Epilepsy is a common brain illness characterized by seizures or convulsions that occur suddenly and repeatedly. A seizure is a brief period of aberrant electrical activity in the brain that is accompanied by obvious motor or sensory symptoms and indicators. To be diagnosed with epilepsy, a person must have experienced at least two occurrences of these seizure attacks with no other reversible medical reasons of seizures found, such as extremely low blood sugar, a brain tumor, excessive alcohol use, or strong drug usage.
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Seizures, and hence epilepsy, can affect anyone at any age, but it is more common in young children and the elderly.
Before a seizure attack, there is frequently a pre-warning indication known as an aura in the pre-ictal phase. This does not happen to everyone who suffers from epilepsy. Auras can appear in a variety of ways, including persistent headaches, stomach symptoms, or a strong sense of fear in people who encounter them.
There may be visible or invisible indications during the ictal phase of a seizure. Convulsions, or jerking of some or all portions of the body, are the most prevalent visual indication. Foaming in the mouth, loss of consciousness, passage of urine and/or feces, and tongue biting are all possible symptoms.
As soon as the seizure is over, the Post-Ictal phase begins. This is essentially the period of recovery. After a seizure, some people recover entirely right away, while others may take up to 24 hours.
Seizures can have a variety of causes, and in many cases, the actual cause is unknown. In the few cases where an underlying reason can be identified, the causes are mainly age-related.
Brain infections, brain abnormalities, prolonged lack of oxygen delivery to the brain before birth, low blood sugar, blood chemical derangements, maternal drug usage, and in-born metabolic mistakes are some of the reasons of recurrent seizures in children.
Genetic factors, head trauma, down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and degenerative brain illnesses are all possible causes in elderly people.
In a person with epilepsy, certain events might trigger or precipitate a seizure attack. It's critical to understand these elements so that you can avoid or eliminate them as much as possible. Some of these elements are:
- Dehydration is caused by a lack of water intake or excessive water loss as a result of diarrhoea or vomiting.
There are a variety of drugs that can help control epilepsy. These drugs are typically administered by neurologists, who specialize in the treatment of seizure disorders. When a person is diagnosed with this ailment, it's critical to take their meds exactly as they're given. It is usually easy to keep seizure attacks under control with excellent compliance.
This is untrue because epilepsy is caused by aberrant electrical activity in the brain, which has been confirmed. Seizures can be controlled with the help of suitable medical treatment. As a result, attributing epilepsy to spiritual reasons is unfounded.
People frequently avoid people who are experiencing a seizure because they believe that coming into contact with any of their bodily fluids, such as saliva, urine, or feces, may cause them to contract the illness. This isn't correct. In no way is epilepsy contagious.
- Epilepsy cannot be healed with conventional medicine, however it can be cured with herbal therapy.
Regrettably, this is also untrue. Herbal drugs, on the other hand, tend to aggravate the situation by causing a chemical imbalance in the blood, which we previously identified as a cause of seizures.
People will hurry to put hard things into a person's mouth who is having a fit, such as spoons. This is a bad and destructive practice. The tongue is physically impossible to swallow. Instead, the patient can bite the tongue with his or her teeth, which will heal over time.
- Refrain from restraining someone who is suffering a seizure. Instead, to avoid physical injury during fitting, try to clean the local surroundings. Most seizures will pass in a matter of seconds to minutes on their own. Call an ambulance if the seizure does not stop after a few minutes.
- Never shove an object, including medications, into the mouth of someone who is suffering a seizure. Rather, gently shift the individual to the side, support the head, and ensure that they are breathing normally. Also, keep the patient safe from harm.
A patient with epilepsy may be given lifestyle modification recommendations by his or her doctor in order to improve quality of life. The following are some instances of lifestyle changes:
- A person with epilepsy is not permitted to drive a vehicle until his or her doctor certifies that he or she has acquired acceptable seizure control and the vehicle licensing authority certifies that the individual is fit to drive.
- A person with epilepsy who does not alert lifeguards of his or her illness is not permitted to swim alone.
- It is not recommended for someone with epilepsy to ride bicycles, motorcycles, or participate in severe physical activities such as mountain climbing, skiing, or horse racing.
- Avoid places with bright lights, such as discos and theatres, as well as working long hours on computers, playing video games, or watching television for lengthy periods of time, as these can cause an epileptic seizure.
- These individuals can travel as passengers on planes or other boats, but it is better if they do so once seizure control has been established. It is recommended that such travels be undertaken with sufficient medication to span the duration of the trip.
Finally, epilepsy is a common physical ailment that is not induced in any way by spiritual attacks. Under the right medical care, people with this illness can live a normal and productive life. The most important thing for any patient with a chronic medical disease like epilepsy is to obtain as much correct medical information as possible so that you may appropriately care for yourself and participate in your own medical management.
Mayo Clinic, Wikipedia, The Epilepsy Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and The Epilepsy Foundation
What is the spiritual cause of epilepsy?
