300,000 epilepsy patients in Lanka

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has about 300,000 epilepsy patients. In Sri Lanka about nine to 12 persons from every 1000 persons suffer from epilepsy, Chairperson, Epilepsy Task Force, Dr. Ranjani Gamage said.

Addressing a press briefing at the Health Education Bureau Auditorium, Dr. Gamage said 90 per cent of epilepsy patients can be successfully treated while treatment is not successful for about 10 per cent of patients.

“About 70 per cent of epilepsy patients can be treated with simple treatment while another 15 per cent can be treated by performing surgeries and advanced treatment,” she said.

According to Dr. Gamage from the persons who suffer from epilepsy only 25 per cent continue their education while 50 per cent drop out from school at an early age.

She stressed the importance of allowing children suffering from epilepsy to continue their school education.

Teachers and school principals should not prevent these children from schooling because 95 per cent of them possess normal levels of intelligence and are absolutely capable of studying, Dr. Gamage said.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, about 50 million people in the world suffer from epilepsy.

Epilepsy patients or cured persons should not break rest, remain hungry or skip meals, climb trees, hills or heights such as ladders, bathe or swim in rivers, streams or swimming pools without protective care, wander around high risk areas like fires, heights and dangerous chemicals.

The National Epilepsy Day will be celebrated on July 5 and the National Epilepsy Week will take place in Sri Lanka from July 5 to 12. This year’s theme is `Epilepsy and schoolchildren’.