F A Q
Questions about Epilepsy

Questions

1. What is epilepsy?
   
   
2. What are seizures?
   
   
3. Is epilepsy a mental illness?
   
   
4. What do seizures look like?
   
   
5. What makes a person have a seizure?
   
   
6. Does stress make you have a seizure?
   
   
7. Does getting overheated cause seizures?
   
   
8. Are people with epilepsy more emotional than other people?
   
   
9. Should people with epilepsy try to stay calm and quiet at home so they don't have seizures?
   
   
10. Could seizures be caused by an evil spirit?
    
    
11. Could epilepsy be caused by something bad a person did long ago, or something the mother or father did?
    
    
12. How does epilepsy get started?
    
    
13. How many people have epilepsy?
    
    
14. What do you do if someone has a falling seizure and shakes?
    
    
15. Can you die during a seizure?
    
    
16. Should you call an ambulance?
    
    
17. What do you do for a "wandering around" seizure?
    
    
18. Do the seizures hurt your brain?
    
    
19. Can you hurt others during a seizure?
    
    
20. Does epilepsy run in families?
    
    
21. How do doctors know someone has epilepsy?
    
    
22. How do doctors treat epilepsy?
    
    
23. Do the medicines cure epilepsy?
    
    
24. How long do you have to take them?
    
    
25. How well do they work?
    
    
26. Do people get hooked on these drugs?
    
    
27. Can vitamins and health foods stop seizures?
    
    
28. Can you drive if you have epilepsy?
    
    
29. Can a person with epilepsy hold a job?
    
    
30. Can children with epilepsy go to regular school?
    
    
31. Can epilepsy be cured by prayer or laying on of hands?
    
    
32. Does epilepsy make a person retarded?
    
    
33. Does epilepsy get worse as you get older?
    
    
34. Can people with epilepsy join the army?
    
    
35. How can I find out more about epilepsy?

Answers

1. WHAT IS EPILEPSY?
   Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain.
   
   For a short time, the brain does not work the way it usually does. The body gets the wrong signals, and these cause seizures. Return to top
   
   
2. WHAT ARE SEIZURES?
   They are sudden electrical changes in your mind or your body that you can't control.
   
   
3. IS EPILEPSY A MENTAL ILLNESS?
   No. They are different conditions.
   
   
4. WHAT DO SEIZURES LOOK LIKE?
   One kind makes you fall, get stiff, and then shake. It is called a GRAND MAL or TONIC-CLONIC seizure.
   
   Another kind makes you stop and stare for a moment or two. It is called a PETIT MAL or ABSENCE seizure.
   
   Another kind makes you act as if you were only half awake. You can't control your actions. You don't know what happened when you wake up. This is called a COMPLEX PARTIAL or TEMPORAL LOBE seizure.
   
   Another seizure can make you fall, or jerk just one arm or leg, or change the way things look, sound, taste, or feel.
   
   Seizures are sometimes calls fits, or spells, or falling out spells. Return to top
   
   
5. WHAT MAKES A PERSON HAVE A SEIZURE?
   Sometimes flashing lights, or being very tired, will make a seizure happen.
   
   Most times there is no way to tell.
   
   Not taking epilepsy medicine regularly is most often the reason someone with epilepsy has a seizure.
   
   
6. DOES STRESS MAKE YOU HAVE A SEIZURE?
   In some people it does. But not in every one.
   
   
7. DOES GETTING OVERHEATED CAUSE SEIZURES?
   It might in a very few people, but not in most.
   
   
8. ARE PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY MORE EMOTIONAL THAN OTHER PEOPLE?
   No. But life may have been hard for them and things that happened in the past can change some people and make them more emotional.
   
   
9. SHOULD PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY TRY TO STAY CALM AND QUIET AT HOME SO THEY DON'T HAVE SEIZURES?
   No. They should be out in the world with other people. A person who is active and busy is not as likely to have seizures. Return to top
   
   
10. COULD SEIZURES BE CAUSED BY AN EVIL SPIRIT?
    No. Epilepsy is no different from any other health problem. It happens because something in your brain doesn't work quite right for a short time. It is a problem of how things work, like many other illnesses.
    
    
11. COULD EPILEPSY BE CAUSED BY SOMETHING BAD A PERSON DID LONG AGO, OR SOMETHING THE MOTHER OR FATHER DID?
    No. It is not caused by how parents act. It is not caused by anything a person does to himself.
    
    The only time a person's actions could lead to epilepsy is if he abuses drugs or drinks very heavily. Sometimes drug or alcohol abuse can make the brain more likely to have seizures. Most of the time there is no cause that anyone can find for someone having epilepsy -- it just happens.
    
    
12. HOW DOES EPILEPSY GET STARTED?
    Sometimes from a bad head injury.
    Sometimes from a brain infection.
    Sometimes from alcohol or drug abuse.
    Sometimes from something that happened before birth.
    Sometimes no one knows why.
    
