Is it difficult to live with a person with epilepsy? Epilepsy: is a full life possible on the border of the twilight zone?

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases in both children and adults. However, many myths and misconceptions have arisen around this disease. What do most people who have never had a close encounter with epilepsy know? The fact that in Rus' it was called “epileptic”, and the fact that during an attack it is necessary to put a wooden object in a person’s mouth so that he does not suffocate and bite his tongue.

Collecting statistics on epilepsy in children is complicated by the fact that not every child with epileptic seizures is registered with an epileptologist. Still, some estimates suggest that the number of children with epilepsy may be as high as 5%. In total, more than 50 million people in the world are affected by this disease, and 80% of them live in countries with middle and low income levels. In many countries, life is quite difficult for people with epilepsy - they are subject to social discrimination, so the problem is undoubtedly very relevant.

Finding out from a doctor that a child has epilepsy is a difficult experience for parents. Let's try to figure out which statements regarding epilepsy are true and which are false.

Source: depositphotos.com

With epilepsy, loss of consciousness and seizures always occur

This is wrong. Epilepsy has many forms. They can be roughly divided into three categories:

partial seizures;
generalized seizures;
unclassifiable seizures.

With partial seizures, the child may be conscious or experience impaired consciousness. Manifestations depend on where in the brain the lesion is located. Sometimes partial seizures are manifested by short-term numbness of the fingers, a feeling of crawling goosebumps, and hallucinations.

Generalized seizures are the closest in description to well-known symptoms. The option when the patient falls, rolls his eyes, has convulsions and foams at the mouth is called a tonic-clonic seizure. However, so-called petit mal seizures – absence seizures – are no less common in children. They last only a few seconds, and if the child is sitting or lying down at this time, he does not have time to fall. For the time being, this problem goes unnoticed by parents: it seems that the child is simply thinking hard about something.

Finally, some seizures - including neonatal seizures, febrile seizures, seizures in acute metabolic disorders - do not belong to either partial or generalized forms of epilepsy.

The frequency of seizures depends on the person's level of arousal

Scientists have been studying the factors that influence the occurrence of seizures for many years. In some cases, a correlation undoubtedly exists: for example, in some children, flashing frames or flickering of a TV or computer screen can trigger an attack. However, it is usually impossible to identify a clear relationship, as well as to predict the frequency of seizures.

If large seizures are relatively rare and after them the child, as a rule, falls asleep, then the number of absence seizures reaches several tens and even hundreds per day. The problem of the full social life of people with epilepsy is largely due to the unpredictability of seizures: they can catch a person on the street, on a bus, in a swimming pool or at work.

People with epilepsy do not live long

This is a substitution of concepts that parents definitely need to understand. Epilepsy itself does not lead to death and does not affect life expectancy, but the risk of injury is greatly increased. Therefore, it is extremely important that all people who surround the child - not only parents and relatives, but also kindergarten teachers and school teachers - know how to behave correctly during a child’s attack in order to reduce the likelihood of injury.

Epilepsy inevitably leads to mental retardation

This is the second reason for parents’ fears after the fear of the possible death of the child. The thought that a child will never be able to become a full-fledged member of society is unbearable and often associated with a feeling of shame.

Meanwhile, history includes many people who suffered from epilepsy in one form or another. Peter I, Gaius Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Gustave Flaubert, Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Paganini - this is not the entire list of celebrities who suffered from epilepsy. And, according to historians, the Apostle Paul himself suffered from epilepsy.

Nevertheless, epilepsy can indeed have a negative impact on the development of a child: with each seizure, part of the neurons in the cerebral cortex dies. This is the strongest argument in favor of early treatment: seizures must be stopped! If parents refuse to treat their child, irreversible consequences are possible. With adequate therapy and reducing the number of attacks to a minimum, the child will be able to attend kindergarten (school, college) on an equal basis with healthy peers.

“How I learned to live with epilepsy” is a loud headline, don’t you agree? In fact, it would be more truthful to call this material "How I did not learn to live with epilepsy."

This will not be a story about medicines and not even about what to do during an attack and where to find a doctor. I will tell you how life is for a person who loves to travel alone to other countries and dance until the morning. But at the same time, at times he falls to the floor with spasms in his body.

How I became an epileptic

I have not been epileptic since birth. The first attack happened at the age of 18, when I was in my first year. We were walking with a friend - suddenly I fell and my body went into spasms. Nobody thought it was epilepsy. She fell and fell. But I behaved strangely: I named the date a year earlier than what was happening, claimed that I was in school, tried to transfer money for travel in an ambulance. The nurses laughed and asked what drugs we took.

I was taken to the emergency hospital, and then to a gynecologist in another medical facility, thinking that I was pregnant. I still don't understand how this can be connected. All this time I was conscious, but not myself. I only remember the corridor in the emergency room and the doctor’s request: “Take off your clothes.” I didn’t want to, I was embarrassed, because I was standing in front of a man, but then I decided that it was a dream and undressed.

I woke up in bed at home a day later, and that same evening I was taken for a brain tomography. It turned out that I had a hematoma in my head the size of a two-ruble coin. This is an old hematoma, about 10 years old. She caused the attack.

It was not clear what to do next. The local doctor sent me to one of the city hospitals, but they refused to admit me there. They said that such people are not treated. Fortunately, through friends, my family found a suitable doctor. He immediately said: “We need to operate.” The next day I was already in the hospital.