The importance of traditional healers in the treatment of epilepsy was one of the key subjects of the 2014 African Epilepsy Congress. Although no one knows for sure, it's likely that the majority of persons with epilepsy seek out these established and respected members of their communities as caretakers. Traditional healers are consulted first by people who have suffered seizures for a variety of reasons. The African Epilepsy Congress brought together practitioners of traditional and contemporary medicine in one place to examine their various perspectives on the disease's causes and treatment options. The discussions revealed a wealth of information regarding the patients' perceptions of their sickness, its impact on the community, and their ideas of how the disease should be handled.
I spoke with two traditional healers, Gugu Ngubane and Gugu Madlakes, who work in the countryside around Cape Town, South Africa; Ms Johannan Keikelame, a social worker who has done a number of studies on the role of traditional healers in treating epilepsy in rural South Africa; and Professor Daliwonga Magazi, a pediatric neurologist from the University of Limpopo, South Africa, in the preparation of this article.
The importance of traditional healers, they concluded, stems from the complicated beliefs about the etiology of epilepsy, which impact how the disease is interpreted and treated. Epilepsy is defined by traditional healers as a condition produced by nerve confusion in the brain, and a seizure is the action taken by a person who is sick with epilepsy, a sickness that is always present and active. Many people believe that someone who has epilepsy is possessed, and that the affliction is a retribution for the family's wrongdoings. In other situations, though, a person's convulsions may be for a larger benefit. In certain circumstances, the convulsions could be an attempt to exorcise harmful spirits from the family, and the bad spirits are exorcised by convulsing. In other circumstances, the convulsions could be a sign from the ancestors that the person should pursue a career as a traditional healer. The convulsions will continue until that person accepts the calling. For a youngster and an adult, the definition and belief about the various causes are the same, although the causes are more typically spiritual in nature.
Although spiritual causes play a significant role in traditional beliefs about the causes of epilepsy, there are other, more evil forces that may be at work. Epilepsy can be caused by witchcraft, bewitchment, poisoning, the presence of an evil spirit, or the casting of a spell on a family by someone who is jealous. According to this idea, disease is caused by forces within the affected individual fighting with the blood and causing the ailment.
People's treatment decisions are heavily influenced by their beliefs. They pick traditional treatment options in part because they feel traditional medicines work well in persons with epilepsy, and the natural history of seizures and epilepsy may bolster their opinions. There may be only one seizure with febrile seizures, thus treatment looks to be beneficial. Because some types of epilepsy have only a few seizures, medication may appear to be beneficial. If the seizures are thought to be caused by witchcraft or possession by bad spirits, the treatment must be more spiritual, and it cannot be given in a hospital. Many people eventually turn to traditional healers for help because they believe epilepsy must be treated with traditional medicine.
Although a lack of access to modern medicines is a major factor in individuals seeking aid from traditional healers, people also avoid going to the hospital since it appears that modern medicine is ineffective, and doctors repeatedly give the same prescription yet seizures remain. Modern drugs are frequently expected to treat the disease, so when the medication runs out or individuals stop taking the drug, the seizures return, and they see no benefit from the pharmaceutical or the effort to obtain it. Even so, some people believe that contemporary drugs can sometimes help with seizures. If demonic spirits are found to be the source of the problem, a traditional healer must first expel the spirit before drugs can be used. Traditional treatments may be significantly more effective than modern treatments for some people who suffer psychogenic seizures, as modern practitioners would diagnose them. There are no statistics on this possible area of traditional practice's improved efficacy.
When combined with modern treatments, traditional medicine can play a significant role in the treatment of epilepsy. Local healers can assist in identifying and referring patients in the community to a hospital. Some practitioners believe that some traditional remedies are true anticonvulsants, while others believe that a combination of western anticonvulsants and traditional medicines is more helpful. It's crucial to remember that traditional healers have a lot of power in their communities, and they could be able to help reduce the stigma associated with epilepsy. Patients are occasionally referred to hospitals and clinics. The sufferer can be referred to a hospital once the evil spirit has been exorcised. Some healers believe that after a patient suffers a seizure-related burn, traditional medicine is no longer effective and that the patient must be transferred to a hospital.
Another reason to visit a traditional healer is that modern medication is difficult to come by in a hamlet. There are no enough local support services, and traveling to a health center might be quite costly. Furthermore, the family may be obliged to acquire costly drugs and pay for costly testing, despite the fact that no cost comparison has been performed between traditional and contemporary medicine. Traditional healers may also be selected since they take a more holistic approach and visit the family on occasion to gather information. The patient will be treated even if the family does not have money, and the family will afterwards appreciate the traditional healer. Patients will come based on referrals from others who have been treated by these local practitioners, thus they will not advertise.
Traditional healers are expected to play a part in creating the much-needed infrastructure for epilepsy care. They are well-liked in the community, and they work within the community's understanding of epilepsy's causes and treatments. Traditional healers should be taught in the essentials of epilepsy care, and the medical community should collaborate with them until conditions in the communities change considerably.
