Good morning, I would like to welcome you to our series sharing Unique Holidays: November, 2021. It’s National Epilepsy Month which I don’t know much about other than a friend of mine in school had Epilepsy and wasn’t allowed to drive. Do you know anything about Epilepsy or anyone that has it?
National Epilepsy Month
WHAT IS NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH
National Epilepsy Awareness Month is an annual event that teaches people about Epilepsy’s causes and symptoms. Did you know one in 26 people will be diagnosed with Epilepsy at some point during their lifetime? Epilepsy is one of the least understood of all the Neurological diseases. Yet Epilepsy is the fourth most common. During November, many organizations join together to provide information about the prevention, treatment, research, and resources to fight Epilepsy.
HISTORY
Epilepsy, unfortunately, has a long history of misunderstanding. Evidence of individuals suffering Epilepsy in Ancient History attributed Epilepsy to Spiritual or Demonic Possession. In fact, Hippocrates, the great Roman Medical practitioner, shunned the notion that Epilepsy was a Supernatural Phenomena and believed that it derived from the brain, had hereditary aspects, and that how it presented itself in childhood also determined how it affected the rest of the individual’s life. Unfortunately, Hippocrates wasn’t believed until well into the 17th Century, when the notion that Epilepsy wasn’t Demonic or Spiritual Possession finally subsided. But, the stigma associated with Epilepsy continues to this day. One of the goals of National Epilepsy Awareness Month is to separate the disease from its Historical reputations. Many Countries still believe that Epilepsy is a sign of Spiritual Possession and, until 1980, individuals suffering from Epilepsy weren’t allowed to marry in the United States. Isn’t that just crazy and if it had still been true when I graduated my friend Susan who had Epilepsy wouldn’t have been able to marry her finance Carl.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH
- Communities all over the Country will raise funds in a variety of ways including walks. One of the largest is the upcoming 2020 Epilepsy Walk at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Wherever you choose to walk, remember that you are helping to fight a debilitating Disease that affects people of all ages. Put on your sneakers and join your friends for a walk to benefit a very good cause.
- The Epilepsy Foundation has a Remembrance Wall where you can add the name of a loved one who has passed away from Epilepsy or a related cause. You can also establish a wall on your Facebook page or Twitter feed. Ask your friends and family who has been affected by Epilepsy to sign in the memory of someone they know.
- Each evening, let a Purple light shine in your window. Or tie purple ribbons around a Tree. Bake Purple Cupcakes and prepare purple Pancakes. Wear a purple pin or a purple shirt.
5 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT EPILEPSY
- People with Epilepsy are not the only ones to suffer Seizures. Your risk may increase if you have high fever, low blood sugar, are undergoing drug or alcohol withdrawal. Or even if you’re experiencing a Concussion following Head Trauma.
- Two-thirds of people who suffer from Epilepsy have no specific cause for their condition.
- Art and Medical Historians speculate that Van Gogh’s use of yellow in his paintings resulted from Xanthopsia, a condition where the sufferer sees life through a yellow filter. Xanthopsia was a side effect of digitales, a medication used to treat Epilepsy.
- When someone has a Seizure, carefully roll them on their side because if you try to put something in their mouth during a Seizure, the person can injure their jaw, chip teeth or damage their gums.
- People with Epilepsy who fall, lose consciousness, or have lengthy successions of Seizures can die.
WHY NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH IS IMPORTANT
- Epilepsy is a Neurological Condition in the brain that triggers Seizures. Doctors believe that a brain’s uncontrolled increase of excess electrical activity hampers its normal functions — causing a short interruption to messages traveling back and forth within the brain. This interruption causes Epileptic Seizures.
- Seizures don’t affect everyone the same way. The symptoms range from rapidly blinking eyes to someone going into a State where they stare blankly for a few minutes. Some people suffer a short interval of confusion. The more serious Seizures involve falling to the ground with strong muscle contractions followed by a brief disorientation.
- Did you know there are two kinds of Epilepsy? Crytogenic and iIdiopathic. Crytogenic people with Epilepsy have no clearly identifiable cause for their condition. Idiopathic people with Epilepsy show no Neurological Disorder, but these sufferers have symptoms consistent with people who are officially diagnosed with Epileptic syndromes.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
