Angela Onwuzoo
A Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Dr. Nuredeen Adeleke, says people who are predisposed to seizures should not drive or cook to avoid jeopardising their health and that of those around them.
He identified driving, cooking, riding motorcycles and operating motorised equipment like grinding machines as some of the activities those who usually experience seizures should not carry out.
The neurosurgeon disclosed this during an exclusive interview with Reportr Door Healthwise and also warned against the application of harmful substances or practices in the management of seizures.
He noted that seizures could lead to death if an individual has multiple episodes, adding that there are no quick interventions to save the life of such a person.
A seizure, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons says is a sudden alteration of behaviour due to a temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain, while Mayo Clinic defines it as a sudden, uncontrolled burst of electrical activity in the brain.
Speaking with our correspondent, Dr. Adeleke said it is dangerous for a person that is predisposed to seizure to drive because the medical condition could arise at any time without prior notice.
“There are things that people who have the tendency to experience seizures should not do. First, it is not good for them to drive.
“A person that has the tendency to have seizures should not ride a motorcycle or operate any motorized equipment like a grinding machine.
“A person that is driving and experiences seizure will definitely cause an accident on the road. So, that person will be dangerous to himself and the entire society. Also, people that have the tendency to have seizures should not cook on their own because it could happen whilst cooking, which is very dangerous,” he said.
Dr. Adeleke further said it was unhealthy for people to apply wrong interventions on someone having a seizure, such as putting a spoon or forcing salt into the mouth.
According to him, anybody having a seizure should be taken to the hospital for proper evaluation by a medical personnel to ascertain the cause.
He pointed out that their concern as neurosurgeons was to address the cause of the seizure and not the symptoms, adding that anything that could damage the brain or lead to a head injury, could lead to a seizure.
The expert identified brain injury, brain tumour, road traffic accidents and epilepsy as various conditions that could predispose a person to seizure.
He said, “If somebody has a head injury for instance, or hits his head against something, the damage to one particular part of the brain may make it to fire excessively. And when that happens, the person will have seizures.
“Also, if someone has a road traffic accident and hits his head on an object and becomes unconscious, it can damage the brain and the brain can fire excessively.
“Same way if somebody has a tumour, which is a growth within the brain. It can cause seizures.
“If someone has trauma in the brain, it can also cause seizures. And some patients, when they have an infection of the covering of the brain called meningitis, it can also cause seizures.”
The neurosurgeon advised those having seizures to shun bad practices and seek appropriate medical intervention.
He counselled, “If you have a seizure, go to the hospital for proper medical evaluation. Shun bad practices. If you have people having it, take them to the hospital.
“There are injections and tablets available to treat them. People with a seizure disorder can carry cards on their body so that when they have them, people will be able to intervene on time. A seizure can lead to death if it continues to occur and doesn’t stop.
“Also when somebody has multiple episodes and doesn’t recover from them and there is no intervention, that person can die.”
According to the World Health Organisation, around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally.
In a study published in PMC, an online journal and titled, “Prevalence of patients with epilepsy unfit to drive”, the researchers said patients with epilepsy, who have uncontrolled seizures are at risk of road traffic accidents.
The researchers said most drivers with epilepsy had not been made aware of the risks of driving.
“Almost 80 per cent of patients with epilepsy in this study had either primary or secondary generalised seizures, which include loss of consciousness and a resultant loss of control of the vehicle they were driving. Such events greatly increase the possibility of road traffic accidents.
“ It was reported that 55 per cent of seizures that occurred while driving resulted in accidents and an accident rate of 17 per cent in individuals with partial complex seizures”, the researchers said.
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