Demon possession is not one of the known causes of epilepsy but brain damage does increase the risk of Epilepsy by 25 percent, “Epilepsy is more prevalent in the rural areas than it is in the urban areas due to a shortage in health care facilities. An infant’s brain could be damaged in the birthing process.”
Genetics do increase the risk of getting epilepsy but not significantly so, “it’s no reason not to marry Bernice. The average person’s risk of getting epilepsy is five percent. If there’s a history of epilepsy in your family it goes up to eight. But a brain tumour increases your risk by forty percent, a stroke by thirty and meningitis by fifteen.”
Alcohol and drug abuse are other risk factors associated with Epilepsy.
Alcohol and drug abuse are other risk factors associated with Epilepsy/COURTESY
I hear a chime. Our hour is up. Kioy has a room full of patients waiting to see him. Bernice slings the straps of her bag over her shoulder and leads the way to the door. In a little over a year it could be the last time she has to see a doctor because of epilepsy.
“If we can get you seizure-free for up to two years you can go off your medication. This happens in sixty percent of epilepsy cases,” Kioy concludes.
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