“You have epilepsy now. This is a mental illness. I would like to live with a normal person, but never want to live with a mentally ill person for the rest of my life.”
Liu Peng (pseudonym), a 27-year-old boy, heard his wife’s resolute words. He picked up a fruit knife and slashed his arm. Blood was flowing. Fortunately, his father stopped it in time and sent him to the hospital for rescue. life.
Three months later, Liu Peng’s heart was completely broken when his wife returned to her parents’ home with her two daughters. He couldn’t figure out why his wife’s attitude changed so obviously after his illness. After that, he attempted suicide twice. Fortunately, his family discovered them in time and stopped the tragedy.
(The picture shows the patient Liu Peng, who is at a loss for the life changes brought about by the disease. Source: Photo courtesy of the author)
In my country, there are not a few epileptic patients like Liu Peng. Many people think that epilepsy is an ominous omen, and they are afraid to avoid it when they have an attack. They even think that epilepsy is a mental illness and an incurable disease…
Epilepsy is a brain disease characterized by repetitive, episodic, and paroxysmal discharge of brain neurons caused by excessive discharge of neurons in the brain. “Sound, commonly known as “sheep epilepsy” and “sheep horn wind” in the folk.
There are more than 50 million people with epilepsy in the world, of which there are more than 9 million people with epilepsy in my country, and there are 600,000 new cases every year[1].
As soon as this disease is mentioned, many people think that it is convulsions all over the body and foaming at the mouth. In fact, the symptoms of epileptic seizures are varied. In severe cases, they will suddenly lose consciousness, not speak, or smack their lips, scream in panic, wander around aimlessly, and have hallucinations.
(After Liu Peng was diagnosed with epilepsy, he was treated in a hospital ward. Source: Photo courtesy of the author)
Because of the violent movements during seizures, many people feel terrible at first sight, resulting in prejudice and discrimination against epilepsy patients, thinking that they are not normal people.
Liu Peng’s epilepsy was actually caused by a traumatic brain injury left over from a car accident.
In traffic accidents, craniocerebral injury accounts for between 25% and 45%, which is only lower than that of limbs and pelvis [2]. Epilepsy after head trauma is a serious complication after traumatic brain injury. Usually, the more severe the brain damage, the greater the possibility of epilepsy.
Every time he had an epileptic seizure, the neighbors believed that Liu Peng was mentally ill. He was even taken to a mental hospital by his family for treatment, but he never returned.
A few years ago, a survey by the Beijing Institute of Neurosurgery revealed the reality of discrimination: 57% objected to their children attending classes or playing with people with epilepsy, and 87% objected to their children Married to a person with epilepsy; in families with epilepsy, 76% of family members feel ashamed, and 99% of families experience mental stress.
It can be seen that patients have a strong sense of shame about epilepsy, and ordinary people also wear colored glasses to patients with epilepsy, and their discrimination is deeply rooted[3].
The unfriendly environment has made many patients feel inferior and closed.
Clinically, we can see many examples of this: they are reluctant to contact people, and even dare not tell others about their disease. After the illness itself, there will be psychological pressure, coupled with the shadow of social discrimination, over time will become withdrawn, introverted, and eventually develop into mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, loneliness and pessimism.
Depression is the most common of these psychological problems and has the greatest impact on the patient’s mind and body. About 1/3 of epilepsy patients have experienced depressive symptoms. In epilepsy patients with depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior are significantly increased, 10 times that of the general population [4].
We see people with epilepsy who have seizures in public and always want to lend a hand, but it can be a disservice if we’re not careful.
Many people may think of first aid measures such as pinching, breaking the mouth, and pressing the body. In fact, these are all wrong, not only can not control the attack, but also may cause secondary harm to the patient.
At the scene of a seizure, two principles should be followed: ensuring airway patency and preventing injury.
The correct way is to place the patient in a safe position, away from dangerous places such as roads and ponds; let the patient lie down, remove the surrounding dangerous objects, loosen the collar, and turn the head to one side (The purpose is to let the secretions from the patient’s mouth flow out) to prevent the secretions from blocking the respiratory tract, and oxygen can be inhaled in time if conditions permit.
After the seizure is over and he wakes up, feeding or taking medicine is also an unnecessary and very dangerous action. All the patient needs at this time is rest.
A lot of people think of epilepsy as impossible to cure. Many epilepsy patients also think so and choose to give up treatment and give up on themselves.
In fact, epilepsy is by no means an “incurable disease” that is commonly misunderstood. About 80% of epilepsy patients can get good therapeutic effect after regular treatment.
At present, the regular treatment methods for epilepsy mainly focus on drug treatment, surgical treatment and neuromodulation treatment, and each treatment method has its own suitable population.
Drug therapy is a common treatment for epilepsy, and about 60% of patients can control seizures with drug therapy.
Surgical treatment is the most important treatment method in addition to epilepsy drug treatment, especially for patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, surgical treatment is the most effective method to control seizures. And often there are significant improvements in cognitive function and quality of life.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
In addition, neuromodulation techniques such as vagal nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, etc., can be used for some patients with poor results from conventional treatments. Although the cure rate is not high, it can reduce attacks and improve the quality of life.
In addition to the above-mentioned conventional drug treatment and epilepsy surgery, other effective regular epilepsy treatment methods are also emerging, such as the ketogenic diet, which can reduce about 38% to 50% of patients by 50% % of seizures.
Finally, 3 tips for all people with epilepsy:
1. Try not to engage in work related to working at heights, driving, swimming, etc. Because it is particularly easy to cause accidents during the attack;
2. Pay attention to regular work and rest every day, do not drink alcohol, stay up late, or even look at computers or mobile phones for a long time, these are all likely to cause changes in the frequency of epileptic seizures, which may aggravate epileptic seizures;
3. In terms of diet, avoid drinking excitatory beverages, such as cola, coffee, strong tea, wine, etc.
To sum up, epilepsy is by no means an “incurable disease”, let alone a “mental disease”. Even if epilepsy is unfortunately acquired, there is absolutely no need for the patient to give up on themselves. If they actively accept regular treatment, they may be cured. Work and live like a normal person.
References:
[1]Tang Yingying, Lu Lu, Zhou Dong, Current Situation of Epilepsy Diagnosis and Treatment in China, Journal of Epilepsy, May 2019, Vol. 5, No. 3
[2] Mao Xianling, Observation on the effect of applying pre-hospital first aid in patients with severe traumatic brain injury, Frontiers in Medicine, 2018, Vol. 8, No. 16, p. 211.
[3]Wu Dongyan and Wang Dinghong Zhen, Investigation on knowledge and attitudes of epilepsy patients and the general population towards epilepsy, Proceedings of the Ninth National Neurology Academic Conference, September 1, 2006.< /p>
[4]Trivedi MH, Kurian BT. Managing depressive disorders in patients with epilepsy[J]. Psychiatry (Edgmont),2007,4:26-34.
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