Epilepsy
By Kiley C, period B2
What it is
10 Facts About Epilepsy
1. It affects 2.5 million Americans, with 250 being diagnosed a year.
2. During a seizure, a person can lose consciousness or be unaware of the fact they’re having one.
3. People can have epileptic seizures when electrical signals in their brain misfire. The brain’s normal electrical activity is disrupted by the overactive discharges, and it causes a temporary problem with the communication of nerve cells.
4. Many people develop epilepsy as children or teens. The seizures eventually become less frequent for people, mostly kids.
5. You are more likely to develop epilepsy if you’ve had a brain injury, an illness that affected the brain, lack of oxygen to the brain during childbirth, or poisoning.
6. Partial seizures have electrical disturbances that start in one part of the brain. They can move to another part, or they can stay the same.
7. During a partial seizure, a person doesn’t completely spazz out, and may only twitch slightly. Their speech would also become slurred.
8. Generalized seizures are when electrical disturbances happen all at once. The person going through this may completely stiffen up, or start jerking around. They might even slump or fall down.
9. The seizures will most likely only last a few seconds or minutes. After that seizure, the person might be sleepy or confused.
10. Things that may trigger seizures would be flashing or bright lights, lack of sleep, stress, overstimulation, a fever, certain medications, or hyperventilation.
5 Facts to Help Prevent it
1. Take prescription medication from a neurologist.
2. A ketogenic, which is a certain diet if the medication alone doesn't help.
3. People could undergo surgery to remove a small part of the brain that would be the cause of epilepsy.
4. Complementary therapies can help with relaxation and relieving stress a person might feel.
5. People can become anxious or depressed with their condition, and counselling can help with that. It can help them overcome the feeling, helping to also relieve stress.
Bibliography
"TeensHealth." Epilepsy. Teens Health, Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
"Treatments for Epilepsy." Patient.co.uk. Patient, Web. 16 Mar. 2015.