Just a few days ago, 22 year-old El Rawabi School star Noor Taher revealed on her Instagram account her recent Epilepsy diagnosis. But what is epilepsy?
Taher described “[it] is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness.”
Generally speaking, there are 3 main types of Epilepsy: Tonic, Clonic & Tonic Clonic. Tonic seizures cause a sudden stiffness or tension in the muscles of the arms, legs or trunk. Clonic Seizure causes repeated jerking movements of the arms and legs on one or both sides of the body, sometimes with numbness or tingling. Lastly, Tonic Clonic is -understandably so- a mixture of the two.
Epilepsy is an overwhelming disorder that strains the lives of those living with it. That being said, in spite of the disorders’ many risks and volatile nature, with the proper help and care many epilepsy patients get to live a full life.
Some FQAs:
● Is there a cure to this illness?
Unfortunately as of yet there aren’t any.
● What causes Epilepsy? Is it transmissible?
Many factors impact one’s likelihood to develop epilepsy, including genetics, strokes, alcohol misuse,etc. And no, you cannot catch epilepsy from an individual who has it.
● Do seizures hurt?
The episode itself is rarely painful.
● What’re some of its triggers?
Whilst there are many triggers, the most notable ones are flashing/ bright lights, stress and a sleep deficit.
While it’s important to show compassion to those struggling with said illness, it’s also equally important to not get overwhelmed with their illness and decide that they are incapable of doing things by themselves. Because, yes, of course epilepsy patients are going to need a stronger and more consistent type of support than the next person does. But treating them as less of or more incompetent than their able-bodied counterparts is extremely discriminatory, even if you didn’t intend on doing so and only had good intentions.
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