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Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures that many include repetitive muscle jerking called convulsions. They are brought about by sudden abnormal discharges from brain cells and vary from minor twitches to what is called grand mal seizures.

500 Questions

What is diagnostic tests?

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Asked by Wiki User

Certain self administered tests can be done and interpreted by any layman. The classic thermometer is a device used to take the body temperature. Another is the drug store blood pressure cuff. One can take one's blood pressure to keep check on certain conditions such as high blood pressure.

These simple measures will help doctors because the baseline of these tests can be very closely monitored by the patient who can call if the result is abnormal.

Can parents be just a carrier for epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is not necessarily a genetic condition. It is not infectious either. If there is no family history prior to a particular individual having epilepsy, there is nothing to say that it will be passed down. Epilepsy has a wide range of causes. You would need to know what the specific causes are before you could say anything. Epilepsy can be unique to a family member. It is generally a physical condition. A parent having a broken arm is not likely to have a child with a broken arm born to them. So unless there is a definite family history, it is unlikely that a parent having epilepsy would pass it on. Talk to your doctor.

Why do people have epilepsy daily?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is the name of the condition, so anyone that has it all the time. Some get seizures daily, which is what you are referring to, and some people do not get seizures ever day, but still have epilepsy. Epilepsy comes in different forms and different levels of severity. So some people have it very serious and so they get seizures every day. Others may only get seizures every few days or every few weeks or every few months or even every few years. So the people who get seizures daily are the people who have a more severe form of epilepsy and have their seizures very regularly.

Do storms trigger epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

NO

Can truck drivers be an epileptic?

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Asked by Wiki User

No.

The answer to this is individual to the patient and it depends on the severity and frequency of the epileptic attacks. This can only be ascertained by a qualified medical Doctor whos decision is then applied to local law.

The biggest problem with illnesses that can potentially be dangerous in cars such as diabetics and epileptics is that, even if they are allowed to drive, most insurance companies will charge an unaffordable premium on insurance.

What causes someone to fall blackout and start shaking?

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Asked by Tanya1126

The symptoms you describe sound like a seizure or fit. This may be caused by epilepsy, a head injury, drug (mis)use, excess alcohol, stress, sleep deprivation or poisoning amongst other things.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SOUGHT IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:

  • The seizure lasts for longer than five minutes
  • If the person does not regain consciousness after the seizure
  • If the person has a second seizure without regaining consciousness from the first
  • If it is a person whom you know has never had a seizure before
  • If they injure themselves during the seizure
  • Or if you believe the person needs urgent medical attention.

You should not try to restrain someone who is undergoing a seizure and you must not try to place anything in their mouth. You should not attempt to move them unless they are in a position where they may be in danger (such as in or near a road).

It is however recommended that you cushion their head (if they are on the ground), loosen any tight clothing, especially around the neck, remove any objects from the area that the person may injure themselves on and that once the seizure has finished you lay them on their side and ideally place them in the recovery position. It is also recommended that you stay with the person until they have fully recovered and explain to them what has happened as they may not remember.

Please see the related links for further information.

Did Leonardo da Vinci have epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte did have epilepsy, as did Julius Caesar.

Can donating blood cause someone who has had epilepsy to have a seizure?

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Asked by Wiki User

In the UK, if you're on anti-epileptic medication, you're not alllowed to give blood. In the US, the rules vary from state to state. There should be no problem with someone with epilepsy donating blood. It is not an infectious disease, so there would not be anything in the blood relating to it. You cannot catch epilepsy from someone else.

How do you give a person with epilepsy a massage?

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Asked by Wiki User

Each individual is different. The fact that someone has epilepsy may not have any effect on how you would give them a massage. So in the vast majority of occasions, there would be nothing in particular to be considered.

Is there an epidemic for epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is not an infection. You cannot "catch" epilepsy off someone. It is a physical conditional. If someone had a broken arm and was sitting beside you, you could not catch their broken arm off them, like you could catch a cold off them if they had one. So no, epilepsy does not spread.

Can mold cause a child to have seizures if they never had one a day into theyre life?

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Asked by Wiki User

There is evidence to suggest that mold can cause seizures, but there are a huge range of things that can cause a seizure, so anyone who has had their first seizures would need to be seen by a doctor to try to work out what caused their seizures.

Is there a natural cure for epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

There are many forms and many causes of epilepsy. It is not a single standard condition. Epilepsy is defined as being the tendency to have recurring seizures and there are many causes of seizures. So no one treatment would work for all forms. So there is no medicine, either over the counter or prescribed, that will deal with all kinds. What works for one person may have no effect for someone else. Each case has to be assessed and then doctors can decide what is the best medication for that particular person. Someine needs to be assessed by a doctor to find out what could be the best for them. Doctors often have to try a few different types or combinations of different ones and try to get the correct dose to get the epilepsy under control.