    
13. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE EPILEPSY?
    About one in every one hundred. That adds up to thousands of people in every large city.Return to top
    
    
14. WHAT DO YOU DO IF SOMEONE HAS A FALLING SEIZURE AND SHAKES?
    
    1. Keep calm. Calm other people down. Look for a medical I.D. bracelet.
       
       
    2. Put something flat and soft under his head.
       
       
    3. Move anything out of the way that he might hit his head on.
       
       
    4. If he's wearing a tie or collar, make it loose.
       
       
    5. Turn him on his side so anything in his mouth can drain away and not choke him.
       
       Don't put ANYTHING in his mouth.
       
       Don't try to hold his tongue down with a spoon or anything hard. He is not in any danger of swallowing his tongue.
       
       Don't try to bring him round by throwing water on him or giving him anything to drink.
       
       Don't hold him down.
       
       
    6. Stay with him until his breathing is normal and he is awake again.
       
       
    7. Offer him help getting home if he's not sure where he is. Some people feel confused after a spell like this. Return to top
       
       
15. CAN YOU DIE DURING A SEIZURE?
    Death during a seizure hardly ever happens. The risk is highest when a person has seizures that don't stop after a few minutes. A person having this type of seizure should be taken to the emergency room.
    
    
16. SHOULD YOU CALL AN AMBULANCE?
    Not if you know someone has epilepsy and the seizure is a short one. If it goes on and on, or if another starts right away, or if he doesn't wake up, call for help.
    
    If someone is diabetic, or pregnant, or has been hurt during the seizure, or seems sick in any other way, call an ambulance.
    
    
17. WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A "WANDERING AROUND" SEIZURE?
    1. Keep calm and tell other people what's happening. Say it's epilepsy, not drugs.
    2. Talk in a quiet, friendly voice and guide him gently away from anything that could hurt him. Don't grab hold.
    3. Stay with him till he wakes up and knows where he is.
    4. Offer help getting home.
       
       
18. DO THE SEIZURES HURT YOUR BRAIN?
    Only if they go on for a very long time. Most seizures do not hurt.
    Return to top
    
    
19. CAN YOU HURT OTHERS DURING A SEIZURE?
    Not on purpose, because you don't know what's going on around you while the seizure is happening. If you fall and shake, there's no way others could get hurt. If you're dazed and wandering around and someone grabs you, you might hit back by instinct.
    
    
20. DOES EPILEPSY RUN IN FAMILIES?
    Sometimes it does. Most times it happens without anyone else in the family having it at all.
    
    
21. HOW DO DOCTORS KNOW SOMEONE HAS EPILEPSY?
    By finding out as much as they can about his health, about what the seizure looked like, and what was happening before it began. They do brainwave (EEG) tests and other tests as well.
    
    
22. HOW DO DOCTORS TREAT EPILEPSY?
    Mostly with medicines. Some people are helped with a special diet or by a brain operation if the medicines don't work. Return to top
    
    
23. DO THE MEDICINES CURE EPILEPSY?
    No. They stop seizures only if they are taken every day as the doctor has said.
    
    
24. HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM?
    Maybe only for a year or two. Maybe all your life. You can't tell in the beginning.
    
    
25. HOW WELL DO THEY WORK?
    If you take them on time, every day, they can work very well. Eight out of ten people won't have seizures if they take their medicine every day as the doctor has said.
    
    
26. DO PEOPLE GET HOOKED ON THESE DRUGS?
    They need them to stop seizures, and if they stop taking them, they'll have seizures. But they don't get addicted the way a person can with street drugs. Return to top
    
    
27. CAN VITAMINS AND HEALTH FOODS STOP SEIZURES?
    There's no proof that they do. A healthy diet gives you the vitamins and minerals you need. Having epilepsy does not mean you need more than other people.
    
    
28. CAN YOU DRIVE IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY?
    Yes, if you get a license. You can get a license if you have had no seizures at all for some time. Some states make a person wait for a year since his last seizure before giving him a license. In other states the time is not as long. Check with Motor Vehicles about the rules in your state. Don't risk an accident by driving if you are still having seizures.
    
    
29. CAN A PERSON WITH EPILEPSY HOLD A JOB?
    Yes. He or she can work in many kinds of jobs. If you have a lot of spells, it is much harder to get a job. Return to top
    
    
30. CAN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY GO TO REGULAR SCHOOL?
    Yes. And most of them can be in the regular classes in school.
    
    
31. CAN EPILEPSY BE CURED BY PRAYER OR LAYING ON OF HANDS?
    The power of faith and prayer is very strong. No one can say that kind of cure could never happen. But it doesn't happen very often. The best chance of living a normal life with epilepsy is to take epilepsy medicine every day and be as active as you can be.
    
    
32. DOES EPILEPSY MAKE A PERSON RETARDED?
    No. Epilepsy and retardation are different conditions. Sometimes a bad injury to the brain can cause both conditions in the same person.
    
    
33. DOES EPILEPSY GET WORSE AS YOU GET OLDER?
    No. It usually gets a little bit better as you get older. Some children grow out of epilepsy. Return to top
    
    
34. CAN PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY JOIN THE ARMY?
    Only if they have had no seizures and taken no medicines for five years. Males do have to sign up for the draft, though.
    
    
35. WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EPILEPSY?
    Contact your local Epilepsy Foundation affiliate. Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho is located at 310 West Idaho in Boise, Idaho 83702 USA. (208)344-4340 or 1-800-237-6676. For information from the national organization, Epilepsy Foundation, check their web site.