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Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. Sometimes, according to the International League Against Epilepsy, epilepsy can be diagnosed after one seizure, if a person has a condition that places them at high risk for having another.
The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but most of the time the cause is unknown. The word "epilepsy" does not indicate anything about the cause of the person's seizures, what type they are, or how severe they are..
Epilepsy is a condition of the nervous system that affects 2.5 million Americans. More than 180,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year.
It can be scary watching someone have an epileptic seizure. The person may lose consciousness or seem unaware of what's going on, make involuntary motions (movements the person has no control over, such as jerking or thrashing one or more parts of the body), or experience unusual feelings or sensations (such as unexplained fear). After a seizure, he or she may feel tired, weak, or confused.
People have seizures when the electrical signals in the brain misfire. The brain's normal electrical activity is disrupted by these overactive electrical discharges, causing a temporary communication problem between nerve cells.
Just because someone has a seizure does not necessarily mean that person has epilepsy, though. Seizures can be triggered in anyone under certain conditions, such as life-threatening dehydration or high temperature. But when a person experiences repeated seizures for no obvious reason, that person is said to have epilepsy.
Many people develop epilepsy as children or teens. Others develop it later in life. For some people with epilepsy (particularly kids), the seizures eventually become less frequent or disappear altogether.
It's some questions often comes in our minds.
What is a seizure?
A seizure is a sudden burst of electricity in your brain, very much like a tiny bolt of lightning. This electricity is a signal that causes your body to feel different, or makes your body do things that you can't control. Sometimes the electrical signal
only reaches part of your brain. Then a part of your body, like an arm or a leg, may move on its own. If the signal goes all through your brain, you may shake all over or may fall asleep for a short time. The whole seizure is usually very short -only a few seconds or perhaps a minute or so.
Why do patient has epilepsy?
Doctors aren't always sure why kids have epilepsy. Some kids get epilepsy by hurting their head in a bad accident. Others have an illness that injures their brain. For most kids the doctors cannot find out what causes the epilepsy.
Can his brother or sister catch epilepsy from his?
No one can catch epilepsy from you. It is not a disease like a cold, which is spread by germs. It is something that happens inside your brain and his can't pass it to anybody else. If more than one person in your family has epilepsy, it's not because they caught it from his.
Can I stop my seizures?
No one can magically make seizures stop by wishing. You can't control the electrical signals in your brain just by trying. But many kids who have epilepsy will not have more seizures if they take the right kind of medicine. These seizure
medicines stop the seizures from happening. If your medicine doesn't stop all your seizures, it will probably help you not to have so many, or to have smaller ones.
Why do I have to take seizure medication every day?
People who take seizure medicines have to take them every day, or even many times a day. Imagine that the medicine is putting the seizures to sleep inside your brain, but they don't go away. If you forget to take your medicine, the seizures
might wake up. Even if you don't have any seizures for a long time, you still have epilepsy, so the seizures probably would wake up again if you stopped taking the medicine.
Can I die from having a seizure?
Seizures can be very scary. If you wake up after a seizure and everyone around you is worried, you may worry too. But the truth is that kids almost never die from having a seizure. Most seizures last just a few minutes and kids are back to normal after a short rest.
Will I ever get better?
Doctors cannot always see into the future. For many kids with epilepsy, the seizures do go away when they
get older. Other kids keep having seizures all their life. Doctors do know that for most kids, seizure medicines will keep the seizures from happening. If you have a kind of epilepsy that usually goes away, your doctor may say it's OK to try stopping your medicine when you haven't had any seizures for a long time. Don't stop taking your medicine unless the doctor says it's OK
Can I ride my bicycle? Can I go swimming?
Most kids with epilepsy can ride their bicycles. Just be sure that you always wear a bike helmet and stay away from dangerous places. You can also do lots of other sports. You just need to be a little more careful than other kids. Some
people think that kids with epilepsy shouldn't go swimming because they might have a seizure in the water and drown. But if you don't have too many seizures it should be OK for you to go swimming in a pool if an adult is watching closely. All
kids need to be watched in certain activities! If your parents are worried that something you want to do is too dangerous, ask them to talk to your doctor about it. Don't do it if they tell you not to.
Should I tell my friends about my epilepsy?
Not everyone needs to know about your epilepsy. It depends on how often you have seizures and how you feel about telling your friends. If you have seizures during the time you are with your friends, they should know what's going on.
Even if your seizure medicine stops all your seizures, you might find that it feels good to share information about your epilepsy with your close friends. It's really up to you.
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