Epilepsy Awareness Month

            Today marks the first day of November. What do you think of when you hear the month November? I think of hot chocolate, holidays, and cold weather. I’m sure that’s what many students think of, but one thing that is rarely heard of is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Not only have many of you never heard of National Epilepsy Awareness Month, but you probably aren’t even sure what epilepsy is. With the number of epilepsy patients rising, especially in young children and teenagers, it is important for everyone to understand this serious disorder and bring awareness to finding a cure for epilepsy.

            What is epilepsy? According to the Epilepsy Foundation, it is a medical condition characterized by recurring seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions, brought on when nerve cells in the brain give abnormal signals to the body. However, not everyone who has experienced seizures are considered Epileptic. An epileptic seizure is different from other types of seizures because they are often unprovoked. This means that an epileptic person may have a seizure for no visible reason, as other seizures are brought on by drug abuse, hard hits to the head, and rapidly flashing lights. Although these things can trigger a seizure in someone who is epileptic, some people may have seizures for the same reason and not be considered an epileptic patient. Determining whether a seizure is epileptic or not is very confusing, so let’s just leave that part to the doctors.

            Worldwide, nearly sixty-five million people are affected by epilepsy. With those statistics, it’s safe to say that you have met someone with epilepsy at some point in your life, and you probably didn’t even know it.  Epilepsy patients are generally young or very old, but a child who is epileptic may experience violent seizures throughout their entire life, and someone who never had epilepsy may fall victim to it in their later years. Medications and complex treatments have been developed to help epilepsy patients, but the majority of epileptic people do not receive adequate treatment. It is the fourth leading neurological disorder in the United States, but also one of the least understood. Despite how common the disease is (it is estimated that one in three adults know someone with the disorder) or the advanced medications and treatments available, epilepsy cases continue to rise in the United States and throughout the world.

            The Epilepsy Foundation officially names November awareness month, and asks for you to get involved in their 30 Days 30 Ways campaign to raise awareness of  epilepsy. This program is designed for everyone to complete different activities for every day of November. The complete list can be found at www.epilepsyfoundation.org/getinvolved. Along with a full month of awareness, the Epilepsy Foundation also hosts a national Walk For Epilepsy on April 20, 2013, where anyone may join or create a walking team, as well as donate to find a cure.

            Clearly, epilepsy is becoming a bigger problem throughout the world, and sadly, too many people fail to recognize, support, and bring awareness to finding a cure for epilepsy. Whether you know someone who suffers from epilepsy or not, I encourage you to get involved in the 30 Days 30 Ways campaign, and support epileptic patients. I can’t mention names on a public blog, but there is at least one person in this school suffering from epilepsy. What better reason to get involved than that?