PTI

Epileptic women continue to face social stigma

Thu, Nov 5 09:57 AM

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) At first look, 25-year-old Nilofer (name changed) does not give the slightest hint that she had been suffering from epilepsy and had seizures almost everyday a couple of years back, making normal tasks difficult. But after undergoing surgery at AIIMS, life is different for Nilofer, who was earlier confined to a room in her house.

However, many such women are not so lucky and continue to face social stigma attached to the condition. "Epilepsy is curable.

There are surgical as well as medicinal treatments for it," Associate professor at the neuro-surgery department of AIIMS Sarat Chandra said. Manjari Tripathy of the Neurology Department, who conducted a study to evaluate psycho-social impact of epilepsy in women, found that such women had a poor quality of life.

"It was found that their quality of life was poor, and the burden experienced by the caregiver was significantly more in patients with epilepsy," he said. Tripathy and her team evaluated the psycho-social impact of epilepsy in women in the age group of 15-40 years when compared to pregnant women and those suffering from migraine.

"Women with epilepsy rely more on religion or faith as a coping method and less on problem-solving strategies when compared to those with migraine affected women and pregnant women," she said. .

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