Proper medication for cure of epileptic seizures

KANPUR: One might have experienced the panic created if somebody around falls on the ground after sudden convulsions. Some persons might be giving him an iron rod or making him smell shoes, while others would hold his lower limbs tight to control the body.
This is the epileptic condition, where a person experiences repeated seizures and when wrongly handled by the people around him he or she gets injured severely. World Epilepsy Day is observed on November 17. There is lack of awareness on how to take right course of action when one gets an epileptic fit.
Epilepsy is the disorder of the brain and central nervous system where abnormal electric impulse leads to uncontrolled, involuntary movements of the body. The balance between the factors that begin electrical activity and factors that restrict it is lost, resulting in the body jerking. According to Dr IN Vajpayee, neurosurgery professor at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College, five in every 1,000 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.
Giving an account of the epileptic cases in the city, he said, "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 worm infestation affecting the brain."
"Generally, lack of awareness about the types of epileptic fits makes diagnosis and early intervention difficult. One can be claimed to be a confirmed case of epilepsy if he or she is facing periodical seizures every time similar to the first attack," he added.
Nevertheless, he says proper knowledge of the medical history alone can help because screening of patients with EEGs may not accurately indicate the history of seizures in atleast 30% of the cases.
Dr Navneet Kumar, neurology professor and head of the department of medicine 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 vary from 1 to 84 years."
He said, "One should not put any metal item in the mouth of the person suffering from fits. When you stay calm and act sensible, you might help them better." He also insisted that family members should encourage patients to take medicines every day, even when they are not having seizures and should stop taking pills only after doctor's advice.