About trepanation, forgotten words and a return to childhood

No one warned that the operation would be serious. For some reason I didn’t realize this myself. They laid me on a gurney and said, “Count to 10.” Around the count of three, I fell asleep and woke up in the intensive care unit. It was terribly cold there, and there were catheters stuck in my arms and legs. I stayed there for almost a day, and it was more than terrible. For some reason, I kept waking up and asking for a drink, but the nurse just wiped my lips with a wet cloth. It was impossible to drink.

Then they brought me to the ward, where I finally fell asleep normally and slept for three days. In general, it was an interesting period: it was as if I had rolled back to the level of a 12-year-old child. Interestingly, this also affected emotions: the sense of shame inherent in children returned. For example, I wanted to tell my parents that I tried smoking and promise that it wouldn’t happen again.

It was impossible to read: I knew the letters, but could not understand the meaning of the sentence. I thought about the same. I didn’t understand adults, so I made friends with my roommate, a girl about 11 years old. In general, a lot can be said about this period, but that’s another story.

The doctor promised that there would be no more attacks. However, the attack happened exactly one year after the operation, to the day. They did an MRI again and found nothing special. The doctor at the hospital said that these were the consequences of the operation: a scar remained at the site of the hematoma, and it caused the attacks. “It will pass!” But a month later there was another attack. It did not pass.

How is epilepsy treated and treated?

It is not difficult to be an epileptic in Russia; it is difficult to find a doctor who will make an accurate diagnosis. They constantly try to refer to some other illnesses: well, seizures and seizures, convulsions and convulsions. It happens to everyone.

I found myself in the same situation. I went through several neurologists until I found a good doctor - again on the advice of friends. It was a teacher from Ryazan State Medical University. He prescribed me pills, four a day. He promised that every few years we would reduce the dose, so that someday, maybe, I would stop taking them altogether. “Perhaps closer to 50,” I thought.

By the way, articles from the first pages of Yandex say that it is impossible to completely recover from this disease. The doctors confirmed this to me. It is only possible to control the disease with medications. However, no one will give you a 100% guarantee that when you stop taking pills at an advanced age, the attacks will not return.

And the mentioned tablets destroy the liver, they cannot be “interfered” with alcohol and smoking. I don't smoke, and I have a relaxed attitude towards alcohol. However, if I say that the lifelong ban on alcohol was not a blow for me, I would be lying. I lasted a year and a half, and then stopped taking the medications. It wasn’t because I wanted alcohol, I was just really tired of taking pills every day. As a young girl, I wanted to feel alive, healthy, full of strength, and not use handfuls of medications. Moreover, they sometimes make you sick.

“But how can you cure yourself without pills?” - you ask. No way. I understood that the attacks would return. And they returned.

I have read several stories of people making lifestyle changes after a serious traumatic episode. Probably, in my life there was simply no such situation when you realized that you can die from epilepsy. I had about 20 attacks, of which only once I was alone (then I cut my eyebrow), once I severely scratched my hand in a minibus. In general, I'm lucky so far.

Sometimes I try to go back to the pills, but it only lasts me a month at most.

How do you feel during an attack?

Previously, this happened suddenly; I could lose consciousness right during a conversation. I’m walking somewhere or just sitting - and suddenly there are frightened faces above me, asking what my name is and what date it is today. For the first 10 minutes I don’t understand anything, I can’t remember where I was and what I did before the attack. Gradually, thoughts become clearer, and incredible weakness sets in. Therefore, after an attack, I prefer to sleep for a couple of hours. And one more feature: on one side of the face blood vessels burst, causing me to become covered with red dots. A most amusing spectacle.

The last two times it was not like that: I felt that something was happening. It was like before fainting: my vision grew dark, my thoughts became confused. People who were nearby at that moment said that I said some nonsense before the fall.

I admit, I like this change. One day I felt an attack coming and deliberately lay down on the sofa, after which the convulsions and everything else began. That is, the likelihood that I will break my head on the asphalt decreases. On the other hand, if I start to feel dizzy, I’m immediately scared: “Oh no, is this an attack?”

I know that I have attacks about once a year. I understand that “the time has come” and begin to worry. By the way, this is exactly the period before the attack. Maybe I won’t have time to finish writing the text before I start convulsing. May the editor forgive me.

The most unpleasant thing

I would live quietly with such epilepsy all my life, if not for one “but”: with each attack I become dumber. Sorry for the word, but this is a doctor’s phrase. I'm not literally getting dumber, my memory is just getting worse. After the attack, I can’t remember any words for about a month and have trouble remembering new information.

The doctor spoke rudely to encourage me to take pills, but I found another solution. If you stress the brain enough, memory is restored. Therefore, almost every day I read something new and useful, occasionally I study poetry - and it really works. I started doing this after the last attack, and now it seems to me that my memory is even better than it was before. There is a chance that I will think normally for at least another 30 years. Now, by the way, I am 25.

Reaction of others

Most often I fall in public places: in a minibus, on the street. People always help: unknown people took me out into the street, waited with me for an ambulance, and almost walked me home. I have never had my phone or wallet stolen while I was unconscious.

I’m lucky, I’m surrounded by adequate people: I’ve never heard phrases like “you’re sick,” “you have problems with your head,” and the like. That’s why I don’t hesitate to talk about my illness: I’ve learned to perceive it as a kind of highlight. This is an exciting disease, don't you agree?

