Do You Know the Top 15 Epilepsy Risk Factors?

Epilepsy Risk Factors

According to Epilepsy.com and CDC, a risk factor is something that makes a person more likely to develop seizures and epilepsy. Sometimes a risk factor can cause  scarring of the brain or lead to areas of the brain not developing or working right. Epilepsy Risk factors include:

• Brain tumors
• Brain infection, like neurocysticercosis, abscess, meningitis, or encephalitis
• Loss of oxygen to the brain (for example, during birth)
• Babies who are born small for their age
• Babies who have seizures in the first month of life
• Babies who are born with abnormal areas in the brain
• Bleeding into the brain
• Stroke resulting from blockage of arteries
• Cerebral palsy
• Conditions with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Fever-related (febrile) seizures that are unusually long
• Family history of epilepsy or fever-related seizures
• Alzheimer’s disease (late in the illness)
• Use of illegal drugs such as cocaine
• Mild head injuries, such as a concussion with just a very brief loss of consciousness, do not cause epilepsy. Yet the effects of repeated mild head injuries and epilepsy is unknown.

What if I don’t have any of those risk factors?

Although the disorders and injuries noted above may help to explain many cases of epilepsy, but not all people will have these risk factors . Often it is not clear why or how someone started having seizures.

What are seizure triggers?

Although, the specific cause for what causes seizures in most people is not clear, there are factors (often called ‘triggers’) that may provoke a seizures These triggers may make it more  likely to have a seizure in certain situations, and the triggers may change the severity or numbers of seizures.

According to Epilepsy Society, triggers for seizures are not the same as causes for epilepsy. A trigger for someone to have their first seizure may be a stressful situation, but the underlying cause for that person to start having seizures may be quite different

Sometimes people can learn how to modify their lifestyle or environment to lessen the risk of triggers. According to epilepsy.com, CDC, and Epilepsy Society, these triggers may include:

• Psychological stress
• Missed medication
• Flashing lights or patterns
• Specific activities, noises or foods
• Low blood sugar
• The menstrual cycle or hormonal changes
• Lack of sleep or disrupted sleep
• Illness (both with and without fever)
• Heavy alcohol use or seizures after alcohol withdrawal
• Use of cocaine and other recreational drugs such as Ecstasy
• Over-the-counter drugs, prescription medications or supplements that decrease the effectiveness of seizure medicines
• Nutritional deficiencies: vitamins and minerals
• Poor eating habits, such as long times without eating, dehydration or not enough fluids

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Sources:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/basics/faq.htm

Epilepsy.com: http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/epilepsy-101/what-are-risk-factors

Epilepsy Society: https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/seizure-triggers#.VtZvKdDJK1w