South Africa has seen a doubling in sudden deaths due to epilepsy since 2004, says Neurological Association of South Africa president Dr Patty Francis.
The neurologist said globally premature deaths in epileptic patients were at least three times higher than in the general population.
One in every 100 people was epileptic, and 75% suffered their first seizure around the age of 20.
Francis told Sunday World that the increase in deaths in South Africa was due to the lack of neurologists in the country.
She said there was only one neurologist per 500 000 people, and that epilepsy was often mistaken for several non-medical conditions.
“Epilepsy is a medical condition and diagnosis is made when a person experiences a recurrent, unprovoked seizure. Epilepsy is most definitely not caused by psychiatric disorders, demonic possession, ancestral displeasure or hormonal dysfunction,” said Francis.
The two types of seizures manifest when the person stares randomly into space often accompanied by slight twitching, and a generalised tonic-clonic seizure, which can be seen when a person starts shaking with jerking movements, and becomes rigid and sometimes falls to the ground.
The sudden unexpected death in epilepsy often happens during sleep, suspected to be caused by nocturnal seizures.
“Because it happens when people are sleeping it is hard to understand what is causing the death. Sleep is known to be one of the states in which people have seizures. This is when the brain is most active, and there might be something that is happening at that moment causing the death, but it still remains a mystery to us.
“As a safety measure, it is important to avoid pillows when you are epileptic because you might suffocate and die,” said the specialist.
Francis said some of the safety measures include leaving the bathroom door open, opting for a shower instead of a bath, keeping a helmet on when horse riding or cycling, and avoiding swimming alone.
“Epilepsy affects people of all ages, genders, races and income levels. It is a highly treatable condition, and over 70% of people with epilepsy could live seizure-free if they have access to appropriate anti-seizure treatment, the most cost-effective of which are included in the World Health Organisation Model List of Essential Medicines,” Francis said.
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