How Is Epilepsy Diagnosed?
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by repeated seizures that may include recurring muscle wrenching called convulsions. A seizure on the other hand is an abrupt disorder of the common brain activity accompanied by altered consciousness and/or other behavioral and neurological manifestations. Seizure is sometimes referred to as a “fit” or an “attack”. There are dissimilar types of seizure. Epileptic seizures are all caused by interrupted signals, and so beginning in the brain. Every year, about 125,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed. In the United States alone, 1-2% of the population is affected by epilepsy. Although epilepsy is average among children under age of 10 and adults over age of 60, 25% of all cases have found to be developed by the age of 5. There are no accurate tests that can really say if someone has epilepsy. Diagnosing epilepsy can be very hard and very critical in maintaining a productive and healthy lifestyle. It can best be done via careful observation and documentation of the symptoms accompanied by family and personal medical history evaluation, proper neurological testing and thorough medical examination. Much of diagnosis on epilepsy is based upon observing the patient before, during and after a seizure. An exact description of what happens to a person during his or her seizure is necessary to avoid misdiagnosis that can cause the ailment to persist. The following are guidelines that can aid in obtaining an accurate description of seizure: 1. Chronologically describe what happens to the patient. 2. Time the seizure whenever possible. 3. The patient or a family member should maintain a diary of seizure log with information such as dates, time and descriptions of seizures. The descriptions may also include answers to the questions listed below: • What was the person doing and where is he/she located before the seizure? • Were there any warnings that the seizure was about to happen? • Were there any mood changes- was the person anxious, excited, angry, or quite? • Did the person talk about any unusual sensations, such as an odd taste or bad odor? • What made you recognize the seizure? For example, did the person fall? Was there noise; did the person’s head turn or eyes roll? • Did he/she lose consciousness? Was he/she confused? • Are there any modifications in the color of the person’s face, lips or hands? • Did any of the body parts jerk, stiffen or twitch and if so which parts? • Did the breathing change, become noisy, or look difficult? • Did he/she do anything unusual such as wander about, mumble, or fiddle with his/her clothing? • Did the person wet himself/herself? • Did the person bite his/her cheek or tongue? • How long did the seizure occur? • What is the condition of the person after the seizure? • Did the person want to sleep? • How long was it before they acted normal? • Other things noticeable? Various ways being used by medical profession to diagnose epilepsy are as follows: 1. EEG (electroencephalogram) monitoring, the commonly used procedure to confirm suspicions epilepsy. It records the electrical activity of the brain. Although EEG is widely used, it can yield inaccurate outcomes and can also fail to identify epilepsy. 2. CT (computerized tomography) is used to evaluate the cause and location of epilepsy. It can conceal tumors, structural undermine and scarred tissue. This can also identify a alleviation of seizure frequency. CT scan proves to be helpful however; it can only express pictures of the brain horizontally. 3. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) - a procedure similar to CT scan, but is more advance because it can possibly take pictures of the brain from almost all angles. Another advantage is that there is no radiation involved in producing an MRI scan. It is necessary to remember that those sustaining seizures do not necessarily mean that they have epilepsy. Accurate diagnosis therefore must be done to aid the person and the physician. There are various conditions which have been misdiagnosed as epilepsy including: • Breath-holding spells, a cry or scream • Febrile seizures which is average among children; this is induced by a high temperature • Transient ischemic attacks (TIA), short interruptions of blood flow towards the brain • Psychiatric disorders, panic attacks, • Syncope - an abrupt loss of consciousness due to a sudden decrease in blood flow to the brain • Tics – sounds involving various groups of muscle |
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