Description and Diagnosis Epilepsy is a neurological disorder where the brain cell activity is disturbed, developing in mostly young children or older adults (Epilepsy Foundation, n. d.). The cause may stem from a brain injury or abnormality, genetics, or even unknown causes. There are different types of epilepsy such as generalized epilepsy where the seizure originates from both sides of the brain as compared to one area. A person has epilepsy if they have at least two unprovoked seizures more than 24 hours apart (Epilepsy Foundation, n. d.). There are many kinds of tests that can be used to evaluate epilepsy such as CTs, MRIs, EEGs, blood tests, spinal taps, and genetic tests. For example, molecular genetic testing shows a correlation between a mutation on KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 with benign familial neonatal convulsions, a form of epilepsy (Fister, Soltirovska-Salamon, Debeljak, & Paro-Panjan, 2013).
Myths and Misconceptions
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The misconceptions are forcing something hard between the teeth and restraining the person 's movement during the seizure, but in actuality doing those things could potentially harm the helper and the person having a seizure (Gouvier et al., 1995). Forcing something hard into the person 's mouth may lead to a chipped tooth or dislocated jaw, and the helper may also get bitten. Trying to hold down the person having a seizure could potentially dislocate their shoulder too. Instead, the helper should try to protect the person having a seizure by removing sharp or large objects within the vicinity to prevent injury and positioning the body carefully on its side to prevent