Dr. RN Sahoo head of psychiatry department of Gandhi medical College (GMC) said that 80 per cent of epilepsy cases are similar to other diseases and they are completely curable.
Many misconceptions prevail in the society regarding epilepsy due to which epilepsy patients have to face problems in different stages of treatment and at times they do not get proper treatment. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Gandhi Medical College for creating the awareness for on epilepsy on the occasion of the World Purple Day.
The seminar was headed by Hamidia Hospital Superintendent Dr. DK Pal. Dr. JP Agrawal and Dr. RK Bairagi cleared the doubts of the patients and their relatives during the seminar.
Dr. Sahoo further said that Alexander the great, Socrates, Isaac Newton, cricketer Jonty Rhodes etc were patients of epilepsy but the disease had no affect on their working capacity. Not only in India but also in the developed nations, several misconceptions regarding epilepsy prevail.
He said that more than a crore persons in the country are suffering from epilepsy. The patients of epilepsy feel ashamed of themselves. One feels that he is different from others.
He further said that these misconceptions affect the life standard of a patient and he/she loses confidence. Epilepsy does not affect the memory and brain of the patients. Dr. Sahoo said that medical practitioners and citizens should learn to differentiate between epileptic seizures and non-epileptic seizures.
More than 30 per cent patients who approach the hospital for the treatment of epilepsy have non-epileptic seizures due to emotional or psychological stress.
Nowadays, many devices and machines are available for testing of desease.