November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Epilepsy affects one out of every 100 people in the United States. Doctors say there is often confusion about the disease.

Having a seizure does not automatically mean that a person has epilepsy. One out of every 26 people have seizures.

People who are diagnosed with epilepsy suffer from seizures that happen often. Dr. Jessica Floyd, a neurologist at South East Neurology, says that you should see a doctor if you are having seizures.

Floyd says epilepsy is a very individualized disease and you need to contact your doctor immediately to figure out if you have epilepsy, what type of epilepsy it is, and what type of seizures you are having so you can figure out what treatment works best for you. She says finding the right medicine or treatment is vital.

Doctors say there are several kinds of seizures. Sometimes when a person is seizing they may be unable to communicate. Others can be more violent, showing much more obvious signs that a person is in trouble.

Part of drawing awareness to epilepsy this month is knowing what to do when you see someone having a seizure.

"Make sure you alert emergency services and create a safe environment around the person," Floyd says. 'We always say to not restrain the person. Try to roll them on their side the best you can especially after the seizure has occurred because they are at risk of aspirating saliva and even throwing up which can cause even further harm to the patient,"

Victoria Corgan experienced her first seizure while she was in college in Pensacola, Florida. She says she was taking a Math exam when she started to experience something scary.

"I get really really hot, my hands get really sweaty and I get really dizzy, I feel faint," Corgan says.

She had five seizures that day and ended up in the emergency room.

The seizures continued and Corgan says it became too stressful to manage while being a college student, so she made the decision to leave school and move home to Columbia.

"I read this quote one time and I also believe it, 'hope is believing that God can and faith is knowing that God will,' and you have to trust in him for that you also have to lean on your family and your friends, because you can't do it on your own," says Corgan.

She's had two surgeries in an effort to treat her epilepsy. Corgan's mother Lori says that while her daughter was at MUSC in Charleston, they met the director of a group known as S.A.F.E. which stands for South Carolina Advocates for Epilepsy.

Lori says that after learning about S.S.A.F.E.hey were eager to get involved with the group that now has five chapters in the Palmetto State, including Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, and Columbia.

Both Victoria and Lori say that that the group has been a great resource.Victoria says she has been seizure-free since June.

"As of right now I can drive. In January, and I am going back to school in January, and I will even be turning 22 in January. January is going to be a new year and a new me," says Victoria.

Click here for more information on identifying epileptic seizures.

Click here for more information about South Carolina Advocates for Epilepsy.