Coping with Epilepsy Through Making Adjustments and Adaptations to Protect your Safety and Well-Being:
In order to increase your safety and well-being, it may be necessary to make adjustments to your lifestyle and behaviours, both inside and outside your home. These adjustments and accommodations may not only help to reduce the factors or situations that may 'trigger' your seizures, but it may also help to make things safe around you, in your environment, in the event that you actually experience a seizure.
The type of adjustments and changes that you make will significantly depend on the type of seizures you have, how severe these seizures are, and how frequently they occur. The higher your "risk" level, the more accommodations and adjustments you will likely have to make in your environment in order to increase your safety.
How can I determine the amount of "risk" that I am facing?
The Epilepsy Foundation of America, in its brochure entitled Safety and Seizures, provides a more simple way of determining how much "risk" you are facing.
You are at "higher risk" if you have the following: seizures which involve "drop attacks;" convulsions; falling during seizures; lacking conscious awareness of surroundings; running or walking without knowing where I am ("complex partial seizures"); unpredictable seizures; not recognizing your seizure triggers; no warning (or aura) before a seizure begins; and having very frequent seizures.
You are at "lower risk" if you have the following: seizures which involve brief staring episodes; remaining awake and aware of your surroundings during seizures; nighttime seizures; having conscious awareness of my surroundings while staring, mumbling, picking at clothes, and have not received injuries with previous seizures or, if injuries were received, they were quite minor (small cuts, small bruises); predictable seizures (knowing what things trigger your seizures and when your seizures are likely to occur); receiving warnings or "auras," prior to the start of a seizure; and infrequent seizures (no seizures for several months or years)
I'm experiencing the type of seizures where one or more of the following occurs: I lose conscious awareness of my surroundings, I fall to the ground, the seizures occur without warning, and/or the seizures do not occur at predictable times. What can I do to protect myself?
There are a number of adjustments and accommodations that you can make to help reduce any risks to your safety.
The most important thing that you can do is to increase your own knowledge, and the knowledge of your friends and family members, about proper first aid techniques. It is important that those who interact with, on a regular basis, have a goodknowledge of how they should respond if you experience a seizure.
What kind of adjustments and accommodations can I make in my home environment?
You can also make adjustments in your living environment (in your own home) which will increase the potential that your living environment will be more safe. Here are some practical suggestions that may benefit you if you experience frequent seizures and/or have seizures where you lose conscious awareness of your surroundings, while at home.
- try bathing and/or showering when other people you trust, and who know that you have epilepsy, are in the home with you (if that is not possible, it is probably best for you to take shorter sponge baths and/or use a hand-held shower nozzle while sitting in a special bath/shower seat);
- if possible, try to select and use those smaller and larger electrical appliances that have an automatic shut-off switch;
- you may want to choose to have carpeting in your home that has thick under-padding to protect yourself in case
- if you experience the type of seizure where you are prone to wandering without conscious awareness of your surroundings, you may want to install an alarm on your home doors; this alarm will allow others to know that you are wandering outside; you may even want to install 'safety gates' at the top of a staircase to prevent a serious fall near the staircase;
- if you are prone to experiencing seizures from flashing and/or flickering lights (eg. "photosensitive" seizures), you can try doing the following: reduce the contrast of your television screen by turning on a light in the room, so that the light is coming from above and behind the television set; try watching television at a distance (at a 45 degree angle, at least 3 metres from the television set)
How can I help to protect my safety when I am travelling on public transportation?
There are a number of things you can do to reduce the danger you may face if you experience a sudden seizure while using public transportation:
- when waiting for a bus, try to stand well back from the road;
- if you are waiting for a subway, stand well back from the edge of the platform, as close to the wall as possible;
- if you feel uncomfortable on the stairs or escalator due to its steepness, try using the elevator if it is available;
- if you are experiencing increasing amounts of seizures which involve you losing conscious awareness of your surroundings, you may want to ask a friend to assist you while travelling on public transportation. (If that is not possible, you may be eligible for special transportation services provided for disabled individuals. Contact your local Public Transportation authority to find out more information about this).
What kind of factors should I consider when choosing a recreational activity?
Even those people who experience seizures which put them at "low risk," must also take care to select activities which will not put them at further risk should they experience any type of seizure. The following are some important things that you should consider before taking part in any activity, so as to determine the level of risk involved in that activity:
- What is the possibility that I could become injured if a seizure was to occur while I performed this activity? What kind of seizure(s) would I likely be experiencing? Would that kind of seizure put me at further risk for injury if it occurred during this activity?
- What kinds of changes could I make in order to make this activity less dangerous? (examples: wearing knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, etc.)
- What are the risks and benefits of this activity? How much do I value this activity (in terms of the benefits it can provide me) that I'm willing to risk any possible injuries that may occur as a result of this activity? (Your answer may depend on your personal health, lifestyle, and preferences)
What kinds of adjustments can be made to make my recreational activities safer?
Once you have made the choice to participate in an activity, there are things that you can do to help make the activities that you choose, more safe. Here are some suggestions:
- try to take breaks or rest periods during your activity; this is particularly important if this activity is occurring outside on a day where the temperature is quite high and the sun in strong. This will reduce the likelihood that you become over-heated and/or over-exerted;
- drink plenty of water during the activity;
- when performing an activity that puts you at risk for head injury, be sure to wear protective head gear (eg. a helmet);
- if possible, try to choose activities that take place on softer surfaces (such as grass, mats, etc.);
- if you decide to go swimming make sure the lifeguard and/or a friend who is swimming with you, knows about your epilepsy (what kind of seizures you have, how these seizures can be recognized, and most importantly is aware of standard first aid procedures for seizures)
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