Strengthening the promotion of epilepsy scientific knowledge

  Epilepsy, commonly known as “goat’s horn”, is a chronic brain disorder caused by a variety of causes. However, for a long time, there are obvious prejudices about epilepsy, and people with epilepsy may face social injustice such as public discrimination and indifference. Many patients are thus unable to enjoy normal life, study, work, and marriage. Therefore, epilepsy is not only a medical problem, but also a social problem.  This phenomenon exists not only in less economically developed countries, but also in developed countries in general. The main reason for this phenomenon is that patients, family members and the public have very poor or no knowledge about epilepsy. For example, according to the latest survey data, about 23% of rural epilepsy patients in China believe that epilepsy is caused by anger, about 19% believe that it is possessed by gods and demons, and various other misconceptions such as fright, poverty, bad luck, divine providence, retribution, etc.  These misconceptions put a heavy psychological burden on patients and family members. Some data show that almost all patients and family members have mental stress, and the vast majority of patients and family members have a sense of shame and consider it humiliating, which leads to family conflicts, economic and work problems, and affects neighborhood relations, making the quality of life of patients and family members significantly lower.  As a result of the above misconceptions about epilepsy, some epilepsy patients are not treated, and some patients are in an eager mood to be cured, seeking treatment everywhere, using a variety of treatment methods including Western medicine, Chinese medicine, bias/experimental prescriptions, and causing the proliferation of wandering doctors and quacks in some areas, so that the treatment of some patients receiving treatment is extremely irregular. The result is that patients do not receive timely and regular treatment, which can lead to long-term seizures that cannot be controlled.  Epilepsy is a chronic disease that requires long-term observation and regular follow-up, so not only do doctors need to make a correct diagnosis and determine a standard treatment plan, but they also need to strengthen the self-management awareness of epilepsy patients, enhance communication between patients and doctors, actively cooperate with doctors, and carefully implement the treatment process, so as to improve the overall level of treatment of epilepsy.  In view of this, it is important to popularize epilepsy science knowledge to epilepsy patients, family members and the public. In recent years, several departments such as the health administration and social labor security departments have paid great attention to the promotion and education of epilepsy-related knowledge through television, newspapers and other media, actively popularizing basic knowledge about epilepsy, and eliminating people’s misconceptions about epilepsy, so that patients with epilepsy can receive regular treatment in a timely manner, fully recover as soon as possible, integrate into society, and enjoy a healthy life as normal people. The aim is to help people with epilepsy to recover from epilepsy and enjoy a healthy life.