Saturday, March 26, 2022, is Epilepsy Awareness Day! Epilepsy Awareness Day was established on March 26, 2008, to facilitate education, support, and engagement.
Epilepsy affects 65 million people worldwide and is a group of neurological disorders characterized by disturbed nerve cell activity in the brain causing seizures. While Epilepsy can be caused by brain injury, head trauma, strokes, or brain infections, the cause of 50% of Epilepsy cases is unknown. Epilepsy can be diagnosed at any age but is typically diagnosed after an individual suffers from more than one seizure not caused by a pre-existing illness or condition. While Epilepsy can be treated with anti-epileptic drugs, there is no cure for the disease.
Because of the stigma surrounding Epilepsy, there is a lack of education on the disease and what to do if someone experiences a seizure. The CDC outlines measures to take to help someone having a seizure. They recommend the following:
- Ease the person to the floor.
- Turn the person gently onto one side. This will help the person breathe.
- Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. This can prevent injury.
- Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under his or her head.
- Remove eyeglasses.
- Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make it hard to breathe.
- Time the seizure. Call 911 if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.
If someone is experiencing a seizure, NEVER do the following things:
- Do NOT hold the person down or try to stop his or her movements.
- Do NOT put anything in the person’s mouth. This can injure teeth or the jaw. A person having a seizure cannot swallow his or her tongue.
- Do NOT try to give mouth-to-mouth breaths (like CPR). People usually start breathing again on their own after a seizure.
- Do NOT offer the person water or food until he or she is fully alert.
For more information on how to assist someone during a seizure, visit CDC.gov/epilepsy.
Epilepsy Awareness Day, also known as Wear Purple Day, is a great time to learn more about Epilepsy and help reduce the stigma around the disease. Help Southside Support celebrate Epilepsy Awareness Day by wearing purple on Saturday and tagging us on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthsideSupport) or Instagram (instagram.com/southsidesupportinc/)with the tag #SouthsideSupportsEpilepsy for a chance to be featured on our page!