Effective Seizure Management and Leading Hospitals Offering Affordable Care
Explore comprehensive seizure management options and discover leading hospitals offering affordable and effective treatment plans. Learn about seizure types, symptoms, diagnostics, medications, surgical interventions, and lifestyle tips to manage and prevent seizures effectively.
Effective Seizure Management and Leading Hospitals Offering Affordable Care
Seizures are episodes caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. These can result in symptoms like loss of control and shaking movements. Even mild seizures, if untreated, may lead to serious health issues.
The primary types of seizures include:
- Non-epileptic episodes
- Partial seizures
- Generalized seizures
Symptoms
Signs of seizures include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Muscle spasms
- Fainting or collapse
- Drooling or frothing at the mouth
- Biting the tongue
Diagnosis
Doctors determine seizure types through specific tests. These diagnostics help identify the seizure type and guide treatment. Key tests include:
- Blood tests to check electrolyte levels
- Spinal tap to rule out infections
- Toxicity screening
- EEG (Electroencephalogram)
- CT or MRI scans
How can seizures be managed?
Appropriate medication, tailored to the seizure type, can help control symptoms. While medication doesn't cure seizures, it greatly reduces their frequency — over 80% of patients achieve seizure control with proper drugs. Common options include:
- Phenobarbital
- Carbamazepine
- Gabapentin
- Phenytoin
- Valproic acid
- Oxcarbazepine
- Lamotrigine
Seizure treatment strategies
Based on the seizure type, specific treatments aim to prevent health complications. Regular therapies can lessen or eliminate symptoms, including:
- Nerve stimulation techniques that detect and mitigate seizures
- Medications prescribed by healthcare providers with specific dosages
- Surgical options to correct brain abnormalities, such as:
- Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)
- Focal resection
- Hemispherectomy
- Corpus callosotomy
- The ketogenic or specialized diets, which are high in fats and low in carbs, may also be effective.
Numerous hospitals offer affordable and effective seizure treatments. To lower epilepsy risk, ensure sufficient sleep, manage stress, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
- University of California–Los Angeles Medical Center
- New York University Langone Medical Center, New York City
- Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
