What is epilepsy?

What is epilepsy

To understand what epilepsy is, we first need to understand how our brains work.

Your brain is very important and ensures that everything in your body works well. It is located in your head and works like a supercomputer that regulates everything in your body. Thanks to your brain you can:

• Movement: such as walking, cycling, jumping, etc.
• Using senses: such as smell, sight, hearing and touch
• Thinking: such as solving a task, doing a puzzle or making decisions
• Learning and remembering: such as learning new things at school or remembering what you did yesterday
• And much more!

How can your brain do all these things? Your brain contains many small cells, which we call nerve cells or neurons. Billions of neurons work together to make everything in your body work properly. They talk to each other, but also to other cells in your body. In order to talk to each other and pass on information, neurons send small electrical currents to each other. These currents are normal and not dangerous, you don't feel anything at all.

What's happening in my brain?

Sometimes problems can arise in the brain, such as in epilepsy.

Usually the neurons and electrical currents in your head work exactly as they should. With epilepsy, something sometimes goes wrong with the electrical currents in your brain. The neurons suddenly no longer work well together and become overactive : they talk too much, too loudly and at the same time. As a result, they transmit too many electrical currents to each other and your brain is confused for a moment. We sometimes call that a short circuit, it feels like there is a bit of thunder and lightning in your head.

Because the neurons can't talk to each other properly for a while, they give wrong orders to each other and to your body. This is called a seizure. During a seizure you can:

• Strange movements: Your muscles suddenly act strangely. Sometimes you become stiff or weak, or your arms or legs suddenly move on their own
• Feeling strange: You may suddenly feel scared or confused. Sometimes you smell, taste, see, hear or feel things that are not really there.
• Daydreaming: You stare into space and don't react to what's happening around you for a moment. It's like you're in a dream.
• Fainting: Sometimes you lose consciousness for a moment and afterwards you don't remember what happened.
  

During an attack, your head is confused for a moment and you don't really know what's happening. Fortunately, an attack usually doesn't last long and stops after a few seconds or minutes. After an attack, you're often still a bit confused and tired. That's because your brain worked very hard during the attack. It was busy sending all sorts of wrong signals. After such a busy time, your brain needs some time to calm down again.

Afterwards you often feel completely normal again, just like before the attack.

Reference:

Why do I have epilepsy?

There are several reasons why someone can get epilepsy. The doctor tries to understand what the cause of your epilepsy is. The doctor does this through various tests.

Sometimes it is something in your body itself that causes you to have epilepsy. Something in your brain or body can work differently, causing your neurons to send out too many electrical currents. Epilepsy can also run in your family, in which case we call it hereditary.

Sometimes it is something outside your body that causes you to have epilepsy. It could be an accident or an illness, such as an infection or bacteria, that makes your brain sick.

And sometimes doctors don't know why someone gets epilepsy.

How is epilepsy treated?

Anti-epileptics

Most children are given medication by the doctor, which we call anti-epileptics. The medication ensures that the neurons in your head work better together , so that your brain remains calm and your attacks are less severe, occur less often or even disappear completely.

The medication only works for a short time, so it is important to take it every day . You also need to take it at the same time every day so it can work properly.

If medication alone does not help enough, the doctor may also suggest other treatments.

Vagus Nerve Stimulator

A Nervus Vagus Stimulator is a small device that is placed under the skin at the level of the chest. This ensures that small electrical currents are sent to the brain. These currents help your brain to remain calm, so that you are less likely to have an attack. The device comes with a magnet, which you can also move over the device during an attack so that your attack lasts less long or even stops.

Ketogenic diet

Perhaps your doctor has told you about a special diet that can help with epilepsy. It is called the ketogenic diet. This diet produces substances called ketones. We do not yet know exactly how the diet works.

Our body needs energy. The carbohydrates in our food provide quick energy and can be found in sugar, sweets, soda, bread, cornflakes, potatoes, pasta and much more. With the ketogenic diet we do it differently and you eat mainly a lot of fat and almost no sugar. In this way your body changes the energy source from sugar to fat . When burning fats your body produces substances called ketones. These ketones can help your brain to have fewer attacks.

The ketogenic diet does not help everyone, but for a small group of children it works so well that they no longer have any seizures at all. The doctor and the dietician will work with you to see if this diet is something for you. You should try the diet for at least 3 to 6 months to see if it helps.

This diet is different from what you are used to. You are not allowed to eat just anything and you learn from the dietician exactly what is and is not allowed. Because you eat differently, it is sometimes necessary to take extra vitamins and minerals, so that your body can continue to grow and function properly.

It is important to follow the diet properly every day. If you eat something different one day, it can cause more attacks. It is not always easy to follow the diet, but there is a team of people, such as the doctor and dietician, who help you and your parents to do it properly.

Surgery

In some children the doctor can help with an operation, which we call epilepsy surgery. An operation is not possible for everyone, the doctor will always first investigate whether this can help you.

During the operation, a small piece of the brain is removed from where the seizures originate. The doctor carefully selects this piece, so that the rest of the brain continues to function properly. Before and after the operation, tests are usually performed by a neuropsychologist and/or a speech therapist.