Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizure activity. The seizures may range from brief periods of altered consciousness to lengthy episodes of convulsions. Most cases of epilepsy respond well to medication. Epilepsy, often called seizure disorder, affects 2.3 million Americans, according to "Medical-Surgical Nursing." There are several potentially serious complications.
Tongue Injury
An individual may bite her tongue during a seizure. This can cause bleeding and permanent tongue damage, which can interfere with eating and speaking. Occasionally, someone will bite herself elsewhere during a seizure.
Fall
It is common for someone experiencing a seizure to fall from a standing or seated position. This can lead to a head injury, broken bone, laceration or other serious injury. A skull fracture, internal bleeding or brain trauma can result from this type of head injury. It can also cause the person to have more seizures in the future.
Fluid Inhalation
MedlinePlus explains that a person with epilepsy is at risk of inhaling fluids during a seizure. This can happen if the person is eating or drinking immediately prior to a seizure, or if they vomit during the seizure. This inhalation of fluids or food can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which often entails a complicated recovery process.
Motor Vehicle Accident
A seizure while operating a motor vehicle can have deadly consequences for the driver, passengers, pedestrians and those in nearby vehicles. Most state laws place some restrictions on people with epilepsy, not allowing them to drive until they have been free of seizures for a lengthy period of time, in an effort to prevent this occurrence.
Drowning
Another frightening potential complication of epilepsy is drowning due to a seizure. This can obviously occur while swimming but it may also happen while bathing alone.
Learning Difficulties
The Epilepsy Foundation relates that children may experience varying types of learning difficulties, depending on seizure frequency and the part of the brain affected by the seizures. Occasionally, a child's memory is affected by epilepsy. This can also happen to the adult who is going to college or attempting to learn new information relative to his career.
Status Epilepticus
Definitions for status epilepticus vary, but it is generally defined as a seizure that lasts for more than five minutes, or a series of seizures that last for 30 minutes or more. "Medical-Surgical Nursing" explains that status epilepticus is a medical emergency that can cause a heart arrhythmia, permanent brain damage or death.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Epilepsy
- MedlinePlus: Epilepsy
- Epilepsy Foundation: Epilepsy and Learning
- "Medical-Surgical Nursing"; Donna Ignatavicius, M.S., R.N. and Linda Workman, Ph.D., R.N.; 2002
