Cause And Management Of Epilepsy In Nigeria

CHAPTER FOUR
 DISCUSSION
    In Nigeria most diseases affecting the brain which include epilepsy are assumed to be due to affliction by evil spirits (25) this belief is responsible to a large extent for patients with seizure disorders seeking treatment from traditional healers. Danesi and Adetunji in a survey of 265 epileptic patients in Lagos reported that 47.6% used African traditional medicine alone, 24.1% combined traditional medicine with spiritual healing, 20.4% used spiritual healing alone and 7.5% used other forms of alternative medicine prior to seeking hospital treatment for epilepsy. After initiation of hospital treatment, only 14.6% of patients who had earlier used African traditional medicine continued using such treatment; more than two thirds of the patients who had earlier used spiritual healing continued using such treatment, suggesting that many of these patients perceived some continuing benefits from these alternative treatments. They noted that this observation suggests that alternative medicine, especially spiritual healing, cannot be considered irrelevant in the management of epilepsy in Africa. Recently, in the northern part of Nigeria, Kabir et al reported 47% for spiritual healing, which was preferred method of treatment for epilepsy, next was allopathic medicine (34%) while traditional was 19%.
    Nigerian patients with epilepsy suffer social deprivation and discrimination in education, employment, housing, marital life amongst other components of daily living. Epilepsy is seen as a highly contagious and shameful disease in the eyes of the public in the country. This socio-cultural attitude continues to have a negative impact on the management of epilepsy and contributes to poor prognosis and development of complications. The general attitude toward patients with epilepsy is negative. Awaritefe et al. 2008 (26), assessed the attitude of the normal literate general public towards persons with epilepsy versus the “cured” psychotic patient. They found that the general attitude towards the epileptic patient is negative whereas toward the “cured” psychotic patient is positive. There was a gender difference, in that males perceived epileptic patients more favourable than females did. However both male and female participants discriminated against both the epileptic and “cured” psychotic person in terms of employment, residential accommodation, friendship and marital relationship.