Epilepsy – what you need to know
What do we know about epilepsy? How to help a child with epilepsy, what is possible and what is not possible with an illness, about existing treatment options.
Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in humans, manifested in the predisposition of the body to the sudden onset of convulsive seizures. The cause of epilepsy is the instability and increased excitability of the cells of the cerebral cortex, which results in a periodically occurring pathological discharge in the cells of the cerebral cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. Epilepsy is a potentially controlled disease. In 65%-70% of patients, seizures completely stop during treatment. Complete absence of seizures for more than 12 months is the main goal of epilepsy treatment and is called remission.
Helping a patient with epilepsy
When an “aura” appears – an unusual condition – a harbinger of an attack, it is necessary:
1. Lay the patient on a flat bed or floor.
2. Move to a safe place (away from water, traffic, sharp objects and corners).
3. Unfasten clothes, especially at the throat.
4. Place a pillow/rolled jacket under your head.
5. During an attack, the patient must not be carried, except in cases where he may be in danger, for example, on the roadway, near the fire, on the stairs or in the water.
It is forbidden!
1. Hold the patient, limiting his movements.
2. Attempt to open the patient’s mouth, even if biting of the tongue / cheeks has occurred, so as not to aggravate the trauma that has already occurred at the beginning of the attack.
3. In no case do not allow the head to be thrown back, as there is a risk of retraction of the tongue and the patient may suffocate!
4. Water the patient with water.
5. Do artificial respiration.
6. After an attack, try to wake the patient up by shaking him, tapping him, letting him sniff pungent odors, or using any other means.
Patients with epilepsy are not recommended to watch TV for more than 1-1.5 hours, while the distance to the TV should be as far as the room allows (but less than 2 meters), and the smaller the screen size, the better. The TV should be in color with a softly adjusted contrast and a high refresh rate (100 Hz), additional lighting of the room is required to reduce the light contrast. To reduce the effect of flicker when viewing flickering pictures, flashes, kaleidoscopic shooting, you need to close one eye.
When working / playing on a computer, the duration should not exceed 1-1.5 hours with a mandatory break every 30 minutes for 10-15 minutes, which are necessary for resting the eyes. The distance to the monitor should be 70 cm (stretched arm length of an adult with outstretched fingers); distance from the eyes to the monitor must be at least 35 cm for 14-inch screens. Additional lighting of the room is also required to reduce light contrast. The monitor should not be exposed to glare from windows or other light sources. It is necessary to remove other monitors and TVs from the field of view.
To date, there are the following methods of treatment for epilepsy: medicinal, surgical, vagus (vagus nerve) stimulation, behavioral psychotherapy, adjunctive therapy – ketogenic diet, hormone therapy. It is recommended to adhere to the therapy prescribed by the doctor. The effectiveness of treatment may change when changing the drug. Switching from one drug to another can cause some complications, deterioration of health, exacerbation of the disease.
EpiDay mobile application has been developed , a modern and convenient tool for assessing and correcting treatment, improving the quality of remission.
Benefits of the mobile application:
Complete information about the disease
Choosing the right therapy
Qualified assistance in the epicenter
Convenient and correct keeping of the patient’s diary
Epilepsy is absolutely compatible with high or very high intelligence and even with the development of genius. Many great people suffered from epilepsy: J. Caesar, Socrates, F.M. Dostoevsky, A. Nobel, V. Van Gogh, Jeanne d Arc, G. Flaubert, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, St. Paul and others. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy can have a normal happy family and healthy children. Epilepsy is not a sentence, remission is achievable in 65% -70% of cases.
We remind you that you can contact the Sodruzhestvo All-Russian Public Charitable Foundation, which is the only all-Russian organization to help people with epilepsy. The main tasks of the fund include helping patients to receive qualified medical care. Assistance to patients and their relatives in legal, psychological and pedagogical matters. Uncovering the potential abilities of patients with epilepsy, creating equal opportunities for them and their full integration into civil society. Fight against unjustified social restrictions. Distribution of special educational programs (“schools”) for children and adults suffering from epilepsy. Organization of their leisure and family holidays.