How to Prevent Epilepsy, Follow Simple Steps for a Healthier Brain
Epilepsy is a brain issue which leads to seizures like condition as the next stage. Such condition of seizures can make you shake, stare blankly, or at times in extreme cases even fall. Learn that 50 million people from around the world are recorded to be affected by epilepsy. But there are many things that can be done to lower the risk of getting affected from the issue as whole.
Learn some simple ways on how to prevent epilepsy and helps in keeping the brain healthy and lower those chances of getting epilepsy.
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy as whole occurs when the brain sends wrong signals as commands to the body. Some of these wrong signals can lead to act of severe to moderate seizure. These seizures can look different as they differ from situation to severity of the condition.
People might just stare for some seconds, while under severe condition, people might fall and shake all over. Living with epilepsy like issue can be tough as seizures like conditions are hard to predict.
This is why it is so important to know how to prevent epilepsy or manage it well.
Easy Ways to Lower Your Risk of Epilepsy
There are various types of epilepsy that occur as such things that are uncontrollable are genes. But many times, the issue if epilepsy can be caused by other outer things. Helping to understand these ways can also help in knowing how to prevent epilepsy condition.
Protect Head!
When the head is hurt badly, it can damage brain, this can eventually lead to seizures like condition.
- Make sure that you always wear a helmet when riding a bike. Also use it while skateboarding, motorcycling, or playing sports.
- Carefully use your seatbelt while sitting in the car. This can save your head if there is any accident that has occurred.
- Make sure the young children are safe in the car seats. They need to be watched carefully to prevent such fatal falls.
- For older people, you need to make sure that your home is safe. Make use of clear paths, use good lights, and put in grab bars in bathrooms. Such preventive steps shall refrain you from stopping.
Keep Heart and Blood Healthy
Such severe issue is a big cause of epilepsy, which occur especially in older people.
Hence, as a preventive measure keep heart healthy and brain too!
- Check Blood Pressure: High blood pressure leads to strokes and so check it regularly.
- Manage Diabetes: Condition like high blood sugar can hurt blood vessels, just keep checking the level at regular intervals.
- Lower Bad Cholesterol: Choosing healthy foods and taking medicine to keep your cholesterol levels good can help.
- Don’t Smoke: Smoking is serious bad for the heart, and it can lead to strokes like situation, thus quitting it is one of the best things that can be practised.
- Drink Less Alcohol: Too much use of alcohol raises blood pressure, and this can harm the health too.
Stop Infections
There are severe infections which might get into the brain and eventually lead to epilepsy like condition, some of them are listed down.
- Get Vaccinated: You and your child is to get shots, like those for meningitis. This can help you to be away from any severe brain infections.
- Wash Hands, And Only Then Cook Food: A bug called Cysticercosis can lead to epilepsy. In some of the parts of India, it does exist more. Hence, make sure that you wash your hands before eating or cooking.
- Mosquito Bites: While you are pregnant, try to avoid getting affected with mosquito bites, especially in areas where diseases like Zika virus are commonly seen.
Good Care Before and During Birth
What happens during pregnancy and childbirth can simply affect a baby’s brain.
- Regular Doctor Visits: Pregnant women are to follow up regular doctor’s appointments as any find and fixation of issues can be done.
- Safe Birth: There are some skilled doctors and nurses, who can help in making sure the baby is born safely. It is one of the answers to how to prevent epilepsy and reduce the chance of brain injury while giving births.
- Treat Infections: Woman might get infection easily during pregnancy. Hence, treat it quickly and just stop it from harming the baby.
Know Fevers and Seizures in Kids
Some children might get affected with seizures when they have a high fever. Such seizures due to fever are known as febrile seizures.
Most of the time, they are not serious and do not end up giving you epilepsy. But for some, febrile seizure is long or unusual. They might be at a slightly higher risk under situations.
- Control Fever: When a child has condition such as fever, try to bring it down with doctor-approved medicines and make sure to give them cool baths.
