Hello everyone today I am going to write a little about epilepsy and it’s causes because it is not taken seriously by people in my country and I myself is undergoing through the treatment for this disease therefore I thought to write on this topic today.
Now the question arises what is epilepsy?
People with epilepsy tend to have recurrent seizures (fits). The seizures occur because of a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain – there is an overload of electrical activity in the brain. This causes a temporary disturbance in the messaging systems between brain cells. During a seizure the patient’s brain becomes “halted” or “mixed up”.
Usually during this time the patient looses control over his body he feels that he is unable to breath.
The word “epilepsy” comes from the Greek word epi meaning “upon, at, close upon”, and the Greek word Leptos meaning “seizure”. From those roots we have the Old French word epilepsie, and Latin word epilepsia and the Greek words epilepsia and epilepsies.
Types Of Epilepsy:
There are three types of diagnoses a doctor might make when treating a patient with epilepsy:
- Idiopathic – this means there is no apparent cause.
- Cryptogenic – this means the doctor thinks there is most probably a cause, but cannot pinpoint it.
- Symptomatic– this means that the doctor knows what the cause is.
What are the symptoms of epilepsy?
The main symptoms of epilepsy are repeated seizures. There are some symptoms which may indicate a person has epilepsy. If one or more of these symptoms are present a medical exam is advised, especially if they recur:
- A convulsion with no temperature.
- Confused memory.
- Intermittent fainting spells, during which bowel or bladder control is lost.
- For a short period the person is unresponsive to instructions or questions.
- The person becomes stiff, suddenly, for no obvious reason
- The person suddenly falls for no clear reason
- Sudden bouts of blinking without apparent stimuli
- Sudden bouts of chewing, without any apparent reason
- For a short time the person seems dazed, and unable to communicate
- Repetitive movements that seem inappropriate
- The person becomes fearful for no apparent reason, he/she may even panic or become angry
- Peculiar changes in senses, such as smell, touch and sound
- The arms, legs, or body jerk, in babies these will appear as cluster of rapid jerking movements.
The following conditions need to be eliminated as they may present similar symptoms, and are sometimes misdiagnosed as epilepsy:
- A high fever with epilepsy-like symptoms
- Fainting
- Narcolepsy (recurring episodes of sleep during the day and often disrupted nocturnal sleep)
- Cataplexy (a transient attack of extreme generalized weakness, often precipitated by an emotional response, such as surprise, fear, or anger; one component of the narcolepsy quadrad)
- Sleep disorders
- Nightmares
A healthy sip for you all 