Epilepsy

Few epilepsy cases have clear causes. The most common causes of epilepsy are linked to brain trauma or injury. These include brain damage at birth or from accidents during adolescence, brain tumours, brain infections (eg. meningitis and encephalitis), scarring or 'sclerosis' (hardening) of brain tissue, and strokes. A strong family history of epilepsy also increases the chances of getting seizures. 

Certain factors can also trigger epileptic seizures. These include forgetting to take seizure medications, consuming excessive alcohol, drug abuse (such as cocaine and ecstasy), lack of sleep (insomnia) and using drugs that interfere with seizure medications.

Seizures are the most common warning signs of epilepsy. There are 2 main types of seizures:

• Focal seizures – symptoms include:
  1. Disturbance to visual, sensory and motor abilities
  2. Loss of consciousness
• Generalised seizures – symptoms include:
  1. Difficulty in breathing and incontinence
  2. Involuntary twitching of arms and legs (1 – 2 minutes)
  3. Loss of consciousness (30 seconds – 5 minutes)
  4. Tongue biting

Medical treatment includes the use of anti-epileptic medication as a first-line treatment.

• Preventative treatment:
  1. Avoid stress
  2. Have enough sleep
  3. Take medication as prescribed
• Surgical treatment (usually brain surgery) may be advised if medications are not effective in controlling seizures 

There might be some side effects from epilepsy medications, including:

• Blurred vision
• Hair loss
• Shaking of hands
• Sleepiness, giddiness and tiredness
• Weight gain