Can Cannabidiol Reduce Seizures?
Seizures are a rare type of neurological disorder that is characterized by sudden, involuntary contractions of the muscles in the body. The most common seizure symptoms include loss of consciousness and convulsions. CBD (cannabidiol) has been used to help reduce seizures for some individuals who have epilepsy, which is a condition where episodes are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Let’s take a deeper look below at what seizures are, why they happen, and how they can negatively affect the individual experiencing them.
What Are Seizures?
Seizures are defined as an uncontrolled electrical impulse within the brain that causes a sudden, violent contraction of the muscles. They can result in changes to behavior and body movement, emotions, awareness or sensitivity to light, sound, or touch. The most common symptoms include convulsions where the individual loses consciousness for a short period of time before waking up with no recollection of what just occurred.
The severity of this condition will depend on how often seizures occur. They are typically categorized into two types: Generalized Seizures – affecting both sides of your brain at one time and Focal Seizures – only affecting one side of your brain.
Why Do Seizures Happen?
What Causes A Seizure? There are many possible triggers that may lead to having seizures, including head trauma, stroke, brain tumor, high fever, and genetic disorders. While there are a wide variety of reasons a seizure can occur, the common theme among them is that the nerve cells within the brain have their communications disrupted. The most common condition associated with seizures is epilepsy.
How Seizures Negatively Affect People
Seizures often have a significant impact on the individual experiencing them. Some common adverse effects include:
Physical Injury: One of the biggest dangers associated with seizures is that they can result in physical harm to the person having them. This may be from falling down during a seizure or being injured as a result of convulsions.
Emotional Trauma: Many people who experience seizures feel an extreme sense of fear and panic when one occurs. This can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in some individuals.
Reduced Quality of Life: Having uncontrolled seizures often leads to reduced quality of life due to limitations in what you can do both physically and socially.
CBD For Seizures
What does current research say? Several studies have been conducted that indicate CBD’s ability to reduce epileptic seizures. However, researchers agree that more human-based clinical trials need to be completed before official and definitive claims can be made about CBD being effective for general seizure treatment. So far, there has been one CBD medication approved for epilepsy.
CBD is thought to help reduce seizures due to its homeostasis-promoting properties. CBD has been shown in studies to bind with CB1 receptors (part of your endocannabinoid system) in the brain that regulate and stabilize electrical activity. There is some evidence that CBD oil has even been effective in reducing seizure frequency for some patients who don’t respond well to traditional medications.
Danu Offers Premium And Pure Third-party Lab-tested CBD
If you or someone you know is experiencing seizures, it is essential to consult with your doctor to discuss options. CBD may be a viable option for some people, and Danu offers premium CBD oil that has been third-party lab-tested for quality and purity. Visit our main blog page to learn more about CBD and natural wellness, or check our online store here to see our selection of broad-spectrum cannabidiol.