A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain, resulting in physical or behavioural changes in a person for a short time.

Epilepsy is when a person has had at least two seizures occurring 24 hours apart that were not caused by some known medical condition like extremely low blood sugar, sleep deprivation and even alcohol consumption.

For about one out of every two women with epilepsy, seizures tend to occur more around the time of menstrual periods.

Very few cases have a clear cause for epilepsy. So far, in up to 70% of all cases of epilepsy in adults and children, no cause can be discovered. The known causes of seizure typically involve some injury to the brain. Some of the main causes of epilepsy include:
●    Low oxygen during birth
●    Head injuries that occur during birth or from accidents during youth or adulthood
●    Brain tumours
●    Genetic conditions that result in brain injury, such as tuberous sclerosis
●    Infections such as meningitis or encephalitis
●    Stroke or any other type of damage to the brain
●    Abnormal levels of substances such as sodium or blood sugar.

During a seizure, a person could be awake, slightly unconscious or fully unconscious.

Symptoms include an increased tone in the limbs followed by jerky movements, eyes rolling up, urinary/faecal incontinence, high pitched cry while on sleep or on waking, laughing, sudden fear and eyelid fluttering. Sometimes patients may show different symptoms such as staring or some other abnormal behaviour.  Some types of seizures occur rarely while others can happen several times a day.

What should you do if a friend of yours gets a Seizure attack?

To prevent aspiration when the patient is unconscious or in clonic state, turn his head and the body to a side as shown in the figure:-

 To Control the Disease,

Epilepsy can be totally controlled in most cases. As mentioned before, it’s not a disease to be ashamed of and kept hidden from others.

Having epilepsy will not affect your day-to-day activities if it’s well controlled. Since it isn’t an infectious disease, school attendance and education will not be affected.Drugs should be given regularly, at regular time of the day.

You should know the names and dosage of the drug that is given to you.

When your epilepsy is well controlled, it’s important not to attempt to reduce or withdraw medication without medical advice.

Be informed about the places where you can get the medication when needed. Keep the medication out of reach of children.

Avoid spending money and time on other myths and beliefs such as thovil and yaga.

If there are frequent attacks of seizures, you need to consult a specialist related to the epilepsy.

• Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)
  AEDs are the most common way of treating epilepsy. They prevent seizures by controlling the excitability of the brain.
• However, these drugs do not cure epilepsy. There are several different anti-epileptic drugs available. Some of which are more suitable for some types of seizures than others.
• The doctor or specialist will decide on the most appropriate drug for you and for the type of seizure he/she has. Usually the drug is introduced at a low dosage at the start, to gradually increase later. In this way any initial side effects could be kept to a minimum.
• Monotherapy (using one drug) is preferred, however if difficult to control, polytherapy (more than one drug) may be considered.
• Dosages:
• Each anti-epileptic drug has a recommended daily dosage range. All the drugs come in varying strengths and different formulations. eg. tablets, cap-slues, liquid etc. They need to be given regularly, at regular time of the day.
• Since these drugs prevent seizures by being available at a steady concentration at the neuron level, it is very important to take these medication regularly.
• How long should you take Medication:
• Usually anticonvulsants are used for a minimum period of two years from the last seizure. However, those who have a known structural pathology of frequent epileptic discharges may need to be continued on medication for a longer duration.
• These medication should be taken regularly and if you are in seizure freedom, your doctor will start gradually weaning off the medication at the correct time. Till then no medication should be stopped without medical advice.
• If the seizures are recurring while on treatment, you will need to consult a specialist for more medical advice.

Changing Anti-Epileptic Drugs:

Duration to achieve seizure control varies from person to person. Prescribing drugs for epilepsy may require changing from one to the other until the right drug and the right dosage(s) is found.

The recommended way of changing to a different drug is, to gradually introduce the new drug and, once the right dosage of the new drug has been achieved, gradually reduce the old drug.

Although the underlying causes of epilepsy are usually not known, certain factors are known to provoke seizures in people with this condition. Avoiding these triggers can help you prevent seizures and live better with epilepsy:
●    Missing medication doses
●    Heavy alcohol consumption
●    Use of drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy
●    Lack of sleep
●    Taking other drugs that interfere with seizure medications