When is National Epilepsy Awareness Day – Purple Day?
National Epilepsy Awareness Day is March 26th.
What is National Epilepsy Awareness Day?
Epilepsy is not a disease, it’s not contagious, and there’s no real cure yet. In half the cases of epilepsy, we don’t even know the cause. National Epilepsy Awareness Day—or Purple Day—raises awareness about epilepsy to further research and to dispel some of the myths.
While there’s no cure, treatment works for many people. Medication helps more than half of epileptics control their seizures. A small number can actually have the seizure site in the brain removed to stop the seizures altogether. The seizures aren’t always predictable, but things like lack of sleep, the flickering light of a computer, or stress can trigger an episode.
Cassidy Megan created Purple Day in 2008 as a grassroots movement to spread epilepsy awareness. Treatment doesn’t work for everyone, and Purple Day promotes the need for more epilepsy research.
Facts about National Epilepsy Awareness Day!
- People do not swallow their tongue when they have convulsive seizures, so first aid responders should not shove something in their mouth.
- Thomas Edison had epilepsy. So did Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincent Van Gogh, Neil Young, and Danny Glover.
- Half of epilepsy cases have no known cause.
- Around the world, 50 million people have epilepsy.
How to celebrate National Epilepsy Awareness Day:
- Do some research. Look up first aid procedures for people who have seizures. Find out what some common triggers are for seizures.
- Wear purple to spread awareness about epilepsy.
What’s the hashtag for National Epilepsy Awareness Day?
Spread the word on social media by using #EpilepsyAwarenessDay or #PurpleDay.