Among its other therapeutic benefits, CBD is quite popular in treating the symptoms of seizures and epilepsy. The laws that encourage the production and sale of hemp-derived CBD have inspired researchers to discover all the therapeutic benefits of the compound.
In this article, we are discussing in detail about the effectiveness of using CBD oil to treat seizures and epilepsy.
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD oil is a CBD product derived from cannabis plants. As the law has selectively legalized hemp-derived CBD, CBD oils you get in the market are mostly derived from hemp plants.
CBD isn’t the only compound that is present in abundance in the hemp and cannabis plants. These plants have many other compounds including many cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. According to the spectrum option that the oil belongs to, CBD oil can contain many other compounds other than CBD.
Full spectrum CBD oils contain all essential cannabis compounds including THC but in quantities less than 0.3% as per the legal recommendations. Broad spectrum CBD oil is devoid of THC. Except for that, it has all cannabis compounds that are present in the full spectrum CBD products. CBD oils belonging to the third spectrum option, CBD isolate does not contain any cannabis compound other than CBD.
Dravet Syndrome And Lennox-Gastatut Syndrome
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome are two of the rarest forms of epilepsy. The symptoms of these conditions appear in early childhood and resist treatment, thereby leading to more severe symptoms like seizures.
FDA has approved the use of CBD-isolate drug Epidolex in treating the symptoms associated with these conditions. It is in fact, the only CBD drug that has the approval of FDA. Epidolex has about 98% CBD and hence may give more consistent effects when compared with other forms of CBD used to treat epilepsy.
CBD For Children With Epilepsy
Children with epilepsy and show symptoms that do not respond well to conventional treatments can benefit from CBD.
Research has suggested that CBD has the ability to reduce the frequency of seizures in children who are diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy. However, not much evidence is available to conclude if other cannabis compounds are equally effective in treating seizures.
Before starting the use of CBD for treating seizures, speak to your doctor to check for any drug interactions. While using CBD as a treatment for seizures, it is important to regularly monitor your symptoms and check if there are any side effects.