Many famous people have had epilepsy. Dostoevsky, Macedonsky, Van Gogh, Napoleon... Whatever! Even Hercules had epilepsy. And these people managed to do a lot in their lives. My doctor says epilepsy is simply excess brain activity that should be used for good. I like to think so.

How to know if you have epilepsy

Specialists from the Ministry of Health of the Ryazan Region advise you to contact a therapist so that he can refer you to a neurologist. In my case, this path turned out to be a dead end. I searched for a good doctor for a long time, and it turned out to be not a neurologist at the district hospital. Search through friends.

By the way, patients with epilepsy are entitled to a disability group and free medications. I am not registered anywhere, so I don’t use such amenities. But if you wish, you can register with a neurologist at your place of registration and get all this.

What to do during an attack

Sometimes I want to write these rules on a piece of paper and carry it in my hand all the time, because several times I suffered precisely because of people’s desire to help me. For example, one of the attacks happened near a bar - stern men came to the rescue. They worked so hard to open my jaw that it hurt for several weeks.

In fact, you don't need to do anything like that. If someone nearby is having a seizure, the first thing to do is place soft things under the person's head and gently hold it. Turn the person on his side: this way he will not choke on saliva and his tongue will not stick. Make sure that the patient does not hit objects around him - it is better to move the table away and remove any heavy or sharp objects away.

You can call an ambulance, but personally it never helped me. They don’t give me any injections, I just lie in the car until I come to my senses, and then they take me home.

But this is a special case. In general, doctors advise calling an ambulance if a person does not regain consciousness for more than three minutes.

What has changed in my life

I won't say that epilepsy gives me a lot of problems. The attacks happen once every six months to a year and knock me out of balance for just a couple of hours. The only thing is that it is dangerous to hit your head. Sometimes I joke that I won’t die a natural death—the corner of the dining table will hit my temple.

Several times I went to travel alone to other countries, including non-Russian speaking ones. Friends twirl their fingers at their temples: after an attack, I’m unlikely to be able to switch to English, how can I explain to the locals what’s wrong with me? But I don’t want to think that epilepsy has gotten the better of me.

I consider myself lucky: if the disease had appeared earlier and my parents had monitored my attacks throughout my childhood, I would probably have grown up nervous and defenseless. And so I can treat epilepsy with humor.

Instead of an afterword

When people ask me about the disease, I always talk about it with humor. So that people would treat this not as a tragedy, but as my piquant feature. This is how I want people with epilepsy to be perceived. Moreover, we are talking about both the opinion of society and the opinion of epileptics about themselves. I don't encourage you to be as frivolous as I am. Take pills, watch your sleep schedule, avoid alcohol. The main thing is to continue to live fully. Even with foam at the mouth and body cramps.

Epilepsy is one of the oldest human diseases. History shows that our ancestors many centuries ago were already familiar with pathology. The disease was scary and gave rise to many myths. People with epilepsy were considered both geniuses and holy fools. Today, the mechanism of the problem has been studied sufficiently, which makes it possible for a person not only not to be an outcast, but also to lead a full life in society.

Is there a disease?

Experts say: epilepsy is a combination of different groups of pathologies that are characterized by certain clinical signs. Today there are about 60 of them. Some proceed according to the malignant type, when the treatment is complex, the patient suffers from severe attacks; others are benign and can go away over time even without special treatment (for example, the well-known Rolandic epilepsy in children).

Since the pathology has many clinical manifestations, independent diagnosis is impossible. From the moment of the first attack, the patient is obliged to contact a specialist, whose task will be to identify a specific disease from the group.

Epilepsy is common among children and adults. In early adolescence, seizures occur in 1% of patients; in adults, they are often the result of vascular pathologies and traumatic brain injuries. There is an opinion among ordinary people that a patient with epilepsy necessarily has convulsions, during which he foams at the mouth when he “passes out.” But classic generalized seizures do not always accompany pathology. In children, the disturbance of consciousness can last for several seconds and may not even be noticed. Adults believe that the child is simply absent-minded. And only when the attacks become multiple, serial, do they begin to sound the alarm. At this stage, pathology in children can reach a stage that disrupts their way of life: it interferes with their studies at school and their usual communication with peers. Timely contact with specialists will help to diagnose abnormalities in time and correctly prescribe therapy.

How to live with a diagnosis?

When a patient first encounters an attack, the very thought of how to live further is more frightening than deviation. After all, before his illness he was studying or working, and in our society, many people associate the diagnosis of “epilepsy” with something not entirely adequate. If information about the disease was presented correctly, then society would understand: most patients do not experience intellectual changes that interfere with living a normal life. Work can be selected taking into account the characteristics, and studying should in no way bring discomfort. Those teachers who refuse to admit a child to school on the basis of his diagnosis and with the argument “not to scare other children during an attack, if it happens” are wrong. For adults, such a child in a team simply requires more responsibility. This is additional work and attention that not everyone agrees to.

Patients with epilepsy have always frightened society. Although among the people who suffered from this pathology were famous personalities: Alexander the Great, Gaius Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Peter the Great, Fyodor Dostoevsky. These are all extraordinary people with high intellectual potential. Today doctors know how to help patients, but their psychological adaptation and acceptance by society require effort. Work should also be done to eliminate discrimination based on diagnosis. Positive examples: in Europe and the USA, there have long been organizations that protect patients at the national level. Special adaptation programs have been developed to allow patients to accept their diagnosis and understand that they can live fully with it.

