CBD for Seizures: Things You Should Know
The use of CBD oil for medical purposes has seen a huge increase in recent years. This is because more research has been poured into the medicinal benefits of CBD oil. CBD is slowly being legalized in a lot of countries. One of the conditions that are alleviated by CBD is seizures. Millions of people suffer from epileptic seizures every day. It is one of the most common neurological diseases in the world. The condition severely hampers the ability of people to perform normal tasks. Many people are starting to use CBD products like those available at https://purehempfarms.com for seizures as an alternative treatment for the condition. This is because it has lesser serious side effects compared to conventional epilepsy medications.
What Causes Seizure & How CBD Can Help?
The definition of a seizure is an uncontrolled and sudden electrical disturbance that occurs in the brain. Depending on the severity of the seizure, it can disrupt your movement, behavior, and in severe cases, your level of consciousness. If you experience recurring seizures, you have epilepsy. There are many causes of seizures, here are some of them.
*High fevers can cause seizures
*Constant lack of sleep
*A stroke
*Misuse of illegal or recreational drugs.
*Brain tumors can also cause seizures
*Constant Alcohol abuse has been linked to seizures.
*A serious head trauma which leads to internal bleeding in the brain
CBD can help provide relief from seizures because it has anticonvulsant properties, similar to drugs used to treat seizures. However, the difference is that CBD is a more natural alternative to those drugs and causes less severe side effects according to numerous anecdotes and research. CBD can help prevent abnormal and uncontrolled firing of neurons in our brain through our body’s endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is responsible for regulating multiple body processes; including the central nervous system.
Persons with epilepsy are believed to have malfunctions in their endocannabinoid system. CBD can help the endocannabinoid system get back on track and regulate the nervous system effectively again. Thus, CBD can help reduce the frequency of seizures.
Relation Between Seizure & Epilepsy
Seizure and epilepsy are sometimes wrongly used interchangeably, there is a distinct difference between the two. There are millions of neurons in your brain that fire millions of times every second. Sometimes, an error occurs that causes multiple neurons to misfire all at once causing a huge disruption and changes your behavior and sensation. This is a seizure. Seizures can be an isolated event that happens only one time due to various causes such as a high fever or a trauma to the head.
Epilepsy, on the other hand, is a very common neurological disorder. Epilepsy is when a person suffers from unpredictable and recurring seizures. Epilepsy can affect a person for their entire life. Multiple medications and drugs are used to help alleviate the recurring seizures. However, many people experience severe side effects when using drugs. Some are even resistant to the drug, making it less effective in treating them. This is why many people are opting to use CBD as a natural alternative in treating their epilepsy.
How does CBD Help aid in Certain Seizures Cases?
Due to the still-growing research on CBD and its medicinal benefits, researchers around the world still haven’t identified exactly how CBD helps in aiding seizures. Do note that CBD is not a miracle cure. Different people or pets will react differently when taking pure CBD for seizures.
However, a lot of people have experienced positive effects and have helped reduce the frequency of their seizures. A recent study has found that the use of CBD products reduced the frequency of seizures in multiple patients significantly. Of course, more research is needed but this is a very promising start.
CBD may help reduce the frequency of seizures by helping the brain relax and regulate the millions of firing neurons properly, thus decreasing the chances of error.
What Does the FDA Say About CBD?
The FDA has not officially regulated and approved most types of CBD products currently available in the market. However, they have approved only one CBD-based drug so far called Epidiolex. Epidiolex is used to treat two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. This is a huge step in the CBD industry and provides huge credibility to the effectiveness of CBD based products in treating epilepsy. Hopefully, in the future, more and more CBD-based drugs are approved so that individuals looking for alternative treatments can do so much easier.
Can a Child Use CBD Products for Epilepsy?
Many parents who have children that suffer from epilepsy are looking for an alternative to traditional anticonvulsant drugs. Because CBD is often associated with cannabis as a recreational drug, parents are reluctant to use CBD products to treat their children’s epilepsy. This is very understandable as they don’t want their child to experience psychoactive reactions.
However, parents should know that CBD oils and other CBD based products only contain cannabidiol (CBD) and have very little to zero THC found in them. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the compound found in cannabis which causes the psychoactive reaction or a “high” state. This is why it is very safe for children to take CBD products as it doesn’t make you stoned. In fact, the FDA approved, CBD-based drug Epidiolex is safe to use for kids over the age of 2. As long as you procure your CBD products from trusted and well-known brands, you don’t have to worry about its safety for children. Although, always consult with your child’s doctor before administering any kind of medication.
Health Concerns Related to CBD & Seizure
Just like any drug or medication, you must consult your doctor or physician before taking them. CBD still has a long way in terms of studies and research in terms of its medicinal benefits. People must be aware of several potential side effects and risks when using CBD oil Epilepsy or any CBD products. Here are some of the observed side effects of CBD usage.
*A noticeable change in weight
*A noticeable change in appetite
*Constant fatigue or sleepiness
*Diarrhea
*Increases the risk of liver damage, especially when taken together with other medications
*CBD may also interact with other drugs, making them less effective or cause serious side effects.
*Can cause mood changes such as an increase agitation and irritability
*Some, though rare, have reported that CBD has caused an increase in seizure frequency
In some cases, people who’ve taken CBD have reported experiencing an increase in suicidal thoughts and ideation. However, more research and concrete evidence are needed to link the two.
Other Notable Benefits of CBD to Look Out For
Besides helping in alleviating the frequency and symptoms of epilepsy, CBD has numerous benefits. People have been using CBD oil for sleep, it helps them relax after a day’s work and easily slumber into a good night’s sleep. Using CBD oil for pain has also seen an increase in popularity. CBD has surprisingly a lot of pain-relieving properties without having a high chance of addiction. This makes it a great alternative to other addictive pain medications.
Wrapping UP
To wrap up, we would like to remind the readers that CBD products are constantly researched and studied every day. More and more discoveries are made and questions answered. Thus, we still need to be alert and careful with how we take CBD and how much of it. People will react to taking CBD differently. We hope that after reading this article, you’ve learned more about CBD than ever before.
