What you need to know about Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which the individual suffers seizures, or a sudden rush of electrical activity in the brain. The seizures may be unprovoked, but may have certain underlying causes. Seizures are mostly recurring, and may cause disturbances in daily life activities.             

Seizures may either affect all of the brain, in which case they are referred to as generalised seizures, or they can affect a part of the brain, and are called partial or focal seizures. They may differ in intensity and while mild seizures are difficult to notice, and may only last a few seconds, stronger ones may cause spasms and muscle twitches, and usually last longer. The individual may even lose consciousness in some cases, and may have no memories of the seizure afterwards.       

As mentioned before, they may be unprovoked but there may be reasons for them to occur such as fever, a head trauma, very blood low sugar or a case of alcohol withdrawal. Seizures also have different triggers. These include lack of sleep, stress, eating problems, caffeine, alcohol, medicines, drugs, bright or flashing lights etc.    

There are various types of seizures that one may come across. These include simple partial seizures that do not involve the loss of consciousness and have more to do with symptoms such as dizziness, alterations to senses, twitching and tingling in the limbs and so on. On the other hand, complex partial seizures may involve the loss of consciousness with symptoms such as staring into space blankly, unresponsiveness, and performing repeated actions or movements.  

Generalised seizures that affect the whole brain are also of many types. Absence seizures are those that cause blank staring and repetitive movements like lip-smacking or blinking. Tonic seizures are responsible for muscle stiffness, whereas atonic seizures can lead to loss of muscle control and cause a sudden fall. Clonic seizures are the kind of seizures that cause repeated jerky muscle movements, and myoclonic seizures are responsible for spontaneous twitching of the arms and legs. Tonic-clonic seizures are another type that are characterised by stiffening of the body, shaking, loss of bladder/bowel control, tongue-biting etc.    

While there is no cure for the disorder, the symptoms can be managed and minimised so that one can carry on with their lives with minimal interference. You must fix an appointment with a neuro specialist for any concern you might have regarding epilepsy.

Visit the best neurohospital in India for an accurate diagnosis, from the most experienced doctors, who can provide the best management of seizures. Techniques usually include medication, use of a vagus nerve stimulator, changes in diet, or only in extreme cases, brain surgery.