Epilepsy treatment is usually tended by medication and in some cases by surgery, devices or dietary changes. Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder that causes the brain to act abnormally. This is an uncurable condition but proper management can help the patient. Do consult an epilepsy specialist near me. Today we are going to discuss epilepsy treatment and how it will be beneficial for your health, and most importantly the neurologist who is going to treat this.

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What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is a long term disorder which causes unprovoked and recurrent seizures. A seizure is a sudden speed of electrical activity in the brain. With the help of these medications and surgery and epilepsy treatment, it can be cured effectively.

What are the Symptoms of Epilepsy?

There are a few symptoms for epilepsy:

1. Temporary confusion

2. A staring spell

3. Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs

4. Loss of consciousness or awareness

5. Fear, anxiety or deja vu

Focal partial seizures

It doesn’t involve loss of consciousness.

1.  The sense of taste, smell, sight, hearing, or touch

2. Dizziness

3. Tingling and twitching of limbs

Complex partial seizures

It involves loss of awareness or consciousness.

1. Staring blankly

2. Unresponsiveness

3. Performing repetitive movements

Generalized seizures

Generalized seizures involve the whole brain.

1. Absence seizures

It causes a blank stare. This type of seizure also cause repetitive movements like lip smacking or blinking. There’s also usually a short loss of awareness.

2. Tonic seizures

These seizures cause muscle stiffness.

3. Atonic seizures

This seizures lead to loss of muscle control and can make you fall down suddenly.

4. Clonic seizures

These seizures are characterized by repeated, jerky muscle movements of the face, neck, and arms.

5. Myoclonic seizures

It causes unplanned quick twitching of the arms and legs.

Symptoms

1. Stiffening of the body

2. Shaking

3. Loss of bladder

4. Biting of the tongue

5. Loss of consciousness

What are the Causes of Epilepsy?

There are some causes of epilepsy:

1. Traumatic brain injury

2. Scarring on the brain after a brain injury (post-traumatic epilepsy)

3. Serious illness or very high fever

4. Stroke, which is a leading cause of epilepsy in people over age 35

5. Other vascular diseases

6. Lack of oxygen to the brain

7. Brain tumor or cyst

8. Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

9. Infectious diseases

11. Genetic or developmental disorders or neurological diseases

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What are the Risk Factors of Epilepsy?

There are some risk factors of epilepsy:

1. Age

The onset of epilepsy is more common in children and older adults, but the condition can start at any age.

2. Family History

If you have a family history of epilepsy, you may be at the risk of developing a seizure disorder.

3. Head injuries

This injury is responsible for some cases of epilepsy. You can reduce the risk by wearing a seat belt while riding in a car and by wearing a helmet while bicycling, skiing, riding a motorcycle or engaging in more activities with a high risk of head injury.

3. Stroke and Other Vascular Diseases

Stroke and another blood vessel (vascular) diseases lead to brain damage which may trigger epilepsy. You can take a number of steps to reduce the risk of these diseases, includes- manage your intake of alcohol and avoiding cigarettes, eating a healthy and balanced diet, and exercising regularly.

4. Dementia

It can increase the risk of epilepsy in older adults, age- 40-55.

5. Brain Infections

Infections like- meningitis, which causes inflammation in your brain or spinal cord, can increase the risk of brain infection.

6. Seizures in Childhood

High fevers in childhood can sometimes be similar to seizures.

What are the Complications of Epilepsy?

There are a few complications of epilepsy:

1. Falling

If you fall in a seizure, you can injure your head or break a bone.

2. Drowning

If you have epilepsy, there is a risk of drowning while swimming or bathing than the rest of the population because of the possibility of having a seizure while in the water.

3. Pregnancy Complications

Seizures while pregnancy pose danger to both mother and baby and certain anti-epileptic medications increase the risk of birth defects. If you already have epilepsy and you’re considering becoming pregnant, consult to your doctor as you plan your pregnancy.

Emotional Health Issues

People who have epilepsy are more likely to have psychological problems, especially depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

There are some life-threatening complications of epilepsy that are uncommon but may happen, such as:

1. Status Epilepticus:

This condition occurs if you’re in a state of continuous seizure activity lasting more than five minutes or if you have frequent recurrent seizures without regaining full consciousness in between them. People with status epilepticus have an increased major risk of permanent brain damage and death.

2. Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy

People with this also have a small risk of sudden unexpected death.

What is Epilepsy Treatment?

Most people can manage epilepsy. Your treatment plan will be based on the severity of symptoms, your health, and how well you respond to therapy.

Anti-Epileptic (anticonvulsant, antiseizure) Drugs:

These medications reduce the number of seizures you have. The medication must be taken exactly as prescribed (Gabapentin).

Nerve Stimulator:

This stimulator is placed under the skin on the chest and electrically stimulates the nerve that runs through your neck. This can help to prevent seizures.

Ketogenic Diet:

Most of the people who don’t respond to medication benefit from this high fat, low carbohydrate diet.

Brain Surgery:

The area of the brain which causes seizure activity can be removed or altered.

Epilepsy Surgery:

When medications fail to provide sufficient control over seizures, surgery may be an option. With this surgery, a surgeon removes the area of your brain which causes seizures.

1. Your seizures begin in a small, well-defined area of your brain. The area in your brain to be operated on does not interfere with vital functions like – speech, language, motor function, vision or hearing.

2. Most of the people continue to take some medication to help prevent seizures after successful surgery, you may be able to take fewer drugs and reduce your dosages.

3. In a few cases, surgery for epilepsy can cause complications like- permanently altering your thinking (cognitive) abilities. Consult your surgeon about success rates, and complication rates of the procedure you’re considering.

Conclusion:

In the above article, we have talked about epilepsy treatment. It’s symptoms, causes, risk factors, complications, and the most important epilepsy treatment. The effective way to cure this is medications and surgery. But more importantly, you have to eat a healthy diet which protects yours from any infections. If you ever start feeling any of the above symptoms of this, consult a neurologist as soon as possible. The doctor will examine your health after that the neurologist starts the treatment according to your health.

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