November is recognized as National Epilepsy Awareness Month to educate the public on this seizure disorder and support those living with it. Epilepsy is a long-term neurological condition that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures and affects about 3.4 million people in the United States.
The cells in the brain send and receive messages from the body that are transmitted by a continuous electrical impulse traveling between cells. Epilepsy disrupts these impulses and causes a burst of electrical energy between cells. This can create changes in sensations, emotions, muscle movements, awareness, and even loss of consciousness. Epilepsy is categorized into two major seizure groups based on how and where the brain causes the seizures.
Focal Onset Seizures: These seizures result from activity in one area of the brain and consist of two different types of seizures.
- Focal seizures without loss of consciousness: This type of seizure may alter emotions or senses and results in involuntary jerking, tingling, and dizziness.
- Focal seizures with impaired awareness: This type of seizure causes a change or loss of consciousness and repetitive movements such as hand rubbing, chewing, swallowing, or walking in circles.
Generalized Onset Seizures: These seizures result from activity in all areas of the brain and consist of six different types of generalized seizures.
- Absence seizures: These seizures typically occur as often as 100 times a day, causing a brief loss of awareness and movements including blinking or lip smacking.
- Tonic seizures: These seizures cause stiff muscles in the back, arms, and legs and may affect consciousness.
- Atonic seizures: These seizures cause a loss of muscle control, most commonly in the legs.
- Clonic seizures: These seizures cause repeated or rhythmic jerking muscle movements affecting the neck, face, and arms.
- Myoclonic seizures: These seizures typically cause sudden brief jerks or twitches in the upper body, arms, and legs.
- Tonin-clonic seizures: These seizures cause a sudden loss of consciousness and body stiffening, twitching, and shaking. Loss of bladder control or tongue biting may also occur.
Seizures can cause complications such as injury from falling, drowning, car accidents, insomnia, memory loss, and pregnancy complications. Certain factors may trigger seizures more often in those with epilepsy, such as:
- Alcohol consumption
- Flashing lights
- Drug use
- Lack of sleep
- Hormonal changes
- Stress
- Dehydration
About half of those living with epilepsy have no identifiable cause of the condition, whereas the other half may be traced to numerous factors including:
- Genetics
- Head trauma
- Brain tumors, stroke, or blood vessel conditions
- Infections
- Brain damage prior to birth
- Developmental conditions such as autism
You and your family can get assistance with finding resources to manage and assist with epilepsy. As a Local 663 member, you and your family members have access to TEAM, an employee assistance provider, at no cost to you. For more information, call (800) 634-7710 or visit www.startwithteam.com.
To ensure you receive all pertinent information, please update your address with the Fund Office, Wilson-McShane Corporation, when you move. To update your information, you may access the Change of Personal Information Form from the website www.663benefits.com. You may also call (952) 851-5797 or toll-free (844) 468-5917 to request a Change of Information Form.