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Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures that many include repetitive muscle jerking called convulsions. They are brought about by sudden abnormal discharges from brain cells and vary from minor twitches to what is called grand mal seizures.

640 Questions

Will walking bring on a seizure?

There are all sorts of causes of seizures. Walking in itself would not be one of them. However someone with photosensitive epilepsy could have a seizure triggered if they encountered flashing lights or other interrupted light effects during a walk.

What is a first aid step for a victim having a grand mal seizure?

move evrything out of there way so they can not hurt them self losrn any cloththes they are wearing .NEVER stick a finger or anything in there mouth.tilt the there head to the side to let anything come out of the mouth .DO NOT hold the person down .just let it pass

How long has epilepsy been around?

There is no time or place that epilepsy can be said to have started. As long as there have been humans, many illnesses have existed and epilepsy would be one of them.

Can I get disability because of Epilepsy?

That will depend on a number of factors, like where the person lives and the severity of their epilepsy. For most people epilepsy does not have any major impact on their lives, so they are able to study or work and earn a living for themselves, so they have no need of any benefits. They would be able to earn a lot more than any benefits they would get and are better off not being on any.

The nature of epilepsy is that a person having it is perfectly fine the vast majority of the time so they can live very normal lives, unlike someone who is blind or confined to a wheelchair, which affects them continuously. It is for illnesses that have major impacts on lives that people are most likely to need and get benefits. For the vast majority of people with epilepsy that is not the case.

As epilepsy can for some people be a lifelong condition, their medication might be subsidised. The person would need to talk to their doctor and local health authority about these kinds of things as this does not apply everywhere.

Can epilepsy gets worse with aging?

RESEARCH PAPERS ON EPILEPSY AND MORTALITY RATES

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1974.tb04941.x/abstract

Epilepsy and Mortality Rate and Cause of Death

  1. Janusz J. Zielihski

Article first published online: 5 NOV 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1974.tb04941.x

Issue

Epilepsia

Volume 15, Issue 2, pages 191--201, June 1974

JJ Zielinski performed one of the very few studies available. The average life span reduced by 20 years on average.

Summary

The death of 218 persons known to have epilepsy in Warsaw was most often due to epilepsy, i.e., death in a convulsion or due to accident related to seizures. Brain tumor and heart disease came next, followed by carcinoma, pneumonia, suicide, and other accidents. In 97 institutionalized patients death in status or with pneumonia or heart disease was most frequent. The mean mortality rate in Warsaw was twice as high for men as for women (10.6 and 5.4/100,000, respectively). The mean life span was 12.5 yr after onset of seizures, an average of 20 yr shorter than in the population. The mortality rate was 3.5 times that to be expected under the age of 50 yr, 1.9 times that expected over 50. Death certificates often failed to give epilepsy as primary or related cause of death. Study of deaths in persons with epilepsy are misleading prognostically since the severe cases are always recorded.

How to Cite

Zielihski, J. J. (1974), Epilepsy and Mortality Rate and Cause of Death. Epilepsia, 15: 191-201. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1974.tb04941.x

Author Information
  1. Epidemiological Branch, Department of Neurology, Psychoneurological Research Institute, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland

Publication History
  1. Issue published online: 5 NOV 2007
  2. Article first published online: 5 NOV 2007
  3. Received October 12, 1973

Epilepsy and Mortality Rate and Cause of Death

  1. Janusz J. Zielihski

Article first published online: 5 NOV 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1974.tb04941.x

Issue

Epilepsia

Volume 15, Issue 2, pages 191--201, June 1974

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1974.tb04941.x/abstract

What certain food do you need to eat if you have epilepsy?

Generally, it would be no different than any other person. Epilepsy can be caused by a wide range of things. Any dietary advice can only be given if the details of a person's epilepsy is known. Talk to your doctor, although it is unlikely that any specific advice would be given.

How epilepsy affects homeostasis?

The main problem for a person with epilepsy is that he will loose his self confidence, and will have fear like when crossing a road.

Why are strobe lights dangerous for some people with epilepsy?

Flashing lights and strobe lights and other forms of irregular lighting can affect the optic nerve and the brain. Looking at any light for a prolonged time can do damage to your eyes, which is why you never do things like stare at the sun. Anyone at any stage of their life can have a seizure and never be diagnosed as having epilepsy. Someone who has recurring seizures is deemed to have epilepsy, but if you had one or two and never had any more, you would not be considered to have epilepsy.

