Epilepsy in Children



Epilepsy in Children

Introduction

Epilepsy is one of the brain disorders which were described in the ancient Babylon some 3,000 years back. The weirdness of human behavior during seizures has given birth to several different prejudices and superstitions. It was general conception that seizures happen when a person is experiencing a visit from the demon. Basically, the word “epilepsy” originated from a Greek word used for attacks. It was in the 400 BC when this condition was discovered as a brain disorder by a physician known as Hippocrates.

Epilepsy, as it is named, is a 'neurological condition' that influences the nervous system. It is also renowned as a seizure disorder which is detected or diagnosed after a person has two attacks generally. It is said to be a tendency in which the patient undergo frequent fits. This condition can affect anybody regardless of age or gender.

The International League against Epilepsy reports that sometimes epilepsy can easily be diagnosed after just one seizure. This happens in case if a person has been in a situation which subjects a person to high threats of another seizure. This condition affects around 50 million people across the world among which eighty percent of them live developing countries. The toll in UK is not low as well.

This essay aims to describe epilepsy in children, outlining its symptoms, its identification and types. Discussing the role of nursing and care as suggested. The stigma associated to the subject in society and ways to encounter and combat that is one of the major key factors to be discussed in the essay. Families being the primary consolidating source in a child's life can surely play a vital role in order to overrule the effects of the social stigma on a child undergoing the problem.

Discussion

To understand this condition: Epilepsy, it is important to understand the factors underlying as the cause. In certain situations, the reason for epilepsy can be brain damage which may have caused by a complicated labor, at times it can be a severe head blow, any stroke, or may be an infection in the head like meningitis. Brain tumors can also be one of reasons, but that is quite rare according to an estimate, only six out of ten people get victimized of the condition due to a brain tumor. Sometimes the symptoms of a seizure are not very clear which strains the diagnosis of the patient's condition. In such situations, sometimes even doctors are also unable to diagnose it (Johnson, F, P. 2009. p.n.d). As far as scientific procedures are concerned, till yet there is no particular test which can prove prevalence of the condition in an individual. Electroencephalogram (EEG) records the brainwave patterns and can only provide useful information to doctors. Only a specialist training in the disease can make a doctor identify the symptoms at an early stage. An epilepsy specialist needs to utilize his expertise to analyze the information obtained from different tests. It is an estimated result that every five in ...