Tips and Tricks of Epilepsy
By Samantha Bermudez
With November being Epilepsy Awareness Month, it is the perfect time to get the facts on this disorder. Approximately 3.4 million Americans are
diagnosed with epilepsy with 65 million reported globally. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives, although not everyone
will suffer the symptoms.
So what is epilepsy? Many believe it is this mysterious thing that few people have and can cause people to start doing an involuntary jitterbug, leaving
them with a severe need of a nap. Well, contrary to popular belief, it is really quite common and has been around as long as humans have been walking
this earth. Epilepsy has been there rearing its ugly head and hitting people with the need to “dance.”
What it really is, is a neurological disorder that causes your brain to fire off electrical impulses to your muscles sporadically, like it’s the 4th of July and
your body is just responding to every firework going off in rapid succession. This causes what we call a seizure, where you are no longer the pilot of
your motor functions, but an unwilling passenger on the ride. The electrical impulses fired from your brain to your muscles cause you to lose control of
your body and you “seize.” This use of all your muscles firing off at the same time causes what we call a postictal state. In this state you are so fatigued
and out of it from the fight with your body you may not know who you are, where you are, or any other information for that matter. And coming out of
that state varies from person to person. It’s kinda like if you went out and drank all night, then had the most physically draining sex you’ve ever had.
The way you’d feel after that is about how fatigued and drained a seizure would make you, minus the euphoria of the sweet release of course. Epilepsy
has worn many faces since the beginning of mankind, from simple sickness to demonic possession. Science has been trying to crack the mystery and
in its quest to discover the truth behind what causes it, we have found and debunked some myths.
Here are some facts and myths worth knowing:
• Is epilepsy contagious? MYTH. Epilepsy cannot be passed on by kissing or any other form of human contact.
• Should you restrain a person who is having a seizure? MYTH. Do not restrain anyone that is having a seizure, as this can cause them more harm
as they seize. You should turn them on their side and put something soft under their head and time the “event.”
• Should you put anything in their mouth to stop them from biting their tongue or swallowing it? MYTH. Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell
you that you should not put anything in their mouth; it can become a choking hazard. They won’t swallow their tongue, I promise, the Lord didn’t make
us that way.
• If I have a seizure I am epileptic? MYTH. Seizures occur for multiple reasons, such as when something happens to your body that it doesn’t agree
with, like a high fever or getting too excited because your favorite sports team is losing. Epilepsy is when you are having reoccurring abnormalities in
the brain.
• If you have a seizure you will shake, rattle, and roll. MYTH. There are over 40 different types of seizures and not all involve the jitterbug. Some
cause a person to look calm and collected while a war goes on inside their body. These are the hardest to detect.
• Will you know you are about to have a seizure? FACT. Some people have stated that they will feel, see, or taste something right before they have
a seizure. This is called an AURA. Not all seizures will have them, but some people taste toast or metal, see things that aren’t there, and feel weird
sensations through their body.
Now you know the deal about epilepsy and what to do if someone in front of you has an attack or if you meet someone with this disorder. For more
information, Google is the source, but I recommend the American Epilepsy Society to get in depth information. This is not a scarlet letter disease. As
they say, “The more you know…”
4 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | NOV 2019