Historical Treatment of Seizures

Please welcome guest blogger, Jennifer Purcell. She is the author of A Different Kind of War, The Battle Within, and Social Media Manager for Spark Flash Fiction.

Have you ever cringed at the way illnesses were treated in the past? I’ve watched many a historical drama and found myself flinching when leeches were pulled out or a bone saw. And then I thanked God that I live in the 21st century.

I felt similarly when I discovered how epilepsy patients were treated throughout history. Today, even if we don’t have someone in our family who suffers from seizures, we’re familiar enough with the concept through TV, movies, and warnings in public places that have strobe lights and other effects that may induce seizures.

That has not always been the case. In the past, those who had seizures were often perceived as demon-possessed or mad. Many patients were put in mental institutions. Even the ones who weren’t committed were social outcasts. There were even laws forbidding epileptics from marrying. Still doctors tried to treat and cure epilepsy, even though they struggled to understand it.

In the mid-nineteenth century, some doctors tried cauterization of the limbs or skull. Others even tried amputation as treatment.

But Dr. John Hughlings Jackson had a different outlook. He was an English neurologist whose wife experienced epileptic seizures, and many historians think that his wife’s condition influenced his research. He began studying epilepsy, and a form of seizure is named after him: Jacksonian Epilepsy. (At right, Dr. John Hughlings Jackson, an English neurologist studied epilepsy. Source: Wellcome Collection.)

Then in 1898, Dr. Frederick Peterson and William Pryor Letchworth held a public meeting in the New York City Medical Library for those interested in epilepsy. 75 people attended their meeting, and that day they organized the first voluntary society for epilepsy, the National Association for the Study of Epilepsy and the Care and Treatment of the Epileptic.

There were also colonies and hospitals opening for those with epilepsy. The colonies strived to give patients a chance to live as normal a life as they could. While a better option than a mental institution, the colonies gave no true hope of a patient being able to reenter society.

Craig Colony was an epilepsy colony in Sonyea, New York. It consisted of 1900 acres of land with fields, orchards, and gardens. There were 30 buildings, including houses, barns, and shops. Public domain.

More advancements were made through the years, yet those with epilepsy were often still looked down upon as mentally deficient. In fact, it wasn’t until 1980 that the last law prohibiting them from marrying was repealed. But we live in a changing world, and through fiction, we can become more empathetic about things we’ve never experienced ourselves.

I began learning more about epilepsy while doing research for my novel The Battle Within. The heroine Rose Cleary tries to hide her seizures and struggles to find a life that is not shrouded by a condition she can’t control. Putting myself in Rose’s shoes helped me to better empathize with those who have seizures.

Do you or someone you know have epilepsy? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

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Jennifer Purcell is a Georgia native who loves to write about faith, family, and romance. She is an ACFW First Impressions contest winner and a semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis contest. Her latest historical romance, The Battle Within, released January 2025. Visit her online at justjenniferpurcell.com.

She's searching for purpose. He's searching for redemption. Can these two find victory?

Plantation belle Rose Cleary has been living with her uncle in Georgia ever since

she was sent away in disgrace. Her parents expect her to find a suitable husband to mend her threatened reputation, but she longs for a purpose greater than a marriage of convenience. When she and her cousin stumble upon a wounded Union soldier, she latches onto the opportunity to help someone in need. But the more time she spends with him, themore her heart becomes attached to a man she knows will one day leave. 

Jed Willoughby fights daily with guilt and regret, longing to go home and make amends with his brother and sisters. But after being imprisoned for over a year, his weakened state leaves him no choice but to depend on Rose and her cousin for help. When Jed's quest for atonement leads him to make a decision that endangers everyone he cares about, the inner battle he's fighting becomes a very real and present threat. With Rose caught in the crosshairs, will Jed's mistakes cost him the woman he's come to love?