In Senegal, neurologists conducted day-long sessions with traditional healers as part of a larger outreach effort to increase disease awareness and care. These sessions were constructed on a foundation of respect for the position and function that these community leaders play in their communities, as well as an understanding that healers may be valuable collaborators. The healers were receptive to epileptic theories from the west. Although it is uncertain how these new traditional-modern ties will develop, these workshops come at a time when epilepsy and seizures have grown from seventh to second place on the list of causes for hospital referrals.
This collaboration with recognized community medical practitioners may create new pathways for providing much-needed access to care for people with epilepsy in a region of the world with low medical resources. The formation of a respectful cooperation with traditional healers may be the key to this effective collaboration. They frequently play a key role in helping persons with epilepsy transition from an older, more spiritual understanding of the disease to current neurological concepts.
About the Author
Dr. Edward Kija is a Tanzanian consulting pediatrician and lecturer who is now pursuing a Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Capetown, South Africa, funded by the African Pediatric Fellowship Program. He studied at the University of Dar es Salaam and Muhimbili University in Tanzania for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, respectively. Since 2011, he has worked as a consultant pediatrician at Tanzania's Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
Why is epilepsy called the sacred disease?
The phrase “The word “epilepsy” comes from the Greek verb epilambanein (v), which means “to seize, take hold of, or attack.” As a result, epilepsy denotes “a state of being overtaken, seized, or attacked.” Epilepsy was seen to be a sacred sickness in the Homeric Era since it was thought to be caused by gods.
Is epilepsy mentioned in the Bible?
The Bible mentions epilepsy. Mark 9:17-27, Matthew 17:14-18, and Luke 9:37-43, all of which describe Jesus healing a boy with epilepsy by driving out an evil spirit, are arguably the most prominent epilepsy healing references in the Bible.
Is epilepsy a witchcraft?
Epilepsy was thought to be caused by bad spirits, goblins, and demons («morbus daemonicus») for millennia. Epilepsy has also been related to the practice of witchcraft. Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), a 1494 guidebook, argues that witches have specific features, such as epileptic seizures (9).
Genetic Causes of Epilepsy
A genetic mutation can increase a person's risk of developing epilepsy. These are frequently the genes that regulate the excitability of brain nerve cells (neurons). Many persons with genetic alterations, on the other hand, may never develop epilepsy. Experts believe that epilepsy is caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors in many cases.
Epilepsy is caused by genetic predisposition in 30 to 40% of cases. People with inherited epilepsy have a two- to four-fold greater chance of developing epilepsy in their first-degree relatives. Despite the increased risk, it's crucial to note that the overall risk of epilepsy in other family members remains low.
Cryptogenic Epilepsy
Doctors are unable to determine a definite, identifiable cause in around half of all epilepsy occurrences. When doctors don't know or can't establish the cause of epilepsy with confidence, they call it “cryptogenic” epilepsy. This indicates that the source of the problem is unknown.
Other Causes of Epilepsy
After a vehicle accident or other traumatic head injury, some people acquire epilepsy.
Brain disorders can cause damage to the brain, such as vascular abnormalities, brain tumors, and strokes. Epilepsy can be caused by brain injury. Stroke-related epilepsy is the most common cause of epilepsy in persons over 35.
Prenatal brain damage: Babies' brains are extremely vulnerable to harm while still in their mother's womb. Certain circumstances can cause brain damage, which can lead to epilepsy or other disorders (like cerebral palsy). Oxygen deficiency, poor nutrition, and infection in the mother are only a few of these causes.
Meningitis, viral encephalitis, and HIV/AIDS are among infectious disorders that can induce epilepsy.
Some patients with developmental abnormalities, such as autism or neurofibromatosis (NF), also suffer from epilepsy.
Who had epilepsy in history?
Susan Boyle, the Irish singer, says she had a terrible upbringing due to her epilepsy.
Vincent van Gogh suffered from seizures caused by temporal lobe epilepsy, according to experts.
Jonathan Davis, the frontman for Korn, feels that his epilepsy was caused by years of drug abuse.
Richard Burton, an actor, suffered with epilepsy for the most of his adult life.
He used alcohol as a form of self-medication.
Bud Abbott suffered from epilepsy.
On stage, he would occasionally have seizures, and his comic sidekick Lou Costello would carry him away.
Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court has many seizures and is suspected of having epilepsy.
Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie has epilepsy.
He campaigns on a regular basis to improve funds for the illness.
What epilepsy means?
Epilepsy is a neurological illness in which brain activity becomes aberrant, resulting in seizures or episodes of odd behavior, feelings, and occasionally loss of awareness.
Who is the saint of epilepsy?
When you consider that St. Valentine is also the patron saint of epilepsy, a prevalent neurological illness that produces seizures and affects roughly 3 million children and adults in the United States, the feast takes on even more significance.
Medicine and religion have long been linked; nevertheless, in medieval times, medical practitioners were sometimes viewed with suspicion, prompting individuals to seek spiritual help for their ailments. Furthermore, in the 14th and 15th centuries, brain diseases were frequently seen as supernatural events caused by bad spirits or the devil. Because many people believed their symptoms were caused by bad spiritual forces, it made sense for them to fight back with an antidote to evil in the form of saintsparticularly patron saintswho were thought to have healing powers for certain maladies.