KINGSTON, Jamaica — In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally.

Nearly 80 per cent of those affected live in low-and middle-income countries.

But even with such a high number of people living with epilepsy, epilepsy awareness remains low in Jamaica with most people not knowing the safe path of action to take when someone around them is having an episode.

Epilepsy is a brain condition which, according to WHO, is characterised by recurrent seizures. Seizures are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body or the entire body and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function.

A seizure can appear in different forms including: confusion and disorientation; unusual, sudden body movements such as stiffening and jerking; a convulsion with total loss of consciousness; temporarily altered behaviour; staring and blinking a frightened look or lack of response; a strange feeling or unusual taste; lip smacking and chewing; walking around without any purpose; fiddling with clothes/objects nearby; and speaking in an unintelligible way.

Seizures may vary in frequency, from less than one per year to several per day.

While the disease affects people of all ages and sex, boys and men tend to be more prone than their opposites but the reason for this remains unknown.

Similarly, the cause of the disease is still unknown in half of the cases globally. However, several underlying disease mechanisms can lead to epilepsy such as brain damage from prenatal or perinatal causes such as a loss of oxygen or trauma during birth, low birth weight; congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain malformations; a severe head injury; a stroke that restricts the amount of oxygen to the brain; an infection of the brain such as meningitis, encephalitis or neurocysticercosis, certain genetic syndromes; or even a brain tumour.

If properly diagnosed and treated, the WHO says an estimated 70 per cent of people with epilepsy can live seizure free.

When someone is having an epileptic episode, there is not much you can do except the following:

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]Do not crowd the individual;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Clear the surrounding environment of hard or sharp objects that might harm the individual during convulsion;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Cushion the individual’s head and loosen any neckwear;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Turn the individual on their side to keep their airway clear and so fluids can run out of the mouth;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Do not put any object in the person’s mouth or over the face; and[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Time the seizure.[/naviga:li]

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An epileptic episode typically lasts seconds or minutes before the brain cells return to normal, however, in some cases it can be longer. If the seizure lasts more than five minutes, then the individual should be transported to the nearest hospital for medical assistance.

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month.