Around epilepsy in our enlightened age is still a lot of prejudice and stereotyping. Many people, in general, epilepsy is considered a mental illness, although it is called physiological causes, and epileptics suffer from mental disorders are not more than other people.
Epileptics - the mentally retarded
The notion that epilepsy inevitably leads to mental degradation, science disproves. The emergence of the myth associated with two factors. In the mid-19th century epilepsy was considered a hereditary disease leading to mental retardation and propensity to crime. Treatment of epilepsy It was not, people suffering seizures Often prepared traumatic brain injury due to falls and, as a consequence, they have a structural brain damage. Later, as an anticonvulsant drugs were appointed a bromine - substances that can adversely affect mental abilities.
Thus, epilepsy ascribed mental retardation That objectively arise for other reasons. It is scientifically proved that only when the epilepsy is caused by a very severe brain injury, it may be accompanied by mental retardation . But if epilepsy is not related to the head injury, it does not cause qualitative changes in personality.
Epilepsy - a mental illness
About 30 years ago epilepsy treatment really engaged psychiatrists. However, modern medicine denies the mentally pathological nature of this disease. Epileptology - neuroscience, as the origin of the disease is not related to deconstruction of brain activity. Epilepsy cause stroke, tumors, vascular lesions of the brain, encephalitis, metabolic (uremia, hepatic failure, hypoglycemia) - that is a purely physiological reasons.
Epilepsy is inherited
Hereditary predisposition to epilepsy does exist. Doctors in this case speak of an idiopathic form of the disease (all factors other than heredity, no). How likely is it that a child inherited epilepsy will go if it is suffering one of the parents? Not great. The probability of disease in these cases does not exceed 8%.
The seizures in epilepsy - required
It is believed that seizures in epilepsy - Obligatory phenomenon. Indeed, 40 different forms of epilepsy and various types epileptic seizures Known to physicians, a considerable proportion of non-convulsive seizures, or absences .
Absences more likely to occur in childhood and early adolescence. The man suddenly dies, his eyes glaze, can be seen shaking eyelids, a slight tilting the head. But due to the fact that the absence lasts only a few seconds, it almost did not notice.
Spasmodic seizures patients themselves often anticipate a few hours or even days - because of specific sensations they experience.
Frequency seizures in epilepsy It depends on the severity of the disease. Epileptic seizures can occur in humans once in a lifetime and can amount to tens of day. In some patients seizure It observed only at night, in a dream.
Epileptic seizures can happen because of stress
Maybe. Yet epileptic fit It may also occur due to poisoning, a large amount of alcohol consumed, overheating in the sun. Approximately half of epilepsy provoke flickering screen of a computer monitor or TV, color music in discos, cycling along the linear planted trees, flashing headlights passing traffic (when driving in a car), etc. Cause seizures can also travel with the change of time zones, more than two hours. And in particular - a violation of sleep - after falling asleep, forced to wake during the night or too early, violent awakening.
Adult Disease
In 70% of epilepsy patients for the first time makes itself felt in childhood and adolescence. The incidence rate among children up to 7 deaths per 1000. In this case the cause of infant an epileptic seizure may be oxygen deficiency during pregnancy (hypoxia), and congenital malformations of the brain, intrauterine infections (toxoplasmosis, salivary gland disease, rubella, herpes, etc.), at least - a birth trauma.
The second peak incidence of epilepsy falls on elderly age, as a result of a number of neurological diseases, and above all - strokes.
Epilepsy is incurable
For a long time epilepsy really considered an incurable disease, but with the development of neuropharmacology an opportunity to maintain a normal lifestyle. In 60-70% of cases of anticonvulsant drugs allow patients to go to work, study, and women - to give birth to healthy children. However, these drugs must be taken for years, sometimes - throughout life.
Success treatment of epilepsy largely depends on the timely and correct diagnosis and accurate treatment. There are cases (they are not so little) when under the influence of drugs in some patients, particularly in children, epilepsy disappeared with time. That is characteristic: at treatment of epilepsy preference is given alone, ie, treatment with one antiepileptic drug.
There are difficult to treat, so-called resistant forms of epilepsy. The patient may then be administered two or three of the drug, and if necessary - an operation section for pathological brain.
Treatment and prevention
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