National Epilepsy Day 2023:
National Epilepsy Day is celebrated every year in India on 17th November to raise awareness about the brain disorder and bust myths surrounding the disease.
- Epilepsy is a brain disorder that can cause seizures due to abnormal brain activity or temporary changes in the brain’s electrical functioning.
- The brain produces orderly electrical impulses along nerve cell networks, but in epilepsy, this balance is disrupted thus it impacts consciousness, movements, or sensations.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy and India accounts for nearly 10-20% of the global burden of epilepsy.
- Epileptic seizures are broadly categorized into focal and generalized seizures based on the location of abnormal brain activity.
- Focal seizures may cause brief emotional changes, involuntary movements, and symptoms like dizziness.
- Generalized seizures present varied symptoms including staring, muscle jerking, loss of control, twitches, and sudden loss of consciousness.
- Every year the second Monday of February is observed as International Epilepsy Day.
