Welcome to our series featuring Unique Holidays: November 2022: National Epilepsy Month. Do you know someone that has Epilepsy if so please check on them not only today but everyday if you can. Because Epilepsy is a sneaky Disease.
National Epilepsy Month
National Epilepsy Awareness Month takes place in November and it’s an annual event that teaches people about Epilepsy’s causes and symptoms. 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 it is the fourth most common. During this month, many organizations join together to provide information about prevention, treatment, research, and resources to fight Epilepsy.
HISTORY
Epilepsy, unfortunately, has a long history of misunderstanding and stigmatism. Evidence of individuals suffering Epilepsy in ancient history attributed it 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 Epilepsy derived from the brain, had hereditary aspects, and that how Epilepsy presented itself in childhood also determined how Epilepsy affected the rest of the individual’s life.
Unfortunately, Hippocrates wasn’t believed until well into the 17th Century, when the notion that it 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 and false 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.
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 and ethnicities. Put on your best sneakers on and join your family 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 its related causes. You can also establish a sort of wall on your Facebook page or Twitter feed. Ask your friends, family, and anyone else you know who has been affected by Epilepsy to sign in the memory of someone else. It’s a beautiful and healing thing to do.
- Each evening, let a purple light shine in your window. Tie purple ribbons around a Tree. Bake purple Cupcakes or purple Pancakes. Wear a purple pin.
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.
- There are two kinds of Epilepsy: Crytogenic and Idiopathic. 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
