Focus on Epilepsy in teens

BANGALORE: Twelve-year-old Rashmi was performing outstandingly in her studies till her teacher discovered that she was not able to follow instructions and gave a blank look on being questioned.Her parents were told about her sudden absence of mind in the classroom.However, the lackadaisical attitude of the parents delayed the medical intervention for a few more months and consequently, the frequency of losing the consciousness increased over the time leading to several times a day.Later, when her parents took her to the doctors, she was diagnosed of absence seizure and put on medications for the neurological disorder.Similarly, the delayed treatment due to ignorance led 16-year-old Girish suffer for quite sometime. Initially, he complained of severe abdominal bouts of two to three minutes at a regular interval. Gradually, he started sweating during the abdominal discomfort.After seeking alternate treatment of medicine and consulting several gastroenterologists, surgeons, he landed approached a neurologist and was diagnosed with complex partial seizures.On this National Epilepsy Day on November 17, the theme- ‘Epilepsy in Teens’, neurologists emphasis on the early intervention and treatment.According to them, with the currently available anti epileptic drugs, epilepsy can be well controlled in 75 to 80 per cent of patients.However, many of them maintained that patients with epilepsy who require medical intervention do not take timely treatment due to social stigma attached to epilepsy.Speaking to Express, Dr G T Subhas, Head of the Department of Neurology at Bangalore Medical college and Research Institute (BMCRI) said “Myths, misunderstanding and stigma attached to epilepsy makes people suffer unnecessarily and also prevents them from seeking proper medical aid.” K V Muralidharan, Secretary, Indian Epilepsy Association said that epilepsy in teenagers has largely no negative effect and they can lead their life as comfortable as they would like to.He also said that to create awareness on teen epilepsy, the association’s Bangalore chapter is engaged in creating mass awareness among school teachers and parents who play a pivotal role in addressing the issues.