Epilepsy: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Epilepsy (epilepsy) is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases that gradually progresses, manifesting itself in the form of seizures.
The disease is transmitted in two ways:
• by inheritance (predisposition);
• appears as a complication after another previous illness (for example, tuberculosis).
How does the disease manifest
The manifestations of the disease are called seizures. Sometimes the disease gives a powerful impulse, which instantly turns off the patient’s consciousness.
A seizure can be deliberately provoked by flashing the light too quickly or by hard physical work.
There are two types of seizures:
• In the first, the person loses consciousness and always falls to the ground. At the same time, he begins to wheeze due to lack of air. The lungs clench and unclench convulsively, blood pressure rises sharply.
The patient’s jaws do not open. Foam appears in the mouth, sometimes bloody (the patient can bite his tongue).
During the seizure, his body twitches convulsively.
The patient does not react to anything. Palpitations increase. Such seizures are called generalized.
After a while (from 1 to 6 minutes) the attack passes, the body weakens, and the patient falls asleep soundly. After the patient wakes up, he staggers for some time, his vision is slightly distorted, he suffers from severe headaches.
Sometimes after the end of the seizure, the same new one can begin within 2-3 minutes, and after another one the same. Unfortunately, a seizure cannot be predicted.
Some patients feel the approach of an attack. Therefore, within 1-2 minutes, it is advisable for the patient to find a soft or safe place in order to receive less damage.
Due to the severity of the attack, the person can die. There can be up to 10 seizures per day.
• In the second variant, consciousness is switched off only partially. The patient simply stands with a pillar and does not notice anyone around. Nothing bad happens to him, except that the hands can go up.
The seizure lasts no more than a minute. After that, the person usually just goes on about his business. A person can have up to 40 such attacks per day. They call them absences.
Over time, a person may develop sudden psychoses (anger, melancholy, hallucinations, or aggression).
How to treat a disease
It is very difficult to cure the disease, but it is quite possible to reduce the number of seizures. Such drugs as suxilep (susemide, ethosusemide), lamitor (lamictal, lamotrigine), phenobarbital, carbamazepine, valproic acid, konvulex and sibazone will help with this. Suksilep, Lamitor, Konvuleks and Sibazon are issued only with a doctor’s prescription.
During the attack itself, only sibazon can help. It is a very powerful sleeping aid. It relieves pressure.
During a severe attack, if the patient’s blood pressure doubles or even more, the person may die. Sibazon gives an effect within a couple of minutes, if administered intravenously. However, this is difficult to do, since the patient is not at rest for a second.
Suxilep reduces minor seizures and lamotrigine reduces major seizures. Lamitor, along with Konvulex, can completely stop an attack for up to several months if taken continuously.
With individual intolerance, anticonvulsants increase the frequency of attacks. In this case, the treatment must be stopped urgently.
The moment of the attack can be recorded on the EEG. If there are no strong changes, usually during the examination, the brain activity is weak and there is a “wave of small height”. During an attack, the psi wave grows several times.
Complications
Every major seizure damages cells and neurons in the brain. That is why, after a few years, a person may begin to degenerate (die off) of the cells of the cerebral cortex.
If the brain is not trained, a person gradually becomes stupid and his personality changes.