MISCONCEPTIONS - Epilepsy

Tochi had just gotten back from work, he dreaded going home, his two younger brothers lived with him and they also had their friends over at the house. The house was big enough for every one of them but he just didn't like crowd hovering around. Having too many people  in the same confined space itched him. As an epileptic patient, he knew enclosed spaces triggered his seizures which was why he never liked people trooping around him. A major problem was the stigmatization he had to battle with; the stares on people's faces when he came out of each episodes was something that killed him inside. He always felt it would get better as the years rolled by, but with each passing day, he was faced with more stares and discrimination.

As he drove through his street he saw a small crowd gathered he peered, a man was wriggling on the floor, with his neck twisted to one side the crowd was increasing and from a distance, he could tell that this was another case of epilepsy. He parked by the side of the road and rushed to the site, he was greeted with an angry mob..... Tochi stepped backwards, one thing was to be eager to help, another was to protect yourself from being a victim.
He was trying to find his way to the ailing man when he noticed  a man rushing to the scene

"step back please" the man shouted at the increasing mob

The young man went further to open the sick guy's button, reached out for his hands and checked his pulse, placed his head properly so the sputum could drain out freely..
"leave him alone he'll be fine he's just having an epileptic episode" the man calmed the growing crowd.

"Epilepsy! and you touched his spit, am sure you''ll contact it too"... one of the mobs queried..

"no, you don't become epileptic by touching the spit from an epileptic person... it is totally uninfected" the man educated them

The crowd started murmuring this new information was not well taken by them.. a lot of them had different misconceptions even Tochi was surprised at this new information. He was made to believe the reason why no one cleaned him up after his episodes was so they wouldn't get in contact with his body fluids which could be infected with the 'epilepsy virus''.

"okay listen people".... the man stood up from attending to the ailing man who was gradually coming out of unconsciousness

• 
  

• "Epilepsy means the same thing as "seizure disorders" The human brain is the source of human epilepsy. Although the symptoms of a seizure may affect any part of the body.  Essentially, anything the brain can do, it can do in the form of a seizure.

•  A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have one or more seizures that were not caused by some known and reversible medical condition like alcohol, withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but often the cause is completely unknown. The word "epilepsy" does not indicate anything about the cause of the person's seizures or their severity.

• Epilepsy cannot be contracted through body fluids, sex or living with an epileptic person(s). There are various treatment available for an epileptic person and these treatments help them live a better life. 

• next time you see anyone having one of these fits, rather than stand around and pass curses, you can always roll the person onto their side this helps prevent fluids from getting into the lungs.

•  Putting your fingers, spoon or tongue depressor in the mouth is not recommended as it might make the person vomit or result in the rescuer being bitten.  Efforts should be taken to prevent further self-injury. 

• It is also important to know that this fit/seizure this man just had, could be as a result of other underlying sicknesses like brain tumor, brain trauma, stroke, excessive alcohol consumption or problems in the brain as a result of brain infection.

• so my people, in conclusion, epilepsy is not a curse, neither are sufferers witches. It is a medical condition that can be managed".

• The crowd seemed satisfied with the information they had just learnt.  Some of them helped the ailing man who was now better, to stand up on his feet, cleaned his clothes while some of the women offered to take him to their shop so he could rest well.

• Tochi just learnt so much about himself from a total stranger... he knew if the world got to know about this, the stigmatization would reduce.

• "Hello sir my name is Tochi and i am epileptic, thank you for your lecture it helped a great deal" Tochi approached the young man.

• "Hello Tochi,i am Dr Nosakhare i'll advice you always carry a card around identifying that you are epileptic that way, people would know why you have a fit each time you do and they will also be able to help you. You know the death rate for epilepsy increases with every fit right? so try as much as you can, to stick to your drugs and regimen and  don't forget to carry around an identification card."

• "Thank you sir... i'll do as you have advised"

• He had learnt so much but how could he pass this knowledge across to others?