Epilepsy; a serious mental illness
Epilepsy is the most important and common mental illness and World Awareness Day is celebrated on February 8 every year to raise public awareness about it. It is a serious mental illness known in our society as jinn, demons, magic, sorcery or just a shock.
Scientific research has shown that the disease is found in about half to one percent of the world’s population. A conservative estimate is that more than 50 million people worldwide currently suffer from this brain disease, including a large number of women and children.
According to research by the Neurology Department of Jinnah Hospital Karachi, one out of every 100 people in Pakistan has epilepsy. In children, the proportion is almost double. Similarly, the proportion in the rural population is double that of the urban population. About 2.4 million new cases of epilepsy are being diagnosed each year.
There is a lack of global awareness about epilepsy, especially in our country where epilepsy is a strange delusion. One of the reasons for the high prevalence in rural areas is that patients there do not use medicines. In Pakistan, about 30% of people with the disease in urban areas take permanent medication, compared to only 2% in rural areas. These are the factors that have led to the urgent need to raise awareness about epilepsy, especially in the health sector, given the importance and consequences of the disease. Make policy.
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