How does epilepsy affect quality of life?

Based on the type of progression, epilepsy is usually divided into malignant and benign. If the latter used to include all cases when the disease did not affect the quality of life and did not interfere with the development of the personality, today these are the types that go away on their own without treatment. After the first episode of the attack, they can continue, but as a result, they disappear anyway on their own. This type of epilepsy is characteristic only for children (rolandic form of the disease). Drug intervention in this case is used very rarely.

To counterbalance benign forms, there are severe types of pathology (catastrophic). Epileptic encephalopathy is also typical only for children, but it is extremely difficult, disrupting the normal neuropsychic development of the individual. Such patients are on constant drug therapy. Some types of disease are incurable, but can be corrected. And if the patient strictly adheres to the chosen treatment, then the disease goes away.

Getting rid of an attack means:

the opportunity to live fully;
have physical activity of any intensity;
not to be afraid of emotional stress;
the ability to travel.

Abroad, many patients get a chance to drive a car if they have not experienced a single seizure for a long period of time.

With a favorable course of the disease and constant monitoring, wide opportunities open up for patients. Of course, it is difficult to predict the consequences of epilepsy with accuracy (too many factors can influence), but certain limitations still exist:

It is not recommended to drink alcohol;
in some cases, flash photography is prohibited;
it is advised to refrain from night disco clubs where there is constant flickering of light;
work is selected without excessive computer load.

All of the above reasons can become a provoking factor, the reaction to which cannot be calculated in advance. In each individual case, the specialist selects specific recommendations.

There is some work that an epileptic cannot do: high-altitude assembly, diving, mountaineering. This is explained by the possibility of an attack, which, if it occurs at heights or at depths, will lead to a risk of injury.

Personality changes in epilepsy

Personality changes can be both a cause and a consequence of the disease. As a rule, their nature is secondary: it is difficult for a person to understand and come to terms with the disease and its clinical symptoms. If children show signs of personality change rarely
If they are affected, then with age they appear more clearly and it is more difficult to live with them.

Among the reasons for changes in behavior and emotional state are:

taking medications prescribed to prevent seizures (AES);
lack of understanding and support among loved ones and relatives;
personal emotional status, character type (it has been noticed that cheerful optimists have a simpler attitude towards problems);
accompanying illnesses.

In children, the presence of neurological abnormalities is often accompanied by epileptic seizures, and can lead to mental retardation.

Epilepsy and life expectancy

Experts claim that there is a relationship between the disease and life expectancy. Early death among epileptologist patients is observed several times more often. Concomitant mental personality disorders can have a great influence on this. According to studies by British scientists, if a patient with epilepsy suffers from any other mental illness, the risk increases by 40% compared to those who did not have a concomitant personality disorder. The main causes of death were injuries incompatible with life during an attack and suicide attempts.

When examining life expectancy among patients who did not suffer from comorbid mental disorders, there was no increased risk of premature death. This enabled scientists to assert that such a brain disease is independent of premature death.

Among Russian experts there is a slightly different opinion: they claim that the risk of sudden death in patients with epilepsy is 2-3 times higher than in healthy people. And this is due to concomitant diseases that cause epilepsy attacks. These could be brain tumors, aneurysms, or cardiovascular pathology. But injuries or suffocation rarely cause death, because... complex epileptic seizures, which can hypothetically lead to death, are always accompanied by an aura. Therefore, there is time to take measures to protect against injury during an attack. The myth of epilepsy as a fatal pathology has long been debunked.

The consequences of epilepsy depend on the severity of the disease. In mild forms and short-term single attacks there is no damaging effect on brain cells. But severe generalized seizures can lead to their destruction. Particularly dangerous is status epilepticus, in which the duration of the attack is more than thirty minutes. At this time, the functioning of the entire body is disrupted, even to the point of stopping breathing. In especially severe cases, even death from epilepsy is possible.

The risk of injury when there is a loss of consciousness also poses a danger to the lives of adults and children: craniocerebral disorders, broken limbs, bruises. If at this time a person is in the water, near burning sources, equipment, or driving a car, accidents can be fatal. Therefore, patients are prohibited from working with sources of increased danger.

The most unfavorable prognosis for children with epiletic encephalopathy: due to the special activity of the brain, other visible disturbances in behavior and perception occur: memory, attention, intelligence, and the ability to control emotions decrease.

In order to improve the quality of life of patients with epilepsy, not only drug support is necessary, but also psychological adaptation. Individual and collective psychotrainings show good results.

The word epilepsia itself, which became the name of the disease, is translated from Greek as “to seize.” It has been known about since ancient times. People suffered from it in different eras, but it was possible to understand the mechanism of the pathology only in our days. In Russia, epilepsy was called “falling disease.”

Modern medicine has found the key to the solution. Epilepsia is the result of abnormal electrical discharges of neurons in the brain, which lead to short-term epileptic seizures, accompanied by convulsions, loss of consciousness (or without it), and subsequent abnormal sleep or coma.

In the international classification, the code MBK-G40 refers to paroxysmal diseases. According to WHO, epilepsy today occupies one of the leading places in neurology in terms of prevalence. For every 1,000 people, 50 suffer from this disease. Moreover, it affects all age categories.

This is a chronic psychoneurological disease, manifested by repeated epileptic attacks of short duration, accompanied by convulsions.

