12 misconceptions about epilepsy
The diagnosis "epilepsy" was made by doctors in ancient times. The manifestations of the disease and the patterns of its development are very well studied. However, for non-specialists, this disease remains mysterious. There are many misconceptions associated with epilepsy, which sometimes very unpleasantly affects the quality of life of the patients themselves and their loved ones. In this article, we will try to dispel the most famous of these myths.
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Epilepsy is a mental illness
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease that periodically manifests itself, first of all, by loss of consciousness or short-term loss of self-control. This is a physical problem, not a mental one; it is based on the pathological activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Patients are treated and registered not with psychiatrists, but with neuropathologists and neurologists.
All epileptics suffer from dementia
The statement is absolutely wrong. Most people with epilepsy show no signs of decreased intelligence or mental impairment. In the intervals between attacks, they live normally, work actively and achieve considerable professional success. Suffice it to say that many great writers, artists, scientists, politicians, and military leaders were epileptics.
With some severe brain lesions, manifested by dementia, epileptic seizures are also observed, but in these cases they will be a concomitant condition, and not the cause of mental retardation.
Epilepsy is incurable
This is not true. With properly prescribed treatment and careful fulfillment by patients of the doctors' recommendations, in 70% of cases, there is such a significant improvement in the condition that in the future patients can live without taking antiepileptic drugs.
Epilepsy can be contracted
Probably, the reason for the misconception was the fact that epilepsy sometimes develops in newborns due to intrauterine infection. For example, a sick child may be born to a woman who has suffered from rubella or toxoplasmosis during pregnancy.
But the disease itself has nothing to do with infections. It is impossible to get infected with them.
The main signs of an attack are seizures combined with frothing at the mouth
The name "epilepsy" unites about 20 conditions, only a small part of which manifests itself in this way. For many epileptics, seizures are not spectacular at all. Most often, patients simply lose touch with reality for a few seconds or minutes. At the same time, others may not notice anything unusual, taking the immobility and absent gaze of a person for signs of deep thoughtfulness. In other patients, the disease leads to seizures of certain muscle groups without losing consciousness. Many epileptics report visual, auditory, or olfactory hallucinations, anxiety attacks, or, conversely, unreasonable mood swings and even deja vu sensations.
There are also such seizures during which patients, being in a state of loss of connection with reality, perform complex actions that outwardly look like meaningful, but are not aware of their purpose and consequences.
The approach of a seizure is easy to predict
Epileptics do sometimes have characteristic sensations by which one can determine the approach of a seizure a few seconds before its onset. Unfortunately, such a premonition rarely happens and practically does not affect the quality of life, since the patient will still not be able to prevent an attack. That is why some types of activities (driving a car, working near water bodies, etc.) are contraindicated for people with epilepsy.
Antiepileptic drugs are very dangerous
Modern drugs for epilepsy are serious drugs that have contraindications and side effects. The choice of medicine should be made by the doctor. Typically, treatment with such drugs begins with a minimum amount per dose, gradually increasing the dose until a therapeutic effect is achieved. Medicines are used for a long time. It is impossible to interrupt the course without consulting a specialist, this is fraught with the activation of the disease and the development of conditions that are life-threatening.
Epilepsy develops in people who were easily excitable during childhood
This is a very old misconception, which is sometimes observed even among physicians. Affected pediatricians sometimes prescribe anticonvulsants to over-excitable children.
In fact, the inability to concentrate, mood swings, tantrums, and other qualities that some anxious children have, have nothing to do with the cause of epilepsy. This does not mean that such a child does not need the help of a neurologist or child psychologist.
All epileptics suffer from an illness from an early age
Epilepsy can occur at any age, but about 70% of cases occur in people who get sick in early childhood or old age. In babies, the disease develops as a result of hypoxia, transferred during intrauterine development or in the process of birth, as well as due to congenital diseases of the brain. In older people, the development of epilepsy is often caused by strokes and brain neoplasms.
Flickering light is the main trigger for an attack
This is not true. The list of factors that can cause an epileptic seizure include:
- a decrease in blood glucose levels (for example, due to a long break between meals);
- lack of sleep, fatigue;
- stress, anxiety;
- alcohol intake, hangover syndrome;
- the use of drugs;
- taking certain medications (including antidepressants);
- increased body temperature;
- menstruation.
Women with epilepsy should not get pregnant
The presence of the disease does not affect the ability to become pregnant and give birth to a child. On the contrary, during the period of gestation, the condition of expectant mothers suffering from epilepsy improves, the seizures almost stop. The disease is not inherited. About 95% of pregnancies in epileptic women end in healthy babies.
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Epilepsy is a rare condition
Epilepsy affects about 50 million people in the world. It is the third most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Experts say that almost 10% of people have experienced a seizure at least once in their life, but the diagnosis of epilepsy is made only in cases where the seizures recur regularly.
The misconceptions about epilepsy are very persistent. They influence the attitude towards patients who, because of this, may experience serious problems with professional implementation and adaptation in society. It is necessary that people understand that the person suffering from epilepsy, despite the "strange" behavior, is not only not dangerous to others, but also periodically needs their help.
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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author
Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".
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