Someone who has epilepsy is susceptible to seizures. What are seizures? Seizures are classified as short electrical surges that go on inside the brain. There are a lot of different kind of seizures and someone may have only one type of seizures while another individual has a couple types of seizures. When someone has a seizure, they can have convulsions, they may stare into space, or lose their senses.
Anyone who has epilepsy does not have a mental disorder. Epilepsy can be caused by anything that the brain is affected by, such as a tumor or if someone has a stroke. Epilepsy can also be in someone's genes as well, but more often then not, no one knows what exactly causes someone to have epilepsy. Epilepsy is treated with medications that prevent someone from having seizures, a diet, and sometimes surgery. None of these things can cure epilepsy, but it can make life a lot easier for someone with the disorder. Through the treatment process, doctors may take blood tests and moniter the person's progress while on the medication to be sure side affects of the medication are not obvious in their day to day life.
Someone may have epilepsy, but epilepsy cannot define who a person is. It's not their whole life, but it is a part of it. It does not make someone obviously different from anybody else. Someone with epilepsy can live their life just as normally as someone without the disorder.
Some people may have difficulties in life because of epilepsy, which is why awareness needs to be raised. Knowing how to care for someone who is having a seizure or facts about the disorder can is great in meaning when it comes to epliepsy.
To learn more about epilepsy, like how to care for someone who is having a seizure and other facts about the disorder, visit www.epilepsyfoundation.org.