Epilepsy: Symptoms and what you should know about the disease

2024-11-18

Epilepsy is a neurological disease that affects the brain’s electrical activity and can lead to recurrent seizures. This condition is common and affects people of all ages and backgrounds. Understanding the symptoms of epilepsy is crucial to being able to provide the right support and treatment. In this post, we go through the most common symptoms, what triggers the seizures and how you can act if you see someone having a seizure.

Common symptoms of epilepsy

The symptoms of epilepsy vary depending on which part of the brain is affected. Here are some of the more common signs:

1. Generalized seizures

  • Tonic-clonic seizures : The person loses consciousness, the body stiffens (tonic phase) and is followed by convulsions (clonic phase).
  • Absence seizures : Brief episodes of loss of consciousness in which the person stares straight ahead without reacting.

2. Focal seizures

  • With preserved consciousness: The person may experience involuntary movements, sensory disturbances or sudden changes in sensory impressions such as sight or smell.
  • With impaired consciousness: The person may appear confused, perform repetitive movements such as smacking their lips, and may not remember the event.

3. Aura state

Many people with epilepsy experience a warning or “aura” before a seizure. It can be felt as a strange smell, a feeling of déjà vu or sudden surges of emotion.

Triggers that can trigger seizures

Certain factors can increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy. Common triggers include:

  • Stress and lack of sleep: Insufficient sleep is a common factor.
  • Flashing lights: Photosensitive epilepsy is often triggered by rapidly flashing lights.
  • Alcohol and drugs: These substances can negatively affect the electrical activity of the brain.
  • Medication errors: Not taking your antiepileptic medications as prescribed can lead to seizures.

How to help someone during a seizure

If you see someone having a seizure, it’s important to stay calm and act appropriately:

  1. Move dangerous objects that the person could injure themselves on.
  2. Gently place the person on their side to facilitate breathing.
  3. Do not put anything in their mouth – it is a myth that they can “swallow the tongue”.
  4. Stay with the person until the seizure is over, and call 112 if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes or if there are several seizures in a row.

Personal alarm that can be triggered at any time

Sensorem’s personal alarm can automatically be triggered in the event of a fall and then automatically call relatives using the watch’s built-in speakerphone with two-way communication. The user can also trigger the alarm manually by pressing the physical alarm button. The personal alarm works outdoors and has built-in GPS positioning so that relatives can see the user’s position on a map in the Sensorem app.

 

READ ABOUT HOW SENSOREM’S PERSONAL ALARM CAN INCREASE SAFETY FOR SOMEONE SUFFERING FROM EPILEPSY