Introduction
The following link to a the YouTube video "Understanding Epilepsy" is a good way to start to understand epilepsy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNQlq004FkE
Throughout highschool I worked as a lifeguard at an indoor swimming pool in the winter, and an outdoor pool in the summer. While working at the indoor pool and doing the closing shift I became close with the cleaning staff. One of the men who worked as a custodian/maintenance man was epileptic. When closing I had to check to make sure that he didn’t have a seizure while cleaning the pool deck and fall into the pool. Talking to someone who suffers from epilepsy sparked my curiosity to learn more about it. The results I found really surprised me like that fact that approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally. In the United States epilepsy is a part of 2 million people's everyday life in the United States, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
Task
Objectives:
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Realize what constitutes epilepsy.
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Learn the signs and symptoms of epilepsy.
- Get a perspective of everyday life from someone who is epileptic.
Process
What causes epilepsy:
The links below are from the World Health Organization, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the Center for Disease Control. Epilepsy can be the result of a multitude of reasons including but not limited to: low oxygen during birth, head injuries at birth, brain tumors, infections, and genetic conditions.
http://www.epilepsy.com/start-here/diagnosis-101
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs999/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/basics/fast-facts.htm
http://www.cureepilepsy.org/aboutepilepsy/what_is_epilepsy.asp
Signs Symptoms and Diagnosis of Epilepsy:
The links below can be disturbing to some people as they some of them show an epileptic person suffering from a seizure. We have come a long way in understanding epilepsy, and how to manage it. For centuries we thought that those who suffered from epilepsy were possessed by the devil. Now we can usually pinpoint in each situation what is the cause of a person's epilepsy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRZY2a2jnuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Jv0SZRwwk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX7L11rhRTw
Living with Epilepsy:
The links below give us a few perspectives on what living with, and managing epilepsy is like for a few very different people. The first link provided brings you to an online forum where people discuss what it is like to live with, and manage their epilepsy. The second and third links are to YouTube videos, where you can look inside the lives of two very different epileptics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc7yHtLTWlA
Evaluation
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What are the main causes of epilepsy?As well as what is epilepsy, and what is just a seizure.
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What are the main warning signs and symptoms of epilepsy.
- How can epilepsy impact different people in different ways? Is it always the same?
Conclusion
Epilepsy is a relatively common condition worldwide, where damage to the brain causes seizures. 1 in 25 Americans will be diagnosed with epilepsy, and the number is even higher in developing countries. There are 150,000 new cases of epilepsy in the United States each year making it very likely you know someone dealing with epilepsy in some capacity. One third of the epileptics in the United States live with uncontrollable seizures because no available treatment works for them. For 60 percent of epileptics the cause of the condition is unknown.