Epilepsy Essay

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Epilepsy
According to the book Explaining Epilepsy, “Over three million Americans are affected by epilepsy (Bender 8).” Epilepsy is a condition when a person has two or more seizures that were not the result of an obvious cause, such as heart problems and low blood pressure. (Comprehensive Epilepsy Center). Epilepsy can be diagnosed in people of all ages, but is most common in children and the elderly. A person with epilepsy is in danger at all times because he or she never knows when an epileptic attack will occur. Epilepsy is a condition that negatively impacts an individual’s life through unpredictable seizures. In spite of unpredictable seizures people who suffer from this condition are able to live a fairly normal life, with the help of medicine and treatments.
One of the most common causes of epilepsy is a head injury such as a concussion. A concussion prevents the brain from functioning properly which can result in fainting. Multiple head injuries it could also lead to epilepsy. Epilepsy is said to cause by a fault in the brains communication center (Explaining Epilepsy 8).
Epilepsy can also be diagnosed through genes. It has been proven that epilepsy can run in families. Although it is not as common as head injuries there are still people that have gotten epilepsy and did not have any head injuries. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, “if only one parent has epilepsy there is a 5 in 100 chance their child will inherit it.”
The most common symptom of epilepsy are seizures. A seizure is a short event when a person has a change in awareness, movement, and behavior (Explaining epilepsy 8). During an epileptic seizure, people may be unsure of where they are and what they are doing. Some people may lose conscio...

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...ts that have partial seizures. Orrin Devinsky says in his book Epilepsy: Patient and Family Guide, “The second less common surgery is the interruption of nerve pathways along which seizure impulse spreads. (162).” This is saying that doctors interrupt the pathway of the nerve that is sending the seizure to the brain.
An individual with epilepsy can still lead a fairly normal life. However, epilepsy can also be hard to live with. This is because of unpredictable seizures that take place when an individual has epilepsy. The hard work and research of doctors has made having epilepsy much easier to live with, through medication and surgery. Medications and surgeries can keep your seizures controlled and can cure them. Epilepsy is not something that should keep a person from reaching his or her dreams and goals in life. Epilepsy should make a person stronger.

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