Advances in modern medicine have made it possible to determine that seizures occur as a result of increased activity of groups of neurons in the brain. However, it remains unclear whether the disease is hereditary. At the same time, international practice has shown that 40% of epileptics in their family suffer from this disease.

The classification of the disease is based on different criteria - the location of the source of excitation, the cause of its occurrence, the presence or absence of loss of consciousness during an attack.

Thus, it can be divided into two main types due to its occurrence. Congenital or idiopathic, it is also called primary and essential. Symptomatic or secondary, which is a consequence of other brain diseases, head injury, tumors, stroke.

Dr. Sinelnikov notes that the cause of the development of the disease in children can be severe psychological stress, fear, and delusions of persecution. This is especially common in adolescence, when puberty begins, and also after 25 years.

The fact is that the onset of an attack cannot always be explained by physiological processes; then they are associated with psychosomatic causes. A person works himself up so much that a provoking impulse is sent to his brain, which causes an electrical discharge. This is the rationale for psychosomatics.

Based on the location of the source of excitation, it can be divided into the following forms:

General – the most common.
Partial or Jacksonian.
Partial permanent or Kozhevnikovsky.

Each of them has its own characteristics, type of epileptic attack and form of progression.

Symptoms

All types are characterized by the presence of repeated epileptic seizures. The disease begins to develop in childhood and adolescence, mainly from 5 to 15 years. Moreover, the attacks are progressive in nature, that is, over time they become more frequent and manifest themselves in a more pronounced form. If at the beginning the interval between seizures is several months, or even a year, then over time they are reduced to a week, or maybe more often.

Children can get sick at an earlier age. In newborns and infants, it is most often caused by birth injuries, oxygen deprivation during pregnancy, and intrauterine infections. There is a developmental delay, mental disorders may occur, which will lead to mental retardation. In adults, the disease develops against the background of age-related changes in the brain and leads to senile dementia.

Among the symptoms of the disease, in addition to characteristic epileptic seizures, mental disorders should be noted. Patients quickly get tired of mental activity, and there is a decrease in intelligence, efficiency and productivity. The disease leaves its mark on the patient’s character; he becomes withdrawn, indifferent, apathetic, and loses the ability to socialize.

Absence syndrome is characterized by the absence of seizures. The patient freezes, stops responding to stimuli, gaze directed into the distance.
Rolandic. In the muscles of the larynx, cheeks, and tongue, paresthesia is observed, there is no sensitivity, and speech is difficult. The patient feels an unpleasant tingling sensation. Rolandic epileptic seizures are accompanied by nocturnal cramps.
Myoclonic is characterized by asynchronous twitching of the limbs, most often the hands.
Post-traumatic appears several years after TBI. It occurs with the same symptoms.
Alcoholic epilepsy develops with alcohol abuse.
Non-convulsive is manifested by twilight consciousness, hallucinations of a frightening nature, which leads to aggression, the desire to attack others or injure oneself.
The temporal lobe has a so-called aura, that is, warning signs of an attack. They are expressed by nausea, abdominal pain, arrhythmia, disorientation, a euphoric state or, on the contrary, a feeling of unconscious fear, severe personality disorders, and inappropriate sexual behavior.
Epilepsy in children is accompanied by strong muscle tone, erratic twitching of the arms and legs, wrinkling and stretching of the lips, and rolling of the eyes.

Classification of attacks

Seizures vary in the size of the brain regions involved. Thus, generalized epileptic seizures involve the entire brain and occur with loss of consciousness. Cramps are observed on both parts of the body.

A partial or focal seizure affects only a specific area of the brain, but consciousness does not disappear.

The first type of attacks has several types and is classified as follows:

large convulsive;
minor absence syndrome;
epileptic automatism.

Each of them has a characteristic clinical picture. It is easy to determine that a person suffers from this disease.

Cryptogenic forms stand apart when the causes cannot be attributed to one or another group. However, it also does not apply to idiopathic.

Clinical picture

A general or grand mal seizure begins suddenly. Convulsions cover the torso and limbs. In this case, the body arches, the muscles are tense, convulsions are frequent at first, then gradually stop. Muscle spasm causes the person to fall, emitting a characteristic cry. Breathing stops, hypoxia first causes redness of the skin, then pallor. Foam is released from the mouth; if the lips or tongue are bitten, then the presence of blood is noted in it.

Then a short interval occurs, the twitching becomes rare, but more pronounced, and gradually stops. Breathing is accompanied by noise. The sphincters relax, the pupils dilate, and the core reflex decreases. This is followed by a short-term coma, after restoration of blood circulation, pathological sleep occurs. The attack stops and the person comes to his senses, but feels weak, has a slight headache, and sometimes vomits.

This is reflected on the EEG by continuous discharges of high amplitude. Next, a “peak/slow wave” is recorded at intervals; at the moment of coma, a complete isoline is noted, after which secondary sleep occurs, which is reflected on the map by slow electrical discharges.

A minor epileptic seizure occurs without convulsions (absence seizure). Consciousness instantly turns off, the patient seems to freeze, completely stopping motor activity, his gaze is directed into the distance, his pupils are dilated, and does not respond to calls. A person can remain in this state for about 30 seconds, after which consciousness also suddenly returns and motor activity resumes.

Seizures can occur several times a day and are easily tolerated. The EEG shows a sudden peak/slow wave burst of electrical activity that suddenly stops.