- See a doctor: Check if it is an ongoing thing and ask how to prevent epilepsy.
How To Prevent Epilepsy with Genetic Testing as Help
Did you know that sometimes epilepsy like condition in people can be passed down in families. This might at times occur due to genes?
To know what genes are, learn that they are tiny instruction manuals for our bodies. Genetic testing like help is like reading a part of that manual. Know how to prevent epilepsy if you have detected with your genes has some properties to it.
Below Mentioned Are Ways in Which Genetic Testing Helps:
- Early Answers: When someone in the family has epilepsy, or if the child is showing any sort of early signs, genetic testing like help can find the exact cause early. It also means that the doctors can start helping the issue soon.
- Better Treatments: Learn about the gene alteration that can help those doctors choose the best medicine for that specific type of epilepsy.
- Understand Moder of Action: Genetic tests like help can give an idea of what to expect as the person might grow. Also, a genetic counsellor, you need to talk to the families about the chances of other family members getting affected with the same issue of epilepsy.
- Help Other Family Members: When a gene change is found in one-person, other family members are to be tested too, this is one of the ways of how to prevent epilepsy. When they have the gene, which can be watched more closely for early signs.
- Future Cures: While learning more about genes that leads to epilepsy, scientists can work on some new and better solutions.
When should someone think about genetic testing?
- When epilepsy starts early, especially in those babies or some young children.
- If epilepsy might not have any clear reason to occur (no sign of injury or infection).
- When other people in the family are detected with epilepsy.
- If epilepsy comes with other learning or co-health issues.
- If seizures are very hard to control.
Make sure you talk to a doctor or a genetic counsellor before doing genetic testing. They can explain everything clearly and help you with how to prevent epilepsy.
Live a Healthy Life for a Healthy Brain
Beyond specific steps, living a healthy life helps your brain too!
- Not being able to sleep due to seizures can affect, hence try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Getting trigged by too much stress are several ways to relax just like some Deep breathing, playing some music or spending several times.
- Choose a healthy diet with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats. This choice is sure to help you to brain work its best.
- Moving to the body regularly, it is known to be severely good for your heart and at the same time, it can help in lowering stress too.
- Never drink too much alcohol. Make sure that you are far away from the use of illegal drugs. It can also include seizure risk like condition.
Learning as how to prevent epilepsy involves many things. Some of them are protecting head, keeping body healthy. You need to stay away from the infections and getting good care at birth.
All the way, you need to thank science. They will help you understand the genes through genetic testing which is a powerful new way to understand and prevent the condition of epilepsy. Even when we cannot prevent every case, considering these mentioned steps can help in making a big difference for many people.
Discover Genetic Insights with LifeCode Advanced Epilepsy Genetic Testing
Understanding the known and legal genetic reasons which are behind epilepsy which is a powerful step. It is towards the better care and several decisions are made with regards to this.
At LifeCode, we offer advanced Epilepsy Genetic Testing panels. The entire panel is well designed to have a clear information about the genetic that can lead to epilepsy like condition.
Our cutting-edge testing can help:
Find some gene alterations that are well linked to various epilepsy like condition.
Guide treatment for better control over a period of seizures.
Give proper planning the future.
Help family members understand their own about all the possible genetic risks and ways to manage them early.
You need to take charge of your health journey and explore what is the possible with LifeCode Advanced Epilepsy Genetic Testing.
Education: Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Experience: Agarwal is a seasoned pharmacist with over 7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical field. She has worked in various settings, including hospital pharmacies and community clinics, where she has excelled in medication management, patient counseling, and clinical support. Agarwal is known for her expertise in drug therapy optimization and patient safety. In addition to her practical experience, she contributes to health journalism, focusing on pharmaceutical advancements and health policy, and is involved in research projects aimed at improving medication practices and health outcomes. is known for her expertise in drug therapy optimization and patient safety. In addition to her practical experience, she contributes to health journalism, focusing on pharmaceutical advancements and health policy, and is involved in research projects aimed at improving medication practices and health outcomes.