What is the main cause of epilepsy?
What causes epilepsy? In general, epilepsy and seizures result from abnormal circuit activity in the brain. Any event ranging from faulty wiring during brain development, brain inflammation, physical injury or infection can lead to seizure and epilepsy.
What are 3 causes of epilepsy?
Causes of epilepsy
- a stroke.
- a brain tumour.
- a severe head injury.
- drug abuse or alcohol misuse.
- a brain infection.
- a lack of oxygen during birth.
What happens if someone has epilepsy?
When they have a seizure, they lose consciousness or awareness right away. The aura might be a feeling that’s hard to describe, or it might be easy to recognize. An aura is often a change in feeling, sensation, thought, or behavior. If you have more than one seizure, you may have a similar aura each time.
Does epilepsy go away?
While many forms of epilepsy require lifelong treatment to control the seizures, for some people the seizures eventually go away. The odds of becoming seizure-free are not as good for adults or for children with severe epilepsy syndromes, but it is possible that seizures may decrease or even stop over time.
Can you get epilepsy from stress?
Stress, anxiety, and other mood disorders can trigger seizures, but these are fairly common among people with epilepsy. If you are frequently stressed, talk to your physician or a mental health professional to see if you have a treatable mood disorder or to discuss ways to lower your stress levels.
Is epilepsy a mental illness?
Epilepsy is not a mental illness. In fact, the vast majority of people living with epilepsy have no cognitive or psychological problem. For the most part, psychological issues in epilepsy are limited to people with severe and uncontrolled epilepsy.
How long do people with epilepsy live?
Reduction in life expectancy can be up to 2 years for people with a diagnosis of idiopathic/cryptogenic epilepsy, and the reduction can be up to 10 years in people with symptomatic epilepsy. Reductions in life expectancy are highest at the time of diagnosis and diminish with time.
What foods should epileptics avoid?
If you have a sudden spike or crash in blood sugar, this could cause seizures. This is why it is generally best to avoid high sugar, processed foods such as cookies, cakes, candy and white bread. Ideally you should aim to follow a balanced diet which will release energy into your bloodstream at a slower, steadier rate.
What foods should you avoid if you have epilepsy?
white bread; non-wholegrain cereals; biscuits and cakes; honey; high-sugar drinks and foods; fruit juices; chips; mashed potatoes; parsnips; dates and watermelon. In general, processed or overcooked foods and over-ripe fruits.
Can epilepsy cause anger issues?
It is now believed that most people with epilepsy are no more likely than others to act aggressively. A few do have episodes of aggressive behavior between seizures (interictal aggression). Researchers have proposed that there are syndromes of interictal behavior changes that can occur in people with epilepsy.
Does epilepsy affect memory?
The epilepsy may cause difficulties with being able to store memories. Research has shown that people with epilepsy are prone to forget things more quickly than others.
What to do if someone has epilepsy?
Protect them from injury (remove harmful objects from nearby)
What are some interesting facts about epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a physical condition characterized by sudden,brief changes in how the brain works.
How do you diagnose epilepsy?
EEG – This is a non-invasive test used to look at the electrical activity of the brain.
How dangerous is epilepsy?
Most seizures end on their own and cause minimal concerns. Yet during some seizures, people can injure themselves, develop other medical problems or life-threatening emergencies. The overall risk of dying for a person with epilepsy is 1.6 to 3 times higher than for the general population.