Marcette Buttigieg
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain which causes sudden, excessive discharge of electricity from the brain cells (neurons) leading to seizures or ‘fits’.
Since 2015, India has observed National Epilepsy Day on 17th November. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about epilepsy.
Epilepsy is an illness that has been known since ancient times and we find the first detailed description of it in a 3000-year-old medical text written around 1050 BC by the Babylonians.
In India around 1% of the population have epilepsy,resulting in a total of 10 million persons with the disease. The prevalence is higher in rural areas (1.9%) as compared to urban areas (0.6%).
For the majority of common people, epilepsy is considered to be an unnatural phenomenon, often linked with malevolent supernatural activity, leading to fear of the condition and social stigma of those who have this illness. Another common misconception, both in urban and in rural areas, is the association of epilepsy with the full moon and/or the dark night of the moon. But this has not been corroborated by scientific studies.
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain which causes sudden, excessive discharge of electricity from the brain cells (neurons) leading to seizures or ‘fits’. Most people think of these ‘fits’ as movements of arms and legs with loss of consciousness. But epilepsy can manifest in many different forms since it is brought on by abnormal brain activity: some patients will stop still for a brief period of time, and just gaze into the air; others will experience momentary loss of consciousness and fall down suddenly and immediately get up again; some may go through repetitive movements without being aware of it.
The cause is unknown in about half of people; in the other half, causes include damage to the baby’s brain during birth, usually from prolonged labour; brain infections such as encephalitis, tuberculosis; brain tumours and head injuries: and, in some cases, there is some genetic influence. A common cause of epilepsy among tribal populations is neurocysticercoses – cysts in the brain that are formed when larvae from ingested tapeworm eggs travel to the brain. These tapeworm eggs are found in pork and enter the body through the consumption of undercooked pork meat. This kind of epilepsy can be prevented by eating only fully cooked meat.
Nowadays, there is very effective medication for epilepsy, but the diagnosis must be made by a qualified doctor, usually, a psychiatrist. Medicines will control the epilepsy and have to be taken over a long period of time, without fail. While some patients may have to take the medicines all their life, others will get cured if they take the medicines regularly. Unfortunately, because of the various superstitions beliefs around epilepsy, majority of patients prefer to go to faith healers and shamans or take herbal medication for their treatment: but this is not effective in the majority of patients, and will lead to the disease becoming worse over time, especially with children.
It is indeed sad that now that treatment is available free of charge from Government facilities, the majority of person with epilepsy (around 80%) still go untreated because they have not approached a good doctor.
It is up to us, who understand better what this sickness is, to spread correct knowledge about epilepsy and its treatment so that those who suffer from this illness will be able to yield a normal, satisfactory life.
(Marcette Buttigieg is a qualified medical nurse)