The third type of seizure is called epileptic automatism, it is manifested by inappropriate behavior of the patient who acts unconsciously. Later he does not remember what happened to him. The attack begins with a sudden loss of consciousness and speech. In this case, the patient does not recognize the surrounding environment, relatives and close people, moves in one direction, repeats some actions. Attempts to hold him end in resistance and expressed aggression.

These epileptic attacks can be short-term and last up to several days.

The most severe form of the disease is status epilepticus. It is characterized by repeated seizures, the clinical picture is the same as in all types, but more pronounced. Repeated epileptic attacks are more common than one long one.

Diagnostics

Often epileptic-like seizures occur during hysteria. To correctly navigate the situation, you need to know how to identify epilepsy. Typically, an epileptic seizure occurs spontaneously, without any apparent reason, while with hysteria, convulsions occur against the background of strong psychological experiences, for example, fear, resentment, and grief.

At the same time, the person is aware of everything and, when falling, tries not to harm himself. Hysterics are more often observed in women and occur in the presence of relatives or strangers, when the patient tries to attract the attention of others.

With epilepsy, a person is not aware of anything and does not feel pain, so injury occurs when falling quite often.

In mild forms, the epileptic is not even aware of his illness. Painful conditions can last for a long time and manifest themselves as “déjà vu” or a feeling of being lost. Therefore, it is extremely important to recognize the disease in time and begin its treatment.

Diagnostics includes a set of measures.

A detailed anamnesis is collected, during which it is necessary to identify hereditary predisposition. The doctor also specifies the number of attacks and frequency of manifestation.

A neurological examination is performed to determine migraine headaches, which exclude the presence of organic brain damage.

MRI and CT can identify tumors, hematomas, vascular ischemia and other pathologies that can cause a secondary form.

The main research method is EEG of the brain. Electroencephalography shows the presence of foci of activity and their dislocation. However, you need to understand that the EEG table can show deviations from the norm in healthy people, so the diagnosis can only be made if there is more than one seizure. If there are no peaks, slow and fast waves on the encephalogram, then the study is carried out with stimulation of excitation, as well as many hours of video monitoring.

A laboratory blood test is prescribed to identify metabolic disorders. Consultation with an ophthalmologist allows you to judge the condition of the fundus vessels.

Treatment

Today, effective treatment methods have been developed that can significantly improve the patient’s quality of life. However, before you go to the doctor, you need to understand whether epilepsy is a mental illness or a neurological one, in order to know which specialist to contact. To do this, you need to clearly imagine where the disease comes from and how it is formed.

Since the processes occur in the brain, it is there that a focus of electrical activity is formed, then, undoubtedly, the pathology should be classified as neurological.

However, with a long course, a personality disorder occurs, in old age it leads to dementia, and this already belongs to the field of psychiatry.

The disease can be treated only after differentiated diagnostics carried out to determine the type. Medications are aimed at stopping seizures, relieving pain, reducing the duration of attacks, and ensuring the safety of the epileptic and others.

The neurologist prescribes anticonvulsants, neurotropic, psychotropic, and nootropic medications. In some cases, surgical treatment is used to remove neurons at the site of activity. This is a complex operation that is performed under local anesthesia to control the functioning of the motor, visual, and speech areas of the brain.

The Vojta technique is used - a complex of physiotherapy. A ketogenic diet is prescribed, which involves consuming high amounts of fat, moderate protein and minimal carbohydrates.

Forecast

Despite the severity of epilepsy, the prognosis with proper and adequate treatment is positive. What is important here is not how long people with epilepsy live today, but what is their quality of life. Correct treatment gives long-term remissions, which allows you not to feel discomfort, live harmoniously in society, and work at your usual rhythm. However, there are some restrictions for such people.

Thus, patients with this diagnosis are not allowed to work at heights, drive a car, serve in the army, or carry out work activities involving the use of complex mechanisms and hazardous substances. Prognosis depends on the form of the disease and its severity. These factors also influence the choice of treatment at home or in the medical clinic. institution.

The life expectancy of people with absence form does not differ from healthy ones. The question of how long people live with epilepsy can be answered by statistics. It has been observed that those suffering from status epilepticus die before the age of 40.

Many people are interested in the question : Can you die from epilepsy? ? Most often, death occurs not from the attack itself, but from injuries received during a fall. Therefore, it is extremely important to support your head at the time of an epileptic attack in order to prevent impacts on hard objects; calling an emergency ambulance will provide an opportunity to receive qualified help .

The most life-threatening is status epilepticus; it is formed when the frontal lobe is affected. Then epileptic attacks are repeated at short intervals one after another, the patient may die from respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, or cerebral edema.

With timely adequate treatment, a positive result is observed. In 35%, it is possible to completely eliminate repeated epileptic attacks, and in 50%, a long-term remission can be achieved, lasting for years. 80% of patients do not experience any particular discomfort. If seizures occur only at night, even restrictions in choosing a future profession are minimized.

Prevention

Patients are advised to spend more time in the fresh air, get enough sleep and avoid excessive physical and mental stress. A milk diet is prescribed, and it is advised not to overeat. Hypothermia and overheating should be avoided.

Since prevention is aimed at eliminating provoking factors, it is necessary to avoid drinks that stimulate the nervous system, for example, strong tea and coffee, and completely eliminate the use of alcohol.

Psychological stress can also trigger an epileptic attack. You need to create peace and peace in the family; to do this, you need to avoid conflicts.

