Of course, everyone has heard about epilepsy. This neurological disease used to be called epilepsy by doctors. How is it treated with the modern development of medicine? Can women with this diagnosis now give birth to he althy children?
The causes of seizures are still being studied on modern equipment. And the fact that the disease can be controlled is a big step forward for all science. Patients are constantly forced to take specific antiepileptic drugs, this saves their lives. Let's take a closer look at what is hidden under the medical diagnosis of epilepsy.
Is epilepsy a dangerous disease?
The term "epilepsy" means a disease of the nervous system. The exact pathogenesis is still unclear. Although this disease has been known since the time of Hippocrates. This neurological disease, according to the WHO today, affects almost 50 million people worldwide. Epilepsy is a chronic condition. Having appeared once, the attack is very likely to repeat soon.
An epileptic is a person who from time to time experiences attacks of pathological activity of nerve cells in the brain. Attacks are accompanied by loss of consciousness, often respiratory arrest and severe convulsions of the body. In the early stages of the disease, seizures are rare and almost imperceptible, so not all children immediately notice this disease.
When the disease progresses, and parents are afraid or do not want to give the child to treat, then there is a risk of developing status epilepticus - when 4 or more attacks “fall” on the body at once. The patient himself does not remember all the details of his condition. These conditions are very dangerous, often fatal if no one is around. But timely help and the right medicines can help raise a child and successfully socialize him.
Types of epilepsy
There are basically 2 types of epilepsy: localized seizures and generalized seizures. Generalized are divided into simple and complex. Localized seizures have one or more areas of seizure activity in the brain. These seizures are not associated with brain damage or environmental triggers. Their appearance remains a mystery to physicians. Often their nature is due to a genetic predisposition.
Generalized (generalized) seizures are those seizures that affect 80% of adults diagnosed with epilepsy. Electrical activity in this case affects both hemispheres of the brain.
Discharges in the cerebral cortexare so strong that the mental sphere also suffers. Memory deteriorates, depression sets in.
Distinguish between tonic and atonic seizures, convulsive and non-convulsive form. Adolescents are often diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. In general, there are a lot of types of diseases.
Causes of disease
It often happens that pathological foci of abnormal excitation of nerve cells appear after trauma to the skull, during difficult childbirth or after unsuccessful falls with a head injury in childhood. However, in 50% of cases, epilepsy is diagnosed as cryptogenic. That is, the doctors could not establish the cause of the onset of the disease.
The other 50% of cases are the consequences of a tumor in the brain, hematoma, circulatory disorders (ischemia) or the injuries described above. In addition, epilepsy occurs in patients with an inflammatory process in the brain associated with encephalitis.
It is known that a seizure begins at a time when a pathological focus in one of the brain systems suddenly spreads over the entire area of the cortex. Sometimes this reaction is triggered by sharp sensory stimuli, sometimes by some pills.
Let's list what epileptics can't do, what drugs can cause body convulsions:
- some painkillers;
- antidepressants;
- bronchodilators;
- antibiotics;
- antihistamines.
An epileptic man is forced to limit himself in many ways. You can not drink, do professional sports, many professions willnot available.
Disease in children
Epilepsy is a disease that begins in childhood and accompanies a person all his life. In younger children, non-convulsive epilepsy or absenteeism is more common. Occurs at the age of 5 - 8 years. A parent may notice that the baby’s eyes have stopped, he has stopped responding to others. Sometimes the eyeball rolls up, and the skin begins to turn blue from a temporary stop in breathing. Consciousness may remain or become slightly clouded.
There are so-called atonic seizures, that is, the child loses muscle tone and falls. Some children have exclusively nocturnal convulsions, for some, the convulsive syndrome captures only the muscles of the face. For example, Rolandic epilepsy, in which the child's lips or larynx twitch, and salivation is significantly increased. These forms of the disease are not dangerous.
Generalized tonic-clonic epileptic seizures in children are diagnosed between the ages of 5-6 and 18. The first seizure does not last long, and elders should not panic at this time. You just need to put something under the head and turn the child to the side. This is the best thing an adult can do in such a situation, and, of course, you need to call a doctor.
Tonic-clonic epilepsy symptoms
Generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy has 4 separate phases. They are the main symptoms. This form always looks very scary. The patient is not conscious, pupilsdilated, his body arched or painfully convulsing. Such a person definitely needs the help of third-party people. The phases of an attack are:
- Phase-harbinger, or aura. A couple of hours before a severe seizure, the patient often has a headache or feels unwell.
- Tonic phase - approximately 15-40 seconds lasts convulsive tension of all muscle groups. The pectoral muscles are also overstretched and the person cannot breathe. The face at this time turns blue.
- Clonic convulsions. This phase lasts about 3-4 minutes. The patient begins to breathe hoarsely. Due to strong salivation, something like foam with blood comes out of the mouth.
- Relaxation. There is a sharp inhibition in the brain cells. After convulsions, a person loses consciousness, and then slowly comes to his senses. Occasionally falls asleep immediately or goes into a mild coma.
If epileptic convulsions begin the 2nd and 3rd time, you need to urgently call a doctor. He must urgently remove a person from the status, otherwise brain damage from hypoxia will begin.