So things that trigger seizures in someone who has epilepsy can trigger seizures in anyone. So strobe lights can trigger a seizure in anyone, even if it never happened again. People who have what is known as photosensitive epilepsy can have seizures triggered by strobe lights. Most people who have epilepsy do not have that form, and so strobe lights do not affect them any more than other people who don't have epilepsy at all. Someone who has photosensitive epilepsy has a lower level of susceptibility to strobe lights, than someone who doesn't, but exposing anyone to strobe lighting for long enough could cause them problems, as it is not good to look at it for a long time.

Can seizures cause brain tissue loss?

No.

Brain freeze is a headache most commonly associated with the quick consumption of cold substances, such as ice cream. When the cold substance comes into contact with your palate or the roof of your mouth and sinus cavities it causes the blood vessels to vasoconstrict or get smaller.

As the palate warms the blood vessels dilate. This rapid constriction and dilation is detected by pain receptors that travel to the brain via the trigaminal nerve, which also serves as one of the major nerves for the facial area. Because the pain signal travels with the signals coming from the face, the brain thinks it is feeling pain in the face that isn't really there, this is called referred pain.

The only way the brain is effected is how it perceives the information received from the nerve.

http://wiki.answers.com/What_does_a_brain_freeze_do_to_the_brain#ixzz17kJwkNDd

How many types of epilepsy are there and what are the symptoms?

"SYMPTOMS OF GENERALIZED SEIZURES Generalized seizures affect all or most of the brain. They include petit mal and grand mal seizures. Petit mal seizures: * Minimal or no movements (usually, except for "eye blinking") -- may appear like a blank stare * Brief sudden loss of awareness or conscious activity -- may only last seconds * Recurs many times * Occurs most often during childhood * Decreased learning (child often thought to be day-dreaming) Tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures: * Whole body, violent muscle contractions * Rigid and stiff * Affects a major part of the body * Loss of consciousness * Breathing stops temporarily, followed by sighing * Incontinence of urine * Tongue or cheek biting * Confusion following the seizure * Weakness following the seizure (Todd's paralysis) SYMPTOMS OF PARTIAL SEIZURES (SIMPLE AND COMPLEX) Partial seizures may be complex or simple. Partial seizures affect only a portion of the brain. Symptoms of simple partial (focal) seizures may include: * Muscle contractions of a specific body part * Abnormal sensations * Nausea * Sweating * Skin flushing * Dilated pupils Symptoms of partial complex seizures may include: * Automatism (automatic performance of complex behaviors without conscious awareness) * Abnormal sensations * Nausea * Sweating * Skin flushing * Dilated pupils * Recalled or inappropriate emotions * Changes in personality or alertness * May or may not lose consciousness * Problems with smell or taste -- if the epilepsy is focused in the temporal lobe of the brain"

Can turtles have epilepsy?

Can chickens have epilepsy? I'm not a vet or a doctor but I have no doubts whatsoever that chickens can have epilepsy and have seizures that appear to be exactly the same as if a person was having an epileptic seizure.

I have witnessed a number of people having mild to moderate and grand mal seizures but until recently I've never seen an animal have one but have heard of canines having them.

A few days ago, I purchased what appeared to be a perfectly healthy Lemon Pekin Cockerel.

The following day I went to let it out of it's enclosure along with four hens and it appeared lame, as if drunk or it had injured its leg. I checked for any noticable injury but found nothing. A while later, it's happily roaming the garden.

Next day it had to be moved and was put in a suitable box for a short while. A few minutes later I could hear it thrashing about in the box but it wasn't struggling to get out... It was quite clearly having a fit, falling over, struggling to stand and started gasping for breath even though the box was wide open and outside. I thought, chickens can't have fits - or can they?

Later, that same day after further exercise and free-roaming, it had at least another three or four seizures and I'm left with no doubts whatsoever that these were epileptic seizures that were basically the same as those seen in people! So, I vote Yes!

Can you get epilepsy as an adult?

Not really. There are many forms of epilepsy so you can have the same kinds of seizures when you are an adult as when you are a child. Issues like age and gender don't really make a difference. Some children stop having seizures when they grow up and other people will have epilepsy throughout their life and other people may only get epilepsy when they are adults.