By showing care and attention to the epileptic, you can significantly reduce the risk of new seizures. However, even in conditions of good care, you cannot refuse to take prescribed medications, reduce doses yourself, or take other medications without the knowledge of the treating neurologist.

Doctors made the diagnosis of epilepsy back in ancient times. The manifestations of the disease and the patterns of its development have been very well studied. However, for non-specialists this disease still remains mysterious. There are many misconceptions associated with epilepsy, which sometimes has a very unpleasant effect on the quality of life of the patients themselves and their loved ones. In this article we will try to dispel the most famous of these myths.

Source: depositphotos.com

Epilepsy is a mental disease

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease that periodically manifests itself primarily as loss of consciousness or short-term loss of self-control. This is a physical problem, not a mental one; it is based on the pathological activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Patients are treated and registered not with psychiatrists, but with neurologists and neurologists.

All epileptics suffer from dementia

The statement is absolutely false. Most people with epilepsy do not show any signs of decreased intelligence or difficulty thinking. In the intervals between attacks, they live normally, work actively and achieve considerable professional success. It is enough to note that many great writers, artists, scientists, politicians and generals were epileptics.

In some severe brain lesions manifested by dementia, epileptic seizures are also observed, but in these cases they will be a concomitant condition, and not the cause of mental retardation.

Epilepsy is incurable

This is wrong. With correctly prescribed treatment and patients carefully following doctors’ recommendations, in 70% of cases the condition improves so significantly that in the future patients can live without taking antiepileptic drugs.

Epilepsy can be infected

Probably the reason for the misconception was the fact that epilepsy in newborns sometimes develops as a result of intrauterine infection. For example, a sick child may be born to a woman who suffered from rubella or toxoplasmosis during pregnancy.

But the disease itself has nothing to do with infections. It is impossible for them to get infected.

The main signs of an attack are convulsions combined with foam at the mouth

The name “epilepsy” unites about 20 conditions, only a small part of which manifest themselves in this way. For many epileptics, seizures are not at all spectacular. Most often, patients simply lose touch with reality for a few seconds or minutes. At the same time, others may not notice anything unusual, mistaking the person’s immobility and absent gaze for signs of deep thoughtfulness. In other patients, the disease leads to cramps of certain muscle groups without loss of consciousness. Many epileptics report visual, auditory or olfactory hallucinations, panic attacks or, on the contrary, unreasonable mood swings and even feelings of “déjà vu”.

There are also seizures during which patients, being in a state of loss of contact with reality, perform complex actions that outwardly look meaningful, but are not aware of their purpose and consequences.

It's easy to predict when a seizure is coming

Epileptics sometimes actually experience characteristic sensations that can be used to determine the approach of a seizure a few seconds before its onset. Unfortunately, such a premonition happens rarely and has virtually no effect on the quality of life, since the patient will still not be able to prevent an attack. That is why certain types of activities are contraindicated for people suffering from epilepsy (driving a car, working near bodies of water, etc.).

Antiepileptic drugs are very dangerous

Modern drugs against epilepsy are serious drugs that have contraindications and side effects. The choice of medication should be made by a doctor. Typically, treatment with such drugs begins with a minimum amount per dose, gradually increasing the dose until a therapeutic effect is achieved. Medicines are used for a long time. It is impossible to interrupt the course without consulting a specialist; this is fraught with intensification of the disease and the development of life-threatening conditions.

Epilepsy develops in people who were easily excitable in childhood

This is a very old misconception, which is sometimes observed even among doctors. Pediatricians who are susceptible to it sometimes prescribe anticonvulsants to overly excitable children.

In fact, the inability to concentrate, mood swings, tendency to tantrums and other qualities characteristic of some restless children have nothing to do with the reasons for the development of epilepsy. This does not mean that such a child does not need the help of a neurologist or child psychologist.

All epileptics suffer from the disease from an early age

Epilepsy can appear at any age, but about 70% of cases occur in people who become ill in early childhood or old age. In babies, the disease develops as a result of hypoxia suffered during fetal development or during birth, as well as due to congenital diseases of the brain. In older people, the development of epilepsy is often caused by strokes and brain tumors.

The main factor that provokes an attack is flickering light

This is wrong. The list of factors that can cause an epileptic seizure includes:

decreased blood glucose levels (for example, due to a long break between meals);
lack of sleep, fatigue;
stress, anxiety;
alcohol intake, hangover syndrome;
use of narcotic drugs;
taking certain medications (including antidepressants);
elevated body temperature;
menstruation.

Women with epilepsy should not become pregnant

The presence of the disease does not affect the ability to become pregnant and give birth to a child. On the contrary, during the period of gestation, the condition of expectant mothers suffering from epilepsy improves, and seizures almost stop. The disease is not inherited. About 95% of pregnancies in epileptic women result in the birth of healthy babies.

Source: depositphotos.com

Epilepsy is a rare disease

Around 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy. It is the third most common neurological disease after Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Experts say that almost 10% of people have experienced a seizure at least once in their lives, but the diagnosis of epilepsy is made only in cases where seizures recur regularly.

