Madani Clinic
An overview of epileptic seizures
Dr Umm Saarib Attariyyah
What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is where someone experiences two seizures which are not due to a specific illness, fever or head injury.
An epileptic seizure starts because of abnormal electrical activity in the brain and proceeds to spread across the entire body. This depends on where the illness is found in the brain. There are different types of seizures, for example:
1. Absence seizures: Children experience these, and it is as if they have lost awareness of their surrounding or are daydreaming.
2. Simple partial seizures: This is where a child will hear a sound that did not occur or experience a jerk in the limbs, such as in the arm, for example.
3. Severe Seizures (generalised tonic-clonic seizures): A child experiencing this will fall to the ground and the body’s limbs jerk about. A child may become unconscious after a sever seizure.
Causes
Epilepsy can be caused by an injury, wound, tumour, intoxication, blood vessels in the brain entwining or brain weakness. Most of the time, the apparent cause of epilepsy is not discovered. This illness is commonly found amongst children.
Diagnosis
Experiencing a seizure once does not mean your child has epilepsy. Half of the children that experience a seizure never experience one again. What is meant by experiencing another seizure is the high possibility of experiencing another one. Tests should be conducted immediately for diagnosis. Usually, an EEG (a brain test by means of which the brain’s electrical activity is checked) and other brain tests are performed. For example, a CT scan and an MRI scan are carried out to identify if there is an infection or tumour. Blood tests can be performed depending on the nature of the illness. However, most of the time, diagnosis is carried out based on physical signs, such as falling to the floor unconscious, foam leaving the mouth and tongue biting. Epilepsy is a symptom of various conditions. Epilepsy, in almost every scenario, is linked to an illness of the brain or neurological disorder. Some people who are epileptic smell a scent that is not present. Likewise, some people hallucinate and see things that are not there. Some people feel as if ants are crawling on their feet and moving towards their head. All these symptoms in a patient are of one type that begin from a specific part of the brain. It is difficult to diagnose patients experiencing these symptoms.
Treatment
It is possible to treat some types of epilepsy through medication. Some treatments require having a special diet and others may require surgery. During a seizure, the head should be raised and a soft item, like cotton wool, should be placed between the teeth so that the tongue is not bit. Lie the patient on the left side, and after the seizure ends, gently lie the patient down on his back. Most of the time, a patient becomes better after the first dose of medicine. If the medicine prescribed initially has no effect, the doctor can change it. A very small number of children may require surgery. Some children stop experiencing seizures as they grow up, whereas some may have to take medication for the rest of their life. Managing seizures is the first part of treatment.
Dear readers, epilepsy is a treatable illness. If treated on time, those suffering from it can live a normal life. There are many famous people who suffered this illness but still managed to go down in history. Therefore, epileptics should continue to undergo treatment and continue their daily activities, with the exception of driving and going near fire or water. According to an estimation, globally there are five million people who are affected by epilepsy. This illness has a higher rate in developing countries. Head injuries, congenital complications and infections could be the cause of this.
3 Spiritual cures for epilepsy
1. Recite لَااِلٰہَ اِلَّا الـلّٰـهُdaily 66 times and blow on the patient. اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـهit will be beneficial. (Duration of treatment: until cured)
2. Recite یَااَلـلّٰـهُ یَا رَحْمٰنُ 40 times in one breath and blow in the ear of the one having an epileptic seizure. اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـهthe patient will become conscious immediately.
3. Reciting بِسْمِ الـلّٰـهِ الرَّ حِیْم الرَّحْمٰنِ and Surah al-Shams and then blowing into the ear of the patient is very beneficial. [1]
We ask Allah to protect us from epilepsy and all other illnesses.
اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم
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