Epilepsy is a disorder and not a disease, illness, psychiatric disorder or a mental illness. lt is not contagious. The majority of people who live with epilepsy have successful lives, it is characterized by unusual electrical activity in the brain. The brain consists of millions of nerve cells called neurons. Billions of electrical messages are passed on or fired” between these cells, controlling our whole body. including what we think, feel, do and see, as well as muscle movement.

Epilepsy is the tendency to have seizures caused by a temporary change in the way the brain cells (neurons) work. Sometimes a disturbance in the brain chemistry causes messages to get fired off too rapidly. When this happens, the neurons fire off faster than usual or in bursts, or too many neurons are triggered and then fire off at the same time. This activity. which is like a small electrical storm in the brain, triggers seizures. There can be many different underlying causes, such as a head injury, birth injury, a haemorrhage, strokes and tumours and high stress levels.

However, in more than 50 % of cases the underlying cause of epilepsy is unknown. Epilepsy statistics One in 50 people will have epilepsy at some point in their life (not everyone with epilepsy will have it for life). Around 75 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every day. Up to 5% of people with epilepsy will be affected by flashing lights (called photosensitive epilepsy). The unpredictability of seizures adds to the mystery of epilepsy. However, understanding what happens during a seizure and knowing what to do when someone has a seizure, removes the mystery and empowers everyone affected.

Clear a space around the person and prevent others from crowding around him/her loosen tight clothing/neckwear and remove spectacles. Cushion the head to prevent injury. Put the person into the shock recovery position (i.e. roll the person onto his/her side with the top leg bent and the bottom arm slightly extended). Wipe away any excess saliva to facilitate breathing using items from the Scrubs Store Online.

Reassure and assist the person until he/she has recovered or become reorientated allow the person to rest or sleep. It is necessary to cover him/her with a blanket or other item from the Scrubs Store Online.

Note the duration of the seizure and the time it took place. Provide this information to the person who had the seizure after he/she has recovered fully. This will help him/her to record the information in his/her seizure diary. Call a doctor or an ambulance when the person has injured him/herself badly, when the seizure lasts longer than six minutes or when the person has repeated seizures without recovering between seizures.