Epilepsy Awareness Day: Facts That Help You Understand The Chronic Neurological Condition

Epilepsy Awareness Day is observed on March 26 every year to bring awareness about epilepsy, one of the most common neurological diseases in humans.

Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures. Seizure is a brief episode of involuntary movement involving a part of the body or the entire body which is sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness, control of bowel or bladder function.

Several factors can cause epilepsy, including brain injury, genetics, metabolic disorders, immune disorders and infection. It can also be caused by stroke, brain tumor, or an injury caused during childbirth.

Epilepsy Awareness Day is also known as Purple Day, and was first established in 2008, by Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada, to encourage awareness for people with epilepsy and to let them know that they are not alone in the battle.

On Epilepsy Awareness Day, people are encouraged to wear purple to show solidarity with the people living with epilepsy. You can join the day's celebration aimed at eliminating the stigma associated with epilepsy by learning more about the medical condition. So, here are some facts about epilepsy:

1. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy after having two or more unprovoked seizures. A single episode of seizure occurs in up to 10 percent of people worldwide and does not qualify to be categorized as epilepsy.
2. According to statistics, there are more people affected by epilepsy than the total number of people affected with autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy combined.
3. It is estimated that 25 percent of epilepsy cases are preventable. Preventing head injury can reduce post-traumatic epilepsy and adequate perinatal care can reduce epilepsy caused by birth injury.
4. The risk of premature death in people with epilepsy is up to three times higher and accounts for more than 0.5 percent of the global burden of disease. The global burden of disease is a tool to quantify health loss and takes into account years of life lost due to premature mortality and time lived in less than full health.
5. Although epilepsy is a chronic medical condition, it can be successfully treated for many. Around 70 percent of people with epilepsy could become seizure-free by taking antiseizure medications.