How much do you know about Epilepsy?

International Epilepsy Day will be commemorated on 13 February 2017.  Epilepsy is a neurological condition that involves unusual electrical activity in the brain, causing seizures. In some 66% of cases, the cause is unknown, but epilepsy can be triggered by a head injury, drug and alcohol abuse. The risk of developing epilepsy may increase with advancing age.

In South Africa, 1 in every 100 people has been diagnosed with epilepsy and there are over 50 million people living with epilepsy worldwide. Epilepsy is not a contagious condition and is a treatable in the great majority of cases, with some 80% of people with epilepsy living a normal life.

There are several types of seizures associated with epilepsy and they are divided into two main categories: generalised seizures, when the entire brain is affected and loss of consciousness may occur, and partial seizures, where only a part of the brain is affected, causing complex partial seizures.

If you have a friend or family member who has an unexpected seizure, due to epilepsy, or for other reasons, here are some tips on how you can help them:

• Protect the person from any injury and protect their head and neck.
• Do not restrict their movement or put anything in their mouth.
• Assist the person with breathing by laying them on their side and stay with them until they are fully recovered.