In this blog we are going to answer common questions surrounding epilepsy, including:

What is Epilepsy?

Put simply, epilepsy is neurological condition where there is a tendency to have seizures. You can find a technical definition here.

Not only is it a neurological condition – which means it affects the brain – it is also a physical condition, because the body is affected when someone has a seizure.

There are over 40 types of epilepsy, so just knowing that a person ‘has epilepsy’ tells you very little information about their condition and the seizures that they have.

Interesting Facts about epilepsy:

  • The Greek philosopher Hippocrates (460-377 BC) was the first person to think that epilepsy starts in the brain.
  • Anyone can have a seizure if the circumstances are right, but most people do not have seizures under ‘normal conditions’.
  • With the right Anti-Epileptic Drugs, up to 70% of people with epilepsy could have their seizures controlled (stopped).
  • The first Anti-Epileptic Drugs used to treat epilepsy was phenobarbitone in 1912. There are now over 20 different Anti-Epileptic Drugs available in the UK.
  • St Valentine is the patron saint of people with epilepsy.

Famous people who have had epilepsy include:

  • Julius Caesar
  • Vincent Van Gogh
  • Napoleon
  • Charles V
  • Tchaikovsky
  • Richard Burton
  • Prince
  • Alfred Nobel

How many people in the UK are affected by epilepsy?

Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition in the UK and one of the most serious neurological conditions in the world.

1 in every 103 people in the UK has epilepsy. This means that there are over 633,000 people living with this condition in the UK.

What is an epileptic seizure?

An epileptic seizure is caused by a sudden burst of excess electrical activity in the brain. This burst of excess activity causes a temporary disruption in the normal message passing between brain cells.  This disruption results in the brain’s messages becoming halted or ‘mixed up’, causing a seizure.

There are two classifications of epileptic seizure:

  • Generalised seizure
  • Partial seizure

Within each of these classifications, there are many different types of seizure and what happens to a person during a seizure will depend on which type they have.

Seizures can cause the person to go floppy as their muscles suddenly relax whereas others can cause the muscles to suddenly stiffen up. During some seizures, the person may be blank or unresponsive and during others the person may be alert and aware but be experiencing unusual sensations and movements.

When someone comes round after an epileptic seizure, they may feel confused, very tired, and may want to sleep.

The person who had the seizure may not remember much, if anything, about it. This might be because they were unconscious at the time or very confused afterwards.

The type of seizure that most people think of when it comes to epilepsy is the tonic-clonic seizure, which causes the person to become unconscious and jerk/shake as their muscles relax and tighten rhythmically.

What causes epilepsy?

Anyone can become epileptic – it happens in all ages, races and social classes – and 1% of the general population develops the condition.

Epilepsy is the symptom of an underlying cause but the reasons why some people develop it are not straightforward. There are many possible causes and in many cases the cause is not found.

Possible causes of epilepsy can include:

  • Genetic predisposition
  • Head injuries, infections, a stroke, a brain tumour
  • The brain not developing properly in the womb

How is epilepsy diagnosed?

A person is usually diagnosed as having epilepsy if they have had two or more seizures that started in the brain. However, getting a diagnosis can be difficult because there is no single test that can diagnose the condition.

Diagnosing epilepsy involves doctors collecting information from different tests, talking to the person about what has been happening to them, and speaking to anyone else who might have seen the seizures. With all the collected information the most likely cause of the seizures may be found.

Much of the diagnosis of epilepsy is based on finding out what happened to the person before, during and after the seizures.

Finding out what happened before, during and after a suspected seizure can often tell a lot about why it might have happened. For example, some types of faints can look like epileptic seizures, but often before fainting a person feels cold or clammy and their vision goes blurry. Whereas epileptic seizures often happen very suddenly, and the person may have no warning that a seizure is about to happen.

If you witness someone having a seizure, your account of what happened is really valuable to the doctor.

How is epilepsy treated?

There are 4 different treatments:

The main form of treatment is medicine, called Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) or anti-seizure medications (ASMs) which are used to stop seizures happening. It is important to note that they are not used to stop seizures while they are happening and they do not cure epilepsy. However, up to 70% of people with epilepsy could have their seizures controlled (they stop having seizures) once the best medication is found for them. Some people may need to take more than 1 medication to control seizures.

For those that have seizures that don’t stop with medicine, their doctor may suggest one of the other types of treatment available.

 What do I do if someone has a seizure?

  • Make as little fuss as possible.
  • Protect the head from injury: remove harmful objects from nearby.
  • Cushion the head
  • Where appropriate look for an epileptic identity card or jewellery.
  • Aid breathing by placing person in the recovery position once the seizure has finished.
  • Be calm and reassuring.
  • Stay with the person until recovery is complete.

Do you care for people suffering from epilepsy and want to understand the condition better? Why not book one of our training courses:

Contact us to book a training course today, we can deliver our training at our training centre in Stoke-on-Trent or we can come to your business.