General Information About Epilepsy
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
It is a chronic disease where a person experiences attacks of convulsions, tremors, or loss of consciousness due to a brief and abnormal disruption of electrical communication between brain cells.
In many cases, a definitive cause cannot be found (idiopathic). However, head traumas, brain tumors, infections like meningitis, strokes, and congenital brain damages are risk factors for the development of epilepsy.
There can be major seizures (Generalized/Tonic-Clonic) where the person suddenly loses consciousness and their entire body convulses, or minor seizures (Absence) that present simply as staring blankly at a single point and zoning out.
Something soft should be placed under the patient's head, dangerous objects around them should be removed, and they should be turned on their side to make breathing easier. Trying to force their mouth open or making them smell onions/cologne is dangerous and wrong.
Listening to the patient's history by a neurologist is fundamental. An Electroencephalography (EEG) test, which measures the electrical waves of the brain, and a Cranial MRI to see structural damages in the brain are performed.
In approximately 70% of patients, seizures can be completely stopped with regularly taken Antiepileptic medications. In severe cases resistant to medication, epilepsy surgery or vagus nerve stimulation (VNS / Brain pacemaker) methods are applied.
Our health library contents are prepared for informational purposes only and with scientific data available at the time of recording. For all your questions, concerns, diagnosis, or treatment regarding your health, please consult your doctor or a healthcare institution.
