Epilepsy Awareness Day 2023: Date, History, Meaning, Importance, Triggers

On March 26th each year, Epilepsy Awareness Day, also known as Purple Day, is observed in an effort to raise awareness of this neurological condition and to remove the associated stigma. Epilepsy affects an estimated 3.5 million individuals in the United States and 50 million globally, so chances are you recognize someone who has to deal with the day-to-day issues it presents. However, if recognized and treated effectively, epilepsy may be readily controlled, making public education and investigation critical. Become a part of a grassroots effort in your area now.

Epilepsy Awareness Day History

The inaugural Epilepsy Awareness Day was hosted on March 26, 2008, by Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada. She understood the necessity of everyone knowing this prevalent neurological illness after her own prognosis and experiences with epilepsy. She built a platform for individuals to learn about epilepsy, participate in it, and promote public education about it, as well as debunk misunderstandings and concerns about it.

Electro chemical abnormalities in the brain create epilepsy, which results in a variety of seizures. It may be a frightening illness for individuals who don’t understand what’s going on, leading to numerous unfounded assumptions and even legislation concerning the sickness as well as those who deal with it. Following headaches, seizures, and Alzheimer’s disease, it’s the fourth highest prevalent neurological illness. According to estimations, one out of every 26 Americans will get epilepsy at some time throughout their lives.

Purple Day was founded in 2009 by the Anita Kaufmann Organization with the goal of bringing greater collective attention and organized initiatives to the objective of the day in the United States and throughout the world. Purple Day activities were attended by almost 100,000 pupils, 95 businesses, and 116 politicians in the same year. Purple Day was registered by the Anita Kaufmann Organization in 2011 but has since grown in popularity.

Epilepsy Awareness Day Meaning

Epilepsy is a condition of the nervous system (neurological) characterized by aberrant brain activity that result in seizures or episodes of odd behavior, feelings, and even loss of consciousness. Whenever anyone experiences an epileptic seizure, their body is impacted, making epilepsy a cognitive as well as physical disorder. Epilepsy may be caused by a variety of factors, according to the Epilepsy Association. A person’s epilepsy’s fundamental reason may never be discovered due to its intricacy.

Epilepsy Awareness Day 2023: Common Triggers

Epilepsy affects around one out of every 100 individuals, and approximately 2.2 million people in the United States are affected by this illness. Epilepsy is neither a psychiatric problem, nor is it a contagious disease, in the traditional sense. It is not everyone’s ability to comprehend properly the exact situations or happenings that have an influence on seizures; however some of the most frequent triggers are given beneath, which may assist a person in recognizing specific seizure causes.

Anxiety, enthusiasm, reduced seizure stages, flashing lights from television, video files, computer systems, and other electronic devices and even full daylight are among the triggers.
Other causes include not getting enough sleep, failing to take prescribed medications and eating too much or too little at certain times of the day.
One of the most common causes of epilepsy is forgetting to take medications other than the ones recommended for seizure prevention and control.

Epilepsy Awareness Day: Helping during Seizures

If somebody is experiencing or is about to have a seizure, take any sharp items from their immediate vicinity, take off any eyeglasses they may be wearing, and lay a cushion or your knee under their head if you can.
To avoid choking, try turning the individual onto their side and checking to see if anything is stuck in their mouth.
Keep track of how long the seizures persisted and notify the individual and medical staff at the proper time.
An ambulance should be called if the seizure persists longer than 5 minutes or whether there are injuries sustained during the seizure. However, after the seizure is ended and someone is lucid again, they may require help dialling family members.
It might be frightening to see a seizure, but realize that most seizures will end according to their own after few minutes of understanding how to aid someone.

Epilepsy Awareness Day Importance

Epilepsy Awareness Day is a great opportunity to raise awareness of this disorder. It removes the prejudice and dread associated with it. Dread and bigotry may be eliminated via education. As a result of stigma and prejudice, individuals with epilepsy may find it more difficult to deal with the condition than the stigma and discrimination.
It improves comprehension because epilepsy affects much more people than aspergers, MS, and Down syndrome put together, the amount of money spent on epileptic research is minuscule in comparison to that spent on the other disorders.
Individuals all throughout the globe benefit significantly from Epilepsy Awareness Day. About 40% of individuals claim purple is their favorite colour. Purple-obsessed individuals are said to be excellent philanthropists, which makes them ideal for promoting epilepsy awareness and support as an envoy.