Where in the brain does epilepsy occur?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is located in the brain. It depends on which type of seizures you have and the cause as to where it is comming from. Focal (simple and complex partial) seizures come from a single area of the brain. Generalized seizures come from multiple areas of the brain.

Which is more useful mri or eeg?

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Asked by Wiki User

An EEG is for measuring the electrical activity of the brain and how it responds to stimuli. An MRI scan is more like an x-ray. It is for examining the physical structure of parts of the body. There is no saying which is more correct as they are measuring different things.

Is Epilepsy Fatal?

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Asked by Wiki User

It absolutely can be fatal. Seizures can cause breathing problems, pressure on the heart etc. Falls during a seizure can cause severe head injuries, seizures while swimming or in the bath can cause drowning. Non stop seizures (status epilepticus) can be life threatening and requires immediate emergency treatment. A friend of my family died during a seizure due to cardiac arrest.

I worked with adults with severe epilepsy for 5yrs. I had one resident who had a huge fit in her bedroom.She was found in her bedroom slumped on her bed. We done CPR but nothing we done could save her. She had very bad epilepsy where she would not breath while having the seizure and she would need oxygen when she had finally come out of the seizure.

Is epilepsy contagious?

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Asked by Wiki User

It is not an infection or virus. It is a physical condition. If someone has a broken arm, that is not contagious. Epilepsy is the same. So you cannot catch epilepsy from someone, just like you cannot catch a broken arm from someone.

Can epilepsy cause brain damage?

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Asked by Wiki User

The question here was "CAN epilepsy cause brain damage?" The answer is an unequivocal, "YES, it can" Frequent and/or prolonged seizures can indeed cause brain damage. However, most people that have Epilepsy are properly diagnosed, treated and monitored, so medication can assist them to live normal lives and reduce this risk. Often someone who has Epilepsy has it as a result of damage to the brain, like a traumatic head injury in something like a car accident. Unfortunately, undiagnosed or untreated epilepsy -- or poor compliance with medications and treatments --- can trigger a seizure which could cause a car accident. For that reason, anyone who has had a seizure must surrender their driver's licence until it no longer presents as a hazard. There are specific guidelines available from the State or Provincial Departments of Transport in your area.

How does the immune system react to epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is not an infection or a virus or anything like that, so the immune system is not relevant to it. You cannot "catch" epilepsy from someone. So the immune system does not respond to epilepsy. There is nothing that it can do.

What can trigger a seizure in a person with epilepsy?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy is not a specific illness, but more a general term for people who tend to have seizures. A seizure is as a result of an increased amount of electrical activity in the brain. There are different forms of epilepsy and different people have different triggers for their seizures. Something that may trigger epilepsy in one person might have no affect on another person. You often hear that flashing lights, strobe lights etc. cause epileptic seizures. That only has the potential to trigger a seizure with people who have what is called photosensitive epilepsy. Other people who have epilepsy have abslolutely no porblems with flashing lights. For other people it could be tiredness or stress for example. Some may have epilepsy after receiving a head injury, like if they had been in a car accident. There are many other reasons. For some it isn't even certain what causes their seizures.

Are there any types of foods you are not allowed to eat after an epileptic seizure?

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Asked by Wiki User

No. Epilepsy has many forms and many causes. So for each person it is different. For that reason there is no one food that you could say should not be eaten by any person who has had an epileptic seizure.

Can a grand mal seizure cause you to lose your mind?

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Asked by Wiki User

No, not the seizure itself. However, people have died during a grand mal seizure due to severe head injuries which have occurred (e.g. when the head strikes the ground violently).

This is wrong, The seizure itself may cause your heart to stop, killing you. Jett Travolta died from the seizure itself, not from hitting his head, don't take my word for it, look it up.

Some can cause Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP

Actually Jett Travolta did hit his head during his seizure.

If a person who has epilepsy blinks too much will he have a seizure?

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Asked by Wiki User

The type of epilepsy the person has is important here. Different people have different things that trigger their seizures. Blinking too much may not have any connection with their seizures. You need to know more about the kind of epilepsy the person has and if anything in particular is causing the frequent blinking, if that even is a genuine problem. Talk to your doctor about this on your next visit.

How does epilepsy effect your family?

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Asked by Wiki User

Family members will usually watch out for someone who has epilepsy. They will learn what to do as they get used to the person's seizures. As they do, it becomes less of a problem within the family. The severity of someone's epilepsy will be a factor. The milder someone's seizures are, the less of a problem it will be.

Is epilepsy a physical disability?

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Asked by Wiki User

Epilepsy can considered a disability but it only effects some parts of the brain and for some people the effects are minimal, so it has little or no impact on their daily lives. For others it can cause major problems and so be very disabling for them.

However, epilepsy can alter in it's severity. And a person's lifestyle can effect this. For instance alcohol will ensure that any medication(s) taken for epilepsy have no effect. The alcohol combating the effect of the medication. Sleep is also necessary to the epileptic. In the long - term, a healthy lifestyle can serve to create a person who has controlled epilepsy.