Everyone needs to learn about epilepsy. Odds are someone in your family or social circle who suffers from epilepsy. Arming yourself with knowledge about the condition can help you and the people around you handle a situation tied to an epileptic episode. Knowing what to do and how to care is critical to the patient’s health. Knowing what epilepsy is can also help you know what to look for in your children, yourself, or anyone else showing signs of an epileptic episode. Here are some basic facts about epilepsy, how to treat it, and how to care for people dealing with it.
The Causes of Epilepsy
The first thing you should know about epilepsy is that it can exist in anyone. Epilepsy affects people of every gender, race, and demographic. It’s often referred to as a condition in which brain activity is disrupted, causing seizures, loss of awareness, and other disorientation.
Epilepsy Symptoms
How can you tell if someone has epilepsy? The symptoms of epilepsy can range widely. In one person, it can be expressed as a stare off into the distance or the inability to speak. An epileptic episode can also be a full-blown seizure with thrashing that can be quite troubling for witnesses to watch.
Just because someone has a single seizure or epileptic symptom doesn’t mean they have epilepsy. Usually, it requires two or more such episodes to be diagnosed as epileptic.
Methods of Treatment for Epilepsy
Treatment for epilepsy varies depending on how severe the condition is. Some people who have occasional small epileptic symptoms choose to live with the condition without medical intervention. Other people have no way of living a safe, normal life with their condition, so they opt for surgical interventions. Most people, however, fall somewhere in between. There are several medications used by doctors to treat people with epilepsy. Some have to take the medicines their whole lives, while others outgrow epilepsy after a certain age.
Peptides and Epilepsy Research
Peptides have been under the microscope of the scientific community lately for their potential health benefits and treatment of some common disorders. One peptide, in particular, named Sermorelin, has generated a lot of chatter over how it’s lowered seizure activity in tests done on mice. In a recent test done on mice with epilepsy, Sermorelin activated GABA receptors in their central nervous systems. GABA is known to reduce the amount of electric activity in the central nervous system, thus reducing the seizure activity in the epileptic mice. This research offers an exciting insight into the future potential of Sermorelin on decreasing epileptic episodes.
What You Should Do If Someone has an Epileptic Episode?
For most people, a key part of learning about epilepsy is knowing what to do if you or a loved one has an episode. If the seizure is minor, stay with the person until the episode is over. Talk to them afterward calmly about what happened and help them process what’s going on. It’s never a bad idea to call 911 for help when someone has a seizure.
If the seizure is more severe, call 911 immediately. Do not try and restrict the person’s movements, and clear away any objects that could fall on them or cause injury to them. Do not put anything in the person’s mouth. Also, don’t offer the person any food or water until they are fully alert again.
Dealing with epilepsy is a different journey for each person it affects. For many, it’s a mild inconvenience that happens infrequently. For others, it becomes a big part of their life and treating it becomes part of who they are.