National Epilepsy Day: Tackling the Stigma Through Awareness

Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen

All of us have heard a story of some relative or friend who started having fits and their family went to all kinds of babas and tantrics to get the spirit out of their loved one. We are all left wondering, in this day and age, taking a scientific approach is the best idea yet we see people getting ostracized for a treatable and manageable illness, in this case - Epilepsy.

Awaz-e-Khwateen sat down with Dr. Manjari Tripathi - Professor Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi to educate people and help them understand more about the disease, its symptoms, and treatment.

“Epilepsy affects people of all ages irrespective of gender, but women suffer more owing to the stigma around the disease. In Indian communities, girls with epilepsy are seen as social pariahs, people associate incompetency with the disease, assuming girls with epilepsy cannot be good wives or mothers. Thus, creating a lot of hurdles for the marriage of these girls.”, said Dr. Manjari Tripathi while talking about the stigma around epilepsy.

In India, November 17 is observed every year as National Epilepsy Day to create awareness about epilepsy.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally. 80% of the people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that there are more than 10 million persons with epilepsy (PWE) in India, which means India accounts for nearly 20% of the global burden of epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disorder of the brain characterized by ‘seizures’ or ‘fits. The seizures are caused as a result of sudden, excessive electrical discharges in the neurons (brain cells). People at any age can get affected by epilepsy.

Here are some symptoms of epilepsy:

●      Sudden twitching (uncontrollable jerking motions of the arms and legs)

●      Loss of consciousness

●      Stiffness in muscles of arms or legs or face

●      Tingling sensation (feeling of pricking pins or needles) in arms or legs

●      Loss of consciousness

 

What are the causes of Epilepsy?

●      Brain damage from prenatal and perinatal injury

●      Brain Infections

●      Stroke and Brain Tumors

●      Congenital abnormalities

●      Head Injury/ Accidents

●      Prolonged high fever during childhood

 Epilepsy can be scary; it affects almost every part of the body as it is a brain disruptor.

If your family member or loved one is suffering from epilepsy, do not panic during seizures. Restraining the person during a seizure is not advised. Remove sharp objects or other harmful objects out of the person with seizures. Loosen the clothes around their neck and gently roll the person onto one side so that any fluid in the mouth can safely come out.

Taking the epilepsy medications regularly as advised by the doctor, even if you are not having seizures is the most important advice given to patients with epilepsy. Discontinuing the medications without your doctors’ advice can be very dangerous. Alcohol consumption is not advised as it provokes seizures.

Epilepsy is a treatable and manageable disease. India has made a lot of progress in the medical sphere, superstitious beliefs around epilepsy have no space in this time and age where we have affordable and highly effective medication at our disposal. We need to include all the stakeholders into the dialogue to create awareness around epilepsy which will lead to an inclusive society.