Misconceptions about epilepsy are very persistent. They influence the attitude towards patients, who, because of this, may experience serious problems with professional fulfillment and adaptation in society. It is necessary for people to understand that a person suffering from epilepsy, despite “strange” behavior, is not only not dangerous to others, but also periodically needs their help.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Found an error in the text? Select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

Comments on the material (17):

I quote Ivan Yurievich:

Very good article. I can only cancel one more circumstance: the ban on engaging in certain types of activities is perhaps redundant, because The forms of this disease are so diverse and many of them do not at all affect the activities mentioned in the article as potentially dangerous. Believe me, many epileptics can play sports, swim, drive a car, work with moving mechanisms or mechanisms driven by electricity. Everything is very individual! But our state and its medical community live by fifty-year-old stereotypes, moreover, for some reason no one is trying to change this flawed position!! And this is unfortunate and also very sad. Yes!!! More! The feeling of an approaching attack is also very individual for different people. In developed countries of the world, there is a postulate about two types of aura (premonition of an attack): long-term (several hours, a day) and short-term - from 10 seconds to one hour. Let me note that there are epileptic seizures completely without an aura; they are sudden for the wearer and therefore very dangerous. Attacks with an aura lasting several seconds are rare, most often if the aura is present for at least half a minute, and this allows the wearer to control the attack, its onset and avoid negative consequences. This also allows you, during an aura, to stop activities that can be called potentially dangerous and take steps to protect yourself! All this should be taken into account. But the article is still good!

I agree, I myself suffer from epilepsy after a severe head injury. I believe that the main problem of epileptics is forced loneliness due to the negative attitude towards them from a poorly educated society, which does not even think about the brilliant individuals who suffer or have suffered from epilepsy, and who actually had a very productive impact on the evolution of humanity.

I quote Anna:

I don't care about society's attitude. I don’t really like him either (some representatives) My health is important to me. Relationship. ...Normal people have always been understanding, but the idiots - let them go. This is such a filter. It’s more difficult with work, of course, I’ve never had an attack at work (and I didn’t always advertise it to my bosses), but problems at work may not be due to an attack - a fact. What infuriates me most of all is the attitude of the doctors. They don’t want to do physical therapy for me under compulsory medical insurance (I have back problems) because I have epilepsy. As you understand, if I pay them, illness will not be a hindrance.

I'll add. I remembered how I had to go to the local gynecologist (before that I was treated by a private doctor). And the doctor told me that I am dangerous for pregnant women (!!!), I need a certificate that I will not rush at them and tear them into pieces when I come to the appointment. The gynecologist was ashamed to say this, so I just laughed to myself. I went to my PND (I get my medications there). Now I have a mental certificate that I am not a bull terrier))) Hurray for our most humane medicine!!!

I quote Ivan Yurievich:

I completely agree with you, there are a lot of myths and the ban on engaging in certain types of activities is too redundant and often the forms of the disease do not coincide with their terrible definition. If a person can work in dangerous, difficult, harmful conditions, let him work. I know such a person, neither at work, nor at home, nor on planes, nor on a business trip, not a single case of an attack. Despite everything, he was never treated.

I quote Ivan Yurievich:

Very good article. I can only cancel one more circumstance: the ban on engaging in certain types of activities is perhaps redundant, because The forms of this disease are so diverse and many of them do not affect activities at all, called...

Regarding the bans for sure. They wrote to me that they won’t hire me, because doctors know better: you can’t overexert yourself mentally, but physically it’s not clear what you can do, and what you can’t do is not written specifically. for example, you can’t do it with water - what is it (on it, with it, or near the water)? And about the computer, the medical board themselves don’t know what to write?

Do you know that:

Regular use of a solarium increases your chance of developing skin cancer by 60%.

In an effort to get the patient out, doctors often go too far. So, for example, a certain Charles Jensen in the period from 1954 to 1994. survived more than 900 operations to remove neoplasms.

When lovers kiss, each of them loses 6.4 calories per minute, but at the same time they exchange almost 300 types of different bacteria.

There are very interesting medical syndromes, for example, compulsive swallowing of objects. One patient suffering from this mania had 2,500 foreign objects in her stomach.

The well-known drug "Viagra" was originally developed for the treatment of arterial hypertension.

In the UK there is a law according to which a surgeon can refuse to perform an operation on a patient if he smokes or is overweight. A person must give up bad habits, and then, perhaps, he will not need surgical intervention.

According to WHO research, talking on a mobile phone for half an hour every day increases the likelihood of developing a brain tumor by 40%.

American scientists conducted experiments on mice and came to the conclusion that watermelon juice prevents the development of vascular atherosclerosis. One group of mice drank plain water, and the second group drank watermelon juice. As a result, the vessels of the second group were free of cholesterol plaques.

During operation, our brain expends an amount of energy equal to a 10-watt light bulb. So the image of a light bulb above your head at the moment an interesting thought arises is not so far from the truth.

Many drugs were initially marketed as medicines. Heroin, for example, was originally brought to market as a cure for children's coughs. And cocaine was recommended by doctors as an anesthesia and as a means of increasing endurance.

More than $500 million a year is spent on allergy medications in the United States alone. Do you still believe that a way to finally defeat allergies will be found?

Besides people, only one living creature on planet Earth suffers from prostatitis - dogs. These are truly our most faithful friends.

Dentists appeared relatively recently. Back in the 19th century, pulling out diseased teeth was the responsibility of an ordinary hairdresser.

Tooth decay is the most common infectious disease in the world, which even the flu cannot compete with.

In order to say even the shortest and simplest words, we use 72 muscles.

Every person is obliged to take care of their health! This is one of the most important things to understand. If you want to live a long and happy life, well...