures while using this method with medications.
Facts About Epilepsy:
There is no age defined of epilepsy. Anybody can get this problem. Seizures may start among the people for the first time at the age of 65 as often as they did in children.
- It is a myth that people with epilepsy cannot perform certain tasks while on the other hand, they can do whatever another person may do. However, if the person is suffering from the problem of getting frequent seizures, then it becomes quite difficult to work, drive and do certain activities.
- 1 in every 26 Americans may develop epilepsy in their lifetime.
- It is estimated that three million Americans and 65 million people worldwide suffer from the problem of epilepsy.
- Every year around 200,000 people is diagnosed with epilepsy.
- SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) accounts 34% of the sudden deaths of the children.
This type of seizure disorder is actually a very serious kind of situation. The person suffering from this must take it sincerely. If you or any known person get a seizure, then awareness is the only key to control such kind of situations. The only way to deal with epilepsy is to recognize the signs and symptoms at the early stage and taking proper preventive measures to cure it. There are many people who can’t cure this serious problem, but it is important to take proper steps before the conditions go out of your hands.