Is it possible to have children?
If the epileptologist managed to find the necessary treatment and the patient has established a stable remission for 2-3 years, then she can plan a pregnancy.
Of course, the risks are great, because if the patient suffers from generalized seizures, then during convulsions she can damage the stomach, which will lead to separation of the placenta.
Moreover, all drugs for epileptics have a negative impact on the development of the fetus. First of all, theyreduce the level of the substance necessary for bearing the fetus - folic acid. Therefore, even a few months before conception, a woman should start taking folic acid capsules to restore the level necessary for pregnancy. The role of folic acid is invaluable for the fetus, especially in the very early stages, when the nervous system is just being formed.
What about taking drugs during lactation? When a baby has an acute allergic reaction to the mother's breast milk, it is necessary to go to the doctor. He may change the anti-epileptic drug to a safer one, but he may have to change to bottle-feeding the baby. Each case is considered separately.
Questions about the inheritance of epilepsy
Myth or truth that epilepsy is always inherited, and the child will certainly also suffer from such a disease? In fact, the risk of inheriting the disease if one of the spouses is sick and the other is completely he althy is small.
In the case of an acquired disease, epilepsy is not transmitted at all. Children of epileptics with skull trauma are always he althy. The degree of probability of inheritance still largely depends on the form of the disease. The risk is high when one of the relatives (brothers, uncles, aunts) had either a brain tumor that led to epilepsy, or infantile myoclonic seizures that stopped over time.
There are cases when childhood seizures were inherited by grandchildren, and the disease manifested itself in the grandson many times more severely. Therefore, before planning a child, you needfind out everything that hurt grandparents, and not just parents.
Methods of diagnosing the disease
To establish the correct diagnosis, the doctor must conduct many tests. Under the symptoms of epilepsy may be hiding something completely different. For example, severe convulsions are caused by a violation of blood sugar levels or a banal lack of sodium in the blood. Also, do not confuse epilepsy with febrile seizures.
So, what tests does a doctor usually prescribe?
- EEG with stimulation and sleep deprivation.
- MRI of the brain.
- X-ray of the skull.
- Blood test: immunological and biochemical.
- PET brain.
We need more tests to determine changes in the psyche: speed of thinking, memory. These tests help locate the pathology.
Psychological tests also show if there are any changes in the emotional sphere (depression, suicidal thoughts). However, such deviations in the psyche are extremely rare.
Treatment
How is medication administered? After the examination, the epileptologist selects the drug that will minimize the pathological excitability of nerve cells. Sometimes combined therapy is performed. The patient is prescribed 2 or more anticonvulsants. There are times when hormones are required: predinisone or ACTH.
In 90% of cases, the constant use of tablets for epileptics leads to a decrease in the number of seizures. An epileptic is a completesocially a person, and convulsions prevent him from developing.
Over time, with proper treatment, seizures can stop completely. An adult, after the cessation of convulsive seizures, should take the prescribed pills for at least 5 years. Children only need 2 years.
Patients with status epilepticus are brought back to normal by intravenous anticonvulsants. Frequent seizures caused by a tumor worry relatives, and doctors sometimes suggest surgery to remove part of the brain.
These surgeries are extremely dangerous because the doctor can accidentally hit important neurons. But according to statistics, operations to remove the focus in the temporal lobe are the most successful.
Socialization of children and adolescents with epilepsy
An epileptic is a person whose central nervous system is "jumping". This is by no means a mental patient, as many are mistaken, moreover, such people are often very talented.
Professions of epileptics are all those where a person cannot provoke situations that threaten others with his illness. These people have access to places in the library, accounting. He can graduate from university, become a botanist, a biologist. If there is data, he can get an education at an art school.
Sanatorium for epileptics
Neurological diseases began to be treated in sanatoriums from the middle of the 19th century. Mud procedures and clean air are useful for epileptics. For people with this disease, it is extremely important to maintain a calmand regular daily routine. Such patients should not skip medication or sleep deprivation. The attending physician in the sanatorium should know what drugs are already being taken.
It is good to find a sanatorium for such a person in a forest area or in the mountains - where there are no harsh sounds that irritate the nervous system. Only there can a person normalize biorhythms.
Forecasts
The life expectancy of epileptics depends on the strength of the seizures and the person's lifestyle. The most dangerous is generalized epilepsy. As we mentioned, during a tonic seizure, the patient may be without air for too long or choke on vomit during convulsions if no one was around to turn the person on his side. But the small convulsive form of epilepsy is not at all dangerous.
If, since childhood, from about 8-10 years old, a child suffers from severe and frequent convulsions, it must be treated with anticonvulsant drugs. However, all diagnostics are very expensive for middle-income families, especially 12-hour EEG diagnostics. Good German medicines also cost a lot.
Without adequate treatment, the rapidly progressive disease leads to death at a fairly young age of 20-30 years. This is especially true for guys who do not follow the daily routine and drink from time to time, despite the prohibitions. An epileptic person should absolutely not drink alcohol. And also should not swim far, should not watch a lot of TV or sit in front of a computer monitor if his attacks begin underexposure to visual stimulus.
Those who give up smoking and alcohol and take pills for epileptics and lead a measured life usually live to a ripe old age.
