Epilepsy

Epilepsy

            Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that induces seizures. It is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world and can cause health concerns beyond just seizures. The seizures experienced by individuals with epilepsy are often sudden without warning. Much like other disabilities, epilepsy is expressed differently in each person, in terms of the severity of their seizures (Epilepsy Foundation, 2014). This blog post will examine the causes, symptoms, and general background of epilepsy. 

            According to the CDC, 1.2% of the population in the United States in 2015 had epilepsy. This factors out to be around 3.4 million people in the US (CDC, 2018). These individuals all experience seizures, which can take place in different forms. The two groupings of seizures are generalized seizures and focal seizures. Generalized seizures can be absence seizures or tonic-clonic seizures. Absence seizures are characterized by blinking or can be a number of seconds where the person stares off. Tonic-clonic seizures on the other hand are much more violent and can include when a person falls to the floor, loses consciousness, and is much more vocal (CDC, 2018). Focal seizures can be simple focal seizures, complex focal seizures, or secondary generalized seizures. Simple focal seizures are simply twitching, complex focal seizures are when a person becomes disoriented, and secondary generalized seizures is when a seizure begins as a focal seizure but evolves into something more extreme (CDC, 2018). 

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            Epilepsy is unlike other disorders because seizures can occur anywhere and anytime, leaving individuals with epilepsy at greater risk for complications.  This limits the abilities for people who suffer from seizures because without warning, they could be in any number of situations. From driving a car to swimming, having epilepsy creates a greater sense of awareness in individuals because of how sudden a seizure can be. 

Sources 

Types of Epilepsy Syndromes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-epilepsy-syndromes

Types of Seizures | Epilepsy | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/about/types-of-seizures.htm

Fast Facts | Epilepsy | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/about/fast-facts.htm

Epilepsy Data and Statistics. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data/index.html