Facts and Information About Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disorder in which people suffer from seizures because of a brain malfunction. There is no definite cure for epilepsy and it could be caused by a number of different things. About 1-2 percent of the world population suffers from epilepsy, it seems like a small percentage, but when taking into consideration how many people there are in the world, 1-2 percent is actually quite a lot. Although a great deal of people are living with this disorder, many people are still completely clueless about epilepsy, what the disease actually does, how to handle it, and some of the most basic facts about the disorder. The best way to understand this disorder is to know more about it.

Epilepsy is not so rare
This is not to say that you will always be able to find someone with epilepsy, but there are probably more than you would guess. About 3 million Americans are currently living with epilepsy, and more and more people are being diagnosed with epilepsy everyday. Worldwide, it is estimated that there are about 50 million people with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is not only a childhood disorder
Many think that only children can be diagnosed with epilepsy, but this is not so. Epilepsy is commonly diagnosed in children, but it can develop at any stage in life. This is because there is more than one cause of epilepsy. Epilepsy can be the result of genetics, something going wrong in the development of the brain, any trauma to the brain, and a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Epilepsy can be managed
Many people can go on living their life with epilepsy as if they had nothing wrong with them, as long as they take their medication. Medications do not always work for everyone, and there are about 20 percent of people with epilepsy who cannot control their seizures. Fortunately, for the majority of people, epilepsy will not have any major impact on their life and no one will ever be able to tell that they even have this disorder.

Having one seizure does mean that you epilepsy
Very rarely will a doctor diagnose you with epilepsy if you have not had more than one seizure. In order to be considered epileptic, you have to have had at least two seizures. Having seizures is not enough to diagnose epilepsy, doctors will run more test to confirm their diagnosis to make sure that the seizures are not a result of something else.

Epilepsy can go away
Some who have been diagnosed with epilepsy during their childhood find that the disorder somehow resolves itself in their later years. Unfortunately, this does not happen for everyone, but a lucky few do manage to escape it.

People can die from epilepsy
Most people think that epilepsy is not a serious disorder, but this is only a misconception. When someone with epilepsy suffers an epileptic seizure can die if their airway becomes blocked, preventing them from breathing. There have also been instances of people having seizures that only killed them because of what they were doing at the time, such as swimming. If you see someone suffering from a seizure, the best thing you can do is to tilt them over on their side, so that they can breath. Do not restrain them and do not under any circumstances try to shove something in their mouth.

ref-www.epilepsy.com