Epilepsy: Symptoms, Causes, Types, Treatment

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that is identified by repeated seizures. The sudden but temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain is defined as a seizure. This also causes a sudden behavior change. Usually, tiny electrical impulses are generated by our brain in an orderly and continuous manner. 

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a mental illness. In which the brain appears to be healthy and its structure does not show any signs of disorders. In fact, the functioning of the brain depends on the movements of electrical currents in the nerves. In this disorder, the currents start running in the patient's brain without any reason. 

As a result of which epileptic seizures and tremors start to appear in the body. In some patients, the shocks or seizures start from one part of the body and spread throughout the body. There may also be tremors in one arm or leg, or half of the body.

Symptoms:

Condition during seizure

• This process is continuous and lasts from one to three minutes
• When the condition worsens the patient becomes unconscious and falls on the ground.
• Some patients might get injured by falling
• foaming starts at the patient's mouth
• the tongue of the patient gets cut and becomes blood
• A patient may go through fits of rage

Condition after seizure

• After a seizure, some patients may complain of headaches, fatigue, difficulty speaking, and weakness in the hands and mouth.  
• Some patients may feel sleepy after the seizure.

Remember:

• 1 in 100 people may suffer from epilepsy
• Men and women share the same risk for epilepsy.
• In children the proportion of this disorder is high.
• This disorder has nothing to do with any effects of black magic, voodoo, or jinn
• Seizures may occur once or more than once a day.
• Patients may have a seizure while sleeping, eating, walking, standing sitting, and driving a car which means it is independent of the situation.
• Some patients get warning signs before they have a seizure for instance dizziness, falling, darkness in front of their eyes, and bloating of the stomach, and patients may feel the same symptoms as before of any seizure.
• Seizures can be caused by exposure to water, high altitude, or moving machinery.
• This can be a life-ending  disability
• Not all fainting spells and seizures are epileptic. It is important to distinguish between these so-called hysteria attacks

Causes of Epilepsy

• It can be hereditary
• Due to meningitis or cerebral hypoxia
• Sleep deprivation
• Cerebral palsy
• Stroke
• Heavy alcohol use
• Concussion
• Infection in brain 
• Head injury
• Brain tumors
• Inflammation in brain 

Diagnosis:

Detailed examination of your visit, mental test, and video recording can help in an effective understanding of this disorder. 

Mental tests can be:

• C.T scan
• M.R.I
• E.E.G

Do the examination according to the doctor's instructions. This will make diagnosis easy.

Treatment:

Epilepsy is not an incurable disease. There is a proper treatment for this disorder. This treatment depends on the nature of the disease. Patients require different types of drugs in different doses and patients must use medicines regularly according to doctors advice.

Special instructions regarding treatment:

• The patient should use medicines regularly and never miss a single dose
• Never stop using medicine
• Consult your local doctor in case of vomiting and fever
• Dosage reduction and time changes only as per doctor's advice
• Even when the seizures stop the medication should not be stopped for three to four years 
• The dosage of  medicine of the patient is increased with their increasing age
• A patient with epilepsy must undergo a medical examination once every month
• When the seizure of patients stops then the patient must drop by the doctor after every two months

Harmful Effects:

Long-term use of epilepsy drugs does not cause any harm. But sometimes the medicine does cause minor side effects: 

• Dry mouth
• Weight gain
• sleepiness
• Skin disease
• Menstrual irregularities

What should be done if you see a patient with epilepsy during a seizure?

First Aid:

• Clean the area around the patient, so that the patient will not be injured if they fall down.
• Lay the patient on their side, so that their throat secretions do not get into the lungs.
• Do not hold their hands and feet tightly.
• Do not put anything in the patient's mouth to eat or drink as making them drink water can cause suffocation.
• Consult a doctor immediately for treatment instead of wasting time.
• Do not ever feel ashamed to consult the doctor for a visit.
• The disease is not transmitted from one patient to another and the patient suffering from the problem can live a completely normal life after effective treatment.

Psychological Effects:

These patients are open to disorders like:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Psychosis
• Memory loss
• Suicidal tendencies
• Excessive anger.

Types of seizures:

There are several types of epileptic seizures for instance:

• Convulsions and tremors throughout the body
• A tremor in one half of the body or a tremor in one arm or leg
• There is a type of epilepsy type of epilepsy (TLE) in which anger and behavioral changes occur during a seizure

Major focus:

Children with epilepsy can study in normal schools. They have normal IQs and can become a successful and independent member of society just like us. Be good with epileptic patients so that they may not suffer from an inferiority complex.

List of famous people who had epilepsy;

Some famous people of the world have also had this disease for instance Heracles, Ajax, Bellerophon, Socrates, Plato, Empedocles, Maracus of Syracuse, and the Sibyls.