Natural Treatments for Epilepsy

Introduction:

Epilepsy is usually treated using anti-seizure medications, but these medications have many side effects and may not work for everyone. There are some natural methods and alternative therapy treatments to reduce the symptoms of epilepsy. Various herbs and vitamins can also help in reducing the symptoms of epilepsy.

What Is Epilepsy?

A neurological disorder of the central nervous system which causes unusual behavior or seizure and loss of awareness is called epilepsy. Depending on the type of seizure, the symptoms can vary. The signs and symptoms of seizures include confusion, and muscle stiffness, jerking, uncontrolled movements, loss of awareness or consciousness.

Which Are the Types of Epilepsy?

There are mainly two types of seizures. And among them, it has many different variations of seizures. They include:

• Focal Seizures - Focal seizures without loss of consciousness will not affect consciousness. It can affect emotion, smell, taste, sound, or feeling. People having focal seizures without loss of consciousness can experience Deja Vu. It can also result in involuntary body jerking, like legs or arms, and some sensory symptoms, like dizziness and tingling. The other type of seizure is focal seizure with impaired awareness, also called complex partial seizure which includes loss of awareness or consciousness. During the seizure, a person will stare into a point or space. People with focus with impaired awareness do not respond normally and can perform property movements like chewing, swallowing, and hand rubbing.

• Generalized Seizures - They include absence seizures or petit mal seizures, which are usually seen in children. It is characterized by steering at a point without any movement of the body, like blinking of the eye, and it can only last for ten seconds. Tonics seizures can result in stiffness of the muscles and can also affect consciousness. Atonic seizures or drop seizures can cause reduced muscle control. Clonic seizures are associated with repeated muscle jerking. Myoclonic seizures can occur as sudden jerky movements or twitches. Tonic-clonic or grand mal seizures can cause stiffening of the body and loss of consciousness.

What Are the Natural Treatment Methods for Epilepsy?

Natural methods of treating epilepsy include the following:

• Herbal Treatment Methods - Most herbs help treat various types of diseases and symptoms. Herbal medicine helps in balancing the neurotransmitters present in the brain. It helps prevent nerve inflammation and helps in the dysfunction of the mitochondria. Burning bush, hydrocoele, mistletoe, peony, skullcap, valerian, groundsel, lily of the valley, mugwort, and tree of heaven are some of the herbs that help in the treatment of epilepsy and also reduce symptoms. Some herbs can also worsen the symptoms of epilepsy which include garlic, chamomile, schizandra, caffeine, passion flower, kava, kola, mint tea, and guarana. So these herbs should be avoided to prevent the worsening of epilepsy.

• Vitamin B6 - Some vitamins help in decreasing the frequency and intensity of seizures caused by certain types of epilepsy. Vitamin B6 helps in treating pyridoxine-dependent seizures. This epilepsy usually develops in the womb or immediately after birth. This seizure is caused by the body's failure to metabolize vitamin B6.

• Magnesium - Magnesium deficiency can result in seizures and has high epilepsy risk. Magnesium supplements can help in reducing epilepsy and seizures.

• Vitamin E - Vitamin E deficiency can also result in seizures and epilepsy. Vitamin E has antioxidant properties.

• Other Vitamins - The epilepsy medication can result in Vitamin D or biotin deficiency, worsening the symptoms of seizures.

• Dietary Changes - Dietary changes can help reduce epilepsy and the symptoms associated with epilepsy. A ketogenic diet, or eating high amounts of fat with low protein and low carb, is the best diet for reducing seizures and epilepsy. Various studies show that changing the diet to ketogenic helps decrease the symptoms of epilepsy and seizures.

• Biofeedback and Self Control - Controlling the brain's activities helps reduce epilepsy and seizures in some people. Most people will experience some symptoms for 20 minutes before seizures. The symptoms include foul smell, seeing strange lighting, or blurred vision. These will lead to other mental and physical problems like stress, anxiety, depression, headache, and fatigue. Self-controlling helps to decrease or prevent the intensity of epilepsy and seizures. These self-control methods require very good focus and concentration. Some of the self-control methods that help in preventing or reducing epilepsy are by focusing on meditation, walking, smelling a strong odor, or involving in a task. Biofeedback is similar to the self-control method. It also controls the activities of the brain. They use electrical sensors to change brain waves. A study has shown that biofeedback effectively reduced the symptoms of epilepsy and seizures when the medications were not working.

• Chiropractic Care and Acupuncture - These methods are considered an alternative to standard epilepsy treatment. Acupuncture helps reduce chronic pain and various other conditions with the help of hair-thin needles inserted into specific areas of the body. Acupuncture can help in changing the activities of the brain by increasing the activities of the parasympathetic nervous system. In chiropractic care, spinal manipulation will help heal the body and also help control seizures and epilepsy.

• Vagus Nerve Stimulation - The vagus nerve is stimulated by implanting a device that helps send electrical signals to the brain, which helps reduce epilepsy and symptoms associated with seizures.

• Relaxation - Stress, anxiety, and depression can increase the chances of seizures and epilepsy. Reducing stress and anxiety helps calm the mind and body, relax the muscles, and it helps in improving the quality of sleep. Common relaxation techniques used to reduce stress and anxiety include Indian head massage, which includes the massage of shoulders, arms, and head. Full body massage, the shiatsu technique in which pressure is applied on acupuncture points, and reflexology, focusing on pressure points on feet and hands. Meditation and breathing techniques also help relax the mind and body and transfer electrical signals to the brain.

• Avoid Trigger - A seizure can occur when there's an imbalance in the neurotransmitter level. The neurotransmitter which helps in inhibition is GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid, and stimulation is glutamate. An imbalance in the neurotransmitters will create a paroxysmal depolarization shift or PDS, resulting in an epileptic activity. Some activities and events can trigger this shift which include sleeplessness, stress, alcohol and drug use flashing lights in case of people having photo-sensitive epilepsy.

Conclusion:

Herbal medicine, vitamins, dietary change, self-control, biofeedback, and acupuncture helps to treat epilepsy and seizures naturally. Different herbs help in treating different types of seizures. Some herbs are even contraindicated in some seizures. So before using herbal medicine, always consult a specialist.