Safety for People Suffering with Epilepsy
Epilepsy can make every area of life more challenging, and about 400,000 Australians face those challenges every day. Epilepsy Action Australia published their quarterly newsletter recently and included some information about safety issues for people with epilepsy that is worth sharing with you.
Air Travel: Although air travel does not have to prevent you from flying, it does make seizures more likely due to the triggers of fatigue, dehydration and possible disruption to sleep due to jetlag that can be involved, and that can affect everyone differently. Minimize fatigue by allowing adequate rest time leading up to, during and after your trip. If you have a long flight, you should seriously consider breaking the journey en route in order to rest and recover. It is time well spent.
Be sure to wear your medical identification so that if anything does happen people can take the appropriate steps to assist you. When travelling across time zones, space your medication doses over a 24 hour period, that is 8 or 12 hours apart. Keep your medication with you, in your carry-on luggage, so that if your checked luggage goes missing your medication won’t go with it!
Family Get togethers: Family gatherings can be stressful for many people, and the more family members that are gathered the more stressful! The excitement of looking forward to the day can lead to lost sleep, and any anxiety during the gathering can affect wellbeing.
If tiredness or stress triggers your seizures then try to systematically relax by doing the following: Identify causes of stress and find practical solutions. Take action before you feel the pressure. Try relaxation exercises, breathing techniques, stretching, effective time management, listening to soothing music, reading something uplifting, developing good support networks, exercising, and planning something rewarding at the end of a stressful day. If stress is having a really significant impact, discuss it with a counsellor or psychologist (your GP can refer you).
Swimming Outings: While the possibility of a seizure in the water does raise safety concerns, there is no reason you should not swim, if you are careful. Here are some things to remember: Never swim alone. Even if your seizures are under control, have at least one person nearby who know you have epilepsy, and is a strong enough swimmer to be able to assist you if you do run into trouble.Take extreme care swimming in open waters, such as at the beach. Always wear a life jacket. Tell the lifeguard on duty of the potential risk that you may have a seizure.
Wearing tinted goggles or sunglasses may help if flickering or reflected light triggers your seizures.
Monitor how you feel. If you are feeling at all unwell, have missed your medication, or are experiencing any warning signs of a seizure it may be better to wait for another day.
Parties: The Christmas and New Year holidays may have come and gone, but there are still plenty of summer parties coming up. Alcohol does not mix well with anti-epileptic medications, and can actually prevent them from working. Moderate use of alcohol is safe for adults who have never had seizures related to their drinking alcohol, but should be avoided otherwise. If you are going to drink alcohol be sure to eat something before drinking, as that slows its entry into the bloodstream. Pace yourself with the alcoholic drinks by perhaps choosing low-alcohol beer, and having a soft drink, or fruit juice every other drink. Many venues now serve alcohol-free cocktails that are very appealing. Although meeting new people at parties is fun, it is also a good idea to stay near people who know you, so that they would know what to do to help, if a seizure occurs.
Caffeine in coffee drinks and high-energy drinks can increase the likelihood of seizures; so don’t overdo them at any time but especially the day after you have been drinking in the attempt to get a bit of a boost in energy.
Take a nap ahead of time so that you go feeling (and looking) refreshed, and consider leaving at a reasonable hour, too. You should always plan on getting enough sleep.
Travel Insurance: Travellers are wise to get travel insurance to cover them in case of illness, accident or loss of luggage, but it can be harder to obtain if you have epilepsy. Shop around, or ask your travel agent to help. Be honest and accurate when giving your medical details. If you lodge a claim for medical treatment because of a seizure, your claim will be checked against medical records and may be invalidated if recent seizures have not been disclosed. Expect to pay extra for a pre-existing condition such as epilepsy, as that is common practice by medical insurers.
material compiled by
Leslie McCawley BS, MPH
EA/Research Advisor
Office of Rev the Hon Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC
Reference: Epilepsy 360° www.epilepsy.org.au