A Neurologist and Consultant Physician, Dr. Adetunji Talabi, says when a pregnant woman suffers traumas and infections, or when the child has a head injury during delivery, the child is likely to have epilepsy.
Dr Talabi in a phone interview made this known while explaining that epilepsy is a neuro-motor condition and not a Spiritual attack as assumed by people.
Risk factors
He said, “Talking about the risk factors, I will take it from when a person is still in the mother’s womb. When a pregnant woman suffers trauma, infection, or when the child has a head injury during delivery, the child is likely to have epilepsy.
“A person could have an accident, fall, or other things, it could affect the brain.”
Dr Talabi further clarified that spit from a person suffering from epilepsy is not in any way contagious as widely misconnected.
Epilepsy not contagious
He said, “The saliva does not in any way affect anybody. It is just an ordinary misconception. You don’t have to put any metal in their mouth or fold their legs; put their legs in fire or the rest.
“We urge everybody that has a seizure to report to the medical facility. A single seizure doesn’t mean that you have epilepsy; anybody can have a seizure for different reasons.
Low sugar, diabates can cause seizures
“For example, when a person has low sugar, diabetes and the rest, such a person can have a seizure. People should come to the hospital so that proper diagnosis can be carried out not all seizures are a result of epilepsy.”
Medication
Dr Talabi also clarified that there are different drugs for different kinds of epilepsy. “We have a lot of drugs for the different kinds of epilepsy. That is why people with epilepsy should visit the hospital. When you visit the hospital, decide the kind of seizure that you have; characterize the kind of seizure you have, classify the kind of seizure you have, if it’s a primary or secondary seizure.
“Define the kind of seizure you have, he or she can even do brain mapping, MRI, and other examinations. By and large, the diagnosis of epilepsy is clinical.
“There are so many levels of treatment; also there are many drugs for the treatment of epilepsy just that the type of epilepsy must be discovered to find out which drug is for which type of epilepsy.”
Treatment
On treatment, the neurosurgeon said epilepsy can be taken out when it hasn’t caused so much damage to the brain.
Dr Talabi said, “If we talk about epilepsy, it means we are talking about recurrent seizures and if the causes of seizure are taken out, everything will be fine.
“But in a situation where you have damage in the brain that suppresses the flow of blood, you’ll need to continue to take your medication. It’s just like when a person has diabetes; you will give drugs to manage the sugar.
“Nothing can be done except the pancreas is taken out. Same with someone who has HIV, he or she would take the antiretroviral medications else the person will develop AIDS.”
See an explanatory videography on the topic:
