Epilepsy no curse but curable through medication

KANPUR: Epilepsy is still considered to be a curse. One might have experienced the panic if somebody around has fallen on the ground after developing sudden convulsions. Some might have given the person an iron rod or made him smell shoes, while others would have held his lower limbs tight to control the body. In case of children, the problem becomes more painful for both parents and a child.
During epileptic seizures, the child could get hurt seriously if wrongly treated by the people around him or her. Therefore, to provide proper treatment to such kids suffering from fits, the paediatrics department of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College has been running special clinic for children suffering from epilepsy. Claiming to have cured 300 kids suffering from the ailment, Dr RP Singh, head of department of paediatrics has been running special OPD for this particular disease.
"The motive to start the clinic was to deal with kids suffering from epilepsy. In normal OPDs, it is difficult to give ample time to each child due to heavy rush. Therefore, on Thursdays there is special OPD for epileptic kids. Parents play a crucial role. Counselling sessions are being held to make parents aware how to deal with the kid and what precautionary measures are to be taken at the time of fits," Dr Singh added.
As many as 725 children are availing treatment at epilepsy clinic and more than 300 have been cured so far. Since the past three years, Dr Singh has been running this clinic and believes that treatment should be given systematically. He said that in comparison to adults, epilepsy is more common in children.
Epilepsy is the disorder of the brain and central nervous system where abnormal electric impulse leads to uncontrolled, involuntary movement of the body. The balance between the factors that begin electrical activity and factors that restrict it is lost, resulting in the body jerking. Several reasons are cited for the cause of the disease like neurocystisarcosis (worms from intestine reach brain), tuberculosis of brain, brain tumour, brain stroke and even genetic. In most of the cases, the cause of the fits remains unknown.
According to Dr Singh, the prime cause of epilepsy is insanitary condition. Out of the 725 children who are presently undergoing treatment at the epilepsy clinic, 35 per cent are those suffering from neurocystisarcosis and nearly 25 per cent having tuberculosis of brain.
According to Dr IN Vajpayee, professor, neurosurgery, (GSVM Medical College, the symptomatic epilepsy can be due to tumour, infection or any kind of injury in the brain, electrolyte imbalance, hypertension and systemic disorder. However, the most commonly found epileptic cases are due to worms infecting the brain.
He said that five in every one thousand persons suffer from epilepsy. There are two types of cerebral irritations, one is symptomatic where the cause of the fits can be recognised and other is idiopathic which is quite prevalent. It is difficult to identify the reasons for the epileptic fits.
Proper knowledge of the medical history can help, because screening of patients with EEGs may not accurately indicate the history of seizures in at least 30 per cent cases.
Neurology professor Dr Navneet Kumar said that it is important to understand what should be done at the time of seizures. The disease can occur at any age and the patients visiting the neuro unit varied from 1 to 84 years.
"One should not put any metal item in the mouth of the person or make them hold iron rod. When you stay calm and act sensible, you might help them better," he says. He insisted that families should encourage people to take medicines every day, even when they are not having seizures and should stop taking pill after the doctor's recommendation.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN CASE OF SEIZURE
* Stay calm and do not panic to take control of the situation
* Make space for the patient to lie down
* Turn the person to his/her side so that fluid from the mouth can safely flow out
* Do not force anything in the patient's mouth or hand
* Let the person rest for some time after the seizure
* Call the doctor if seizure lasts more than 10 minutes
Facts about epilepsy
* Nearly 70 per cent of people think it cannot be cured but according to doctors it can be treated
* In most of the cases, the reason is not known
* The prescribed medicines should be taken regularly to control the fits