How to Care for Someone With Epilepsy

About 50 million people around the world suffer from epilepsy, a neurological condition that causes seizures due to irregular or excessive neuron activity within the brain. Someone suffering from epilepsy requires special care, especially during childhood, to manage the condition safely and effectively. Read on to learn how to care for someone with epilepsy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Care for Someone With Epilepsy

1. Understand that children who suffer from chronic illnesses are at increased risk of developing emotional problems such as depression. Often, the child either feels embarrassed or frustrated by his condition or is teased by other children about it. Stay sensitive to this possibility, and make sure you present as positive and upbeat an outlook as you can.
2. Educate yourself and your child. Learn as much as you possibly can about epilepsy, why seizures happen and how they happen. If your child has siblings, make sure they understand and are sensitive to the illness. Also, ensure school officials are aware of your child's epilepsy.
3. Be vigilant about continuing treatment as directed by your physician at all times, even if an epileptic seizure has not occurred for some time. When you have epilepsy, you often remain prone to seizures at all times, especially when you fail to medicate properly.
4. Anticipate attacks. Know that, in women, epileptic activity has a strong correlative relationship with hormonal changes brought on by the menstrual cycle. Work with your doctor to try and detect a pattern, and exercise extra caution during times.
5. Know how to help in the event of a seizure. Do not try to restrain someone having a seizure. Instead, loosen her collar if necessary, give her room and refrain from placing anything in the person's mouth. Keep sharp objects out of reach, and lay the person on her side to facilitate easier breathing once the seizure ceases. If another seizure begins within five minutes, if the seizure is unusually severe or lengthy in duration or if the patient is unresponsive after a seizure, call 911.
6. Stay informed. The Epilepsy Foundation is an excellent source of information, support and resources. See the Resources section below for a link.

Improve Safety in the Home of an Epilepsy Sufferer

7. Know that safeguards should be put in place in the home to increase safety. Simple preventative measures can significantly decrease the chances of accidents or injuries being caused as by