Staying Healthy with Epilepsy
Ashley Bontempo, 6/10/15, C2
Introduction to Epilepsy
Basic Facts About Epilepsy
1. Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes seizures.
2. It can be caused in multiple ways, but some are stroke, brain tumor, traumatic brain or head injury or a central nervous system infection.
3. Everyone can get epilepsy, no matter your age, gender, or size.
4. Epilepsy is one of the most common conditions that affects the brain.
5. After someone has a seizure, they should see a professional to find the cause of the seizure. Many doctors use brain scans to get a closer look at the problem, such as a tumor or actual epilepsy.
6. Doctors also look at medical history to see if anyone in your family has or had epilepsy to see if you have a higher risk factor of getting it.
7. Some doctors will use anti seizure drugs to limit the spread of seizures in the brain.
8. If the epilepsy is in one spot, surgery may be used to remove that section to prevent future seizures or to easier control it with medicine.
9. While most with epilepsy live their entire life, epilepsy related deaths have happened because of seizure related injuries, such as falling and hitting something on your way to the floor.
10. Rarely, people with epilepsy can get sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. While doctors are not sure of its root cause, they assume that it has to do with a change in heartbeat during a seizure.
Five Ways to Stay Healthy with Epilepsy
1. Take your medicine to reduce the amount of seizures you have and to lessen the strength of the epilepsy.
2. Talk to your doctor if you have questions so you always know what to do and don’t put yourself in danger when assuming or guessing what you should do.
3. Identify your seizure triggers, and lower your exposure to these things. If you have less seizures, your medicine can work faster and your epilepsy can grow less quickly.
4. Try to get more sleep, as most epilepsy medicines can make you very tired, and sleep is the best way to recover from that.
5. Record your seizure patterns so your doctor can further evaluate your epilepsy and prescribe the correct amount of medicine for your specific case.
Works Cited
Information
"Frequently Asked Questions." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 June 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/basics/faq.htm>.
"Managing Epilepsy." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 June 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/managing-epilepsy/index.htm>.
Images
Epilepsy. Digital image. Living Well With Epilepsy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2015. <http://livingwellwithepilepsy.com/wp-content/uploads/blogger/_E8vqQ--lvIQ/TDKCT1LkEUI/AAAAAAAAAFc/2sVtDr0iaGI/s1600/epilepsy.jpg>
Weight Lifting Brain. Digital image. Enduring Epilepsy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2015. <http://www.enduringepilepsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/weight-lifting-brain.jpg>.