The month of November has been established as National Epilepsy Month. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects many Americans. The Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania (EFEPA) located on Walnut Street in Philadelphia, is offering a variety of programs aimed at education and advocacy for epilepsy. They even have a special awareness gift available to those who go to these programs. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, people with epilepsy have a cluster of neurons that cause the brain tosometimes signal abnormally. The normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions and behavior or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms and loss of consciousness. Only people who have more than two seizures are diagnosed with this disorder, even though one in ten Americans will have a seizure in their lifetime. One in a hundred people have recurrent seizures, which is then diagnosed as epilepsy. This number is more than people with Parkinson’s, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy combined, which is about 2 million people in the United States. This occurs most often with people over the ages of 65 and in young children, however, it has been known to happen to people at any age, according to www. trileptal.com.
There are many reasons for people to be afflicted with this disorder. Epilepsy may develop because of an abnormality in brain wiring, an imbalance of neurotransmitters, or some combination of these factors. However, 70 percent of the time there is no identifiable reason for why someone developed epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania. As college students, many of us either know or will know somebody with this disorder, so it might be helpful to know what to do during an epileptic seizure.
Many things that used to be done during an epileptic seizure have now been revised; for instance, putting something between the victim’s teeth so that they do no swallow their tongue is now not advised. Also, do not in any way try to constrict a person to keep them from flailing around. Simply move things out of their way so that they cannot hurt themselves on anything. It is also important tkeep the person on their side so that they do not choke if they happen to throw up. Finally, remember to loosen tight clothing to make breathing easier. If possible, it is very helpful to notice when the seizure started and ended and also what kind of spasms the victim was having during the seizure.
Many people most likely do not know how widespread this disorder is in America and knowledge about this disorder may prove helpful in the future. For more information visit www.efa.org.