{"id":26981,"date":"2025-03-18T15:02:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/?p=26981"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:02:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:02:39","slug":"guyana-observes-world-epilepsy-day-with-awareness-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/guyana-observes-world-epilepsy-day-with-awareness-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Guyana Observes World Epilepsy Day with Awareness Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n\n<p><em>By Kimberly Giddings<\/em><br><em>February 18 , 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>World Epilepsy Day was observed on February 10, with efforts focused on raising awareness about the condition and dispelling common misconceptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-founder of the Epilepsy Foundation of Guyana, <em>Dr. Thomas Singh<\/em>, highlighted key facts about epilepsy, emphasizing the importance of proper management and seizure safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Epilepsy is a <em>chronic brain disorder<\/em> that affects millions worldwide, characterized by recurrent seizures due to excessive electrical activity in the brain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These seizures vary in severity, from brief lapses in attention and muscle twitches to full-body convulsions and loss of consciousness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some individuals experience seizures infrequently, others may have multiple episodes daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the persistent myths addressed during the awareness campaign is the incorrect use of the term <em>&#8220;fits&#8221;<\/em> to describe seizures, which contributes to stigma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Singh also warned against <em>placing objects in the mouth<\/em> of someone having a seizure, a practice that can cause harm. Instead, proper first aid procedures include <em>turning the person on their side<\/em> and ensuring the surrounding area is safe to prevent injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medical attention should be sought if a seizure is prolonged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Singh, who has lived with epilepsy, emphasized the importance of medical care for effective treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While epilepsy cannot always be cured, <em>seizures can be managed with medication<\/em>, and up to <em>70% of people with epilepsy<\/em> may become seizure-free with the right treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, individuals who remain seizure-free for extended periods may eventually stop medication under medical supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, research indicates that <em>25% of epilepsy cases<\/em> are preventable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Risk reduction strategies include preventing head injuries, improving perinatal care, managing childhood fevers, controlling infections in tropical regions, and addressing cardiovascular risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Epilepsy Foundation of Guyana continues to advocate for greater awareness and support for individuals living with epilepsy, encouraging those affected to seek medical attention for diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Kimberly GiddingsFebruary 18 , 2025 World Epilepsy Day was observed on February 10, with efforts focused on raising awareness about the condition and dispelling common misconceptions. Co-founder of the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":26982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[365,350],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-development","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26981"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26983,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26981\/revisions\/26983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}