By Emmanuel Egbujuo
Medical experts have criticized the stigmatization of people living with epilepsy.
They made this known in an interview with journalists in Port Harcourt. One of the doctors, Nneka Job, who described epilepsy as a brain disease, said that the disease is not communicable but treatable and urged the members of the public to always give a helping hand to any epileptic person in seizure to save life.
She identified the symptoms of the disease to include convulsions.
“Epilepsy is having convulsion unprovoked. There are children who can have convulsions from fever, but in this case, the person has multiple convulsions without fever. Somebody can start blinking and stretch the hands, or the person can start chewing unconsciously, or the child can just put his hands on his leg, shaking and foaming from the mouth.
This is the common symptom of epilepsy that people know. Epilepsy is a disease of the brain that can affect anyone. It can affect children; it can also affect adults, and there are causes of epilepsy such as brain injury or birth aphixia disorder “, she said. She went on to say that the medical personnel in the nation are carrying out a sensitization programme to enlighten the people.
Another medical professional, Doctor Nnaemeka Charity, acknowledged that drugs for the treatment of epilepsy are expensive, noting that charity bodies contribute their quota to make the medication affordable.
“Some NGOs have come in, some philanthropists, and government agencies have come in to subsidise the drugs”, she stated.
They called on caregivers to show more concern to people living with epilepsy to grant them a sense of belonging in the society.
