Every year on March 26, Purple Day or Epilepsy Awareness Day is celebrated. The celebration comes to raise awareness among people worldwide about epilepsy, a commonly known brain disorder.
It is an opportunity to strengthen understanding of the public of the disease and to dismiss both dread and stigma around it.
This brain disorder can be dealt with if properly diagnosed and treated. That's more the reason why both awareness and studies are essential.
According to a News18 report, the Purple Day history dated back in 2008, a young Cassidy Megan from Nova Scotia, Canada, initiated Epilepsy Awareness Day, and the first-ever celebration was held on March 26, that particular year.
Initiating Global Awareness
Cassidy, nine years of age at that time, took her own diagnosis of epilepsy to raise global awareness. She was inspired to share the struggle of spending life with epilepsy after realizing how important public understanding of this common neurological disorder is.
Then, in 2009, Cassidy, together with the Epilepsy Association of the Maritimes, partnered with The Anita Kaufmann Foundation to internationally launch Purple Day.
The worldwide sponsors of Epilepsy Awareness Day are dedicated to bringing universal attention by being in partnerships with individuals and organizations through continents to promote the event.
Since Purple Day's inception, the foundation has been organizing structured campaigns and has continued expanding its reach.
The celebration is a way for the public to learn, get involved, support the education of the brain disorder in the world, and dismiss the myths and apprehensions surrounding it.
Importance of the Celebration
Electrical disturbances occurring in the brain leads to seizure of various types. This is the reason a person is developing epilepsy.
It is a frightening condition for ordinary people who frequently make wrong assumptions about the brain disorder and the possibility of those living with it.
Epilepsy, considered the fourth most common neurological disease, comes after migraines, strokes, and Alzheimer's disease. More so, one in every 26 Americans is projected to develop epilepsy at one point in his life.
Observing Purple Day raises understanding. Despite being a common disease in the United States, not adequate resources in the country are consumed on study and awareness.
Common Epilepsy Triggers
One in every 100 people is approximated to have epilepsy, and roughly 2.2 million Americans live with this disorder. Essentially, epilepsy is not a psychological disorder, neither is it contagious.
Not all people can understand correctly the specific circumstances or occurrences that impact seizures, although some of the common triggers are listed below, which can help an individual recognize specific seizure triggers.
Among these triggers include lack of sleep, forgetting to take the prescribed medicines, skipping meals, emotional upset, menstrual cycle or hormonal changes, fever or illness, stress, excitement, low levels of seizure, flickering lights of television, videos, computers, and more, and sometimes even bright sunlight.
Forgetting to take other medicines other than the prescribed medication for seizure is another trigger of epilepsy.
Related report is shown on The Oxford School, Kollam's YouTube below:
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