Epilepsy – Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Epilepsy

On hearing the word Epilepsy, the first thing that comes to our mind is a condition in which the patient has seizures and many times he faints and falls on the floor or becomes uncontrollable and many times The patient also loses his bladder control, sometimes epileptic patients start behaving abnormally. After some time this seizure ends and that person comes back to consciousness. But in most of the cases the patient remains scared. Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the brain and nervous system. If someone has frequent seizures, then it can be epilepsy and it is one of the most common conditions, but it is difficult to say that the patient has epilepsy until the seizures do not occur. Epilepsy can happen to anyone, it can happen to people of all castes, societies, and ages. By the way, it is mostly found in children or people above 65 years. Let us know how to recognize Epilepsy and what are its causes and what are the possible treatments and remedies.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy, known as margin or epileptic seizures, has been traced back to ancient Babylon about 3000 years ago. In fact, it is one of the very common brain disorders that can happen to people of any age group. When a person has an epileptic seizure, he behaves very abnormally and sometimes the person suffering from epilepsy does not even remember that he had a seizure.

The word Epilepsy is derived from the Greek word for attack. In ancient times, people had such a belief about epilepsy that epileptic seizures are caused by the arrival of God or demons, but in 400 BC some early physicians told that it is a brain disorder that can be caused by many reasons. In epilepsy, clusters of nerve cells and neurons in our brain sometimes exhibit abnormal behavior, muscle spasms, and sometimes unconsciousness. Neurons usually generate an electromagnetic impulse that produces the ability to think, feel, and act in humans. Neuronal activity of the human brain during an Epilepsy attack

The normal structure of the brain gets disturbed as a result of which there is a change in his behavior and his nerves become numb and he is not even aware of what is happening to him. Some people have this problem occasionally, while some people may have this problem hundreds of times a day.

Types of Epilepsy

There are different types of epilepsy. So far doctors have discovered more than 100 types of epilepsy syndromes. Different types of Epilepsy seizures can be identified on the basis of its symptoms, some of which are hereditary syndromes but their exact cause is not yet known. Here are some popular types of epilepsy-

Absence seizures (formerly known as petit mal)

tonic-clonic or convulsive seizures (formerly known as grand mal)

atonic seizures (also known as drop attacks)

clonic seizures

tonic seizures

myoclonic seizures.

Is Epilepsy Contagious?

Epilepsy is not contagious, nor is it a mental illness or mental retardation. The reason for the occurrence of Epilepsy is not yet clear, but mostly it is due to head injury, some wound or tumor, sometimes it can also be hereditary, but it is not at all that it is caused by any disease. Let it spread through touch or air. Sometimes seizures of high intensity can damage the brain of a patient with epilepsy, but most seizures do not cause harmful effects on the brain.

Causes of Epilepsy

It is difficult to say what causes epileptic seizures and till now the cause of these seizures has not been completely clarified. Nevertheless, there are some reasons due to which there may be a possibility of Epilepsy, such as due to head injury, due to brain injury, or sometimes it can also be hereditary. Is. Our brain is made up of many neurons. When there is an abnormality in these neurons or wires of the brain, or there is an abnormality in nerve signaling chemicals (called neurotransmitters), then because of this you can have epilepsy.

Some other factors that contribute to the development of Epilepsy include:

head trauma during a car accident

Other brain related conditions like stroke or tumor

infectious diseases, such as AIDS and viral encephalitis

prenatal injury, or brain damage that occurs before birth

Autism or neurofibromatosis, developmental disorder

Children up to 2 years of age are more at risk of epilepsy and persons above 65 years of age.

Treatment of Epilepsy

Till now no treatment is available for many types of Epilepsy. However, surgery can prevent many seizures and can also be used to manage the condition. If a condition (correctable brain condition) that can be corrected is causing the seizures, that too can be stopped with the help of surgery. If your doctor diagnoses Epilepsy, he will give you medicines to stop seizures or anti-epileptic drugs.

The surgery, a special diet, or VNS (vagus nerve stimulation) may be the next option if the seizures are not controlled with medication. The main objective of your doctor is to prevent seizures from happening, as well as it is important to take care that the patient does not have any side effects, so that the patient can lead a normal, active, and good life.

Some treatment options include:

Anti-epileptic drugs: These drugs can reduce the number of seizures you have. In some people, these medicines even make seizures go away. For the effect of medicines to be more, it is necessary that the medicines should be taken as prescribed.

Vagus nerve stimulation: This is a device used for surgery that is placed under the skin on the chest and electrically stimulates the nerve that runs through your neck. This can help prevent seizures.