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      People have had epilepsy for thousands of years! The Hippocratic collection, which has medical writings from 400 B.C. described epilepsy as a hereditary disease. Back then the Greeks thought people with epilepsy to be demon possessed, untouchable, and unclean.  If an epileptic breathed on you, in custom you would have to spit to keep the disease at bay.     

    In medieval ages epilepsy was called, "The falling sickness." In the Middle Ages, they considered it an infectious disease. The religious cure of the time was to sleep in the temple overnight and hope the God Asclepius would appear in a dream to cure the person or tell him how to get cured. They also looked for saints and relics for cures. They believed, if you had epilepsy you should wear an iron ring to control your seizures. George Washington’s daughter was still around when they believed in them. She had epilepsy. Her doctor gave her an iron ring.