What are the 3 stages of a grand mal seizure?

1) Prodrome phase (in which visual auras can be experienced or, in some cases, olfactory hallucinations).

2) Ictal phase (in which the seizure activity, itself, occurs).

3) Post-ictal phase (in which the individual does not usually remember the events that occurred just prior to and during the seizure).

Can your dog have a blood test to see if he has epilepsy?

Actually a blood test will not show you if you have epilepsy , the test that will clearly tell you if you have it is to do a E.E.G test.

How long can a seizure last without causing life threatening problems?

well, an epileptic seizure can very from person to person. And depending on what type. If it is a grand mal, well it can last for a few minutes, but if it is over 7-8 minutes, call and ambulance right away. But if the epileptic seizure is a petite mal, well not more than a sew seconds.

Why is an epileptic shock?

It is possible to die from an epileptic seizure, but it is extremely rare. It would have to be a very severe seizure to do that. You can die indirectly as a result of a seizure, like if you fell from a high place as a result of a seizure or were engaged in some other dangerous activity and had a seizure. This is why people with epilepsy are not advised to drive. Having a seizure while driving could result in a crash and the death of the driver. The death would be a result of the crash, not the seizure itself. Most seizures in themselves are not dangerous. They may cause a temporary loss of conciousness. For most situations that is not a problem and the seizure will pass and the person will recover. That is what happens for the vast majority of people who have seizures. They lead very normal and long lives.

Can epilepsy affect your personality?

Epilepsy is a physical condition, not a psychological one so it would not affect personality in itself. So the only way it might affect a child is the same way any illness that a child has may affect them. It depends how they react to it and how their friends react. It is important for them to be given as normal an upbringing as possible. A parent obviously has to be careful, but they shouldn't be over-protective. The nature of epilepsy means a person is perfectly fine 99.9% of the time. It is only when they are actually having a seizure that there is any difference. Other illnesses affect someone all the time. So in many ways it should be easier to treat a child with epilepsy like any other child. So a parent has a lot of responsibility in how a child develops. Give them the freedom to develop as normal as possible.

What drugs are used in treating grand mal seizures?

Drugs that are used to treat grand mal seizures are:

Carbamazepine

Phenytoin

Lamotrigine

Valproic acid

Lorazepam

Oxcarbazepine

Clonazepam

Topiramate

Levetiracetam

Tiagabine

Pregabalin

Ethosuximide

What is the neurological reason for epilepsy?

First of all let me start off by saying that Epilepsy is the word used when someone has more than one seizure. There are many reasons why you could have Epilepsy, or could have developed it. You could have been born with it, you could of had a head injury, you could have taking the wrong drug or medication. Honestly, there are so many different types of seizures and I am just learning myself that you can have a seizure and not even no it, you can even have seizures in your sleep. I am 32 years old and i was diagnosed as an Epileptic 4 years ago. Let me tell you it has been draining. I am finding out that I have different kinds of seizures that may have even started as early as 10 years ago or more. The truth being that doctors are now finding more and more types of seizures that exist every day. I don't know why i developed it, but if I had to guess it would be because of all the drinking I did when I was younger and being on so many different medications for depression and anxiety, my Doctor would put me on something and if it didn't work he would take me off of it and put me on something else, I have sensitivities to medications also, I no longer have depression but at the time it was like having bottles of different pills just dumped on my brain. It is unfortunate that some doctors just don't care as ling as they get that extra money for writing you that script. but anyways I didn't mean to get off subject, I do that alot LOL. I hope that I helped at least a little. It is a hard thing to go through.

Types of Epilepsy Seizure?

There is temporal lobe epilepsy (which is the most common), frontal lobe epilepsy, parietal lobe epilepsy, and occipital lobe epilepsy. however, seizures are catagorized into two catagories: focal seizures and generalized seizures.

Which is the safest anti-epileptic drug in pregnancy Phenobarbitone or Carbamazepine?

safe drug among the conventional older antiepileptics is carbamazepine, ethsuxamide and lamotrigine.

Epilepsy where can you find help with the side affectsof epileptic seizures?

It is not possible to give that advice here, as there are many factors to be taken account of, like what the side effects are and what medication you are on and many other things. Talk to your doctor about any issues around epilepsy and its side effects. You can explain to the doctor what side effects you are experiencing and they can advise you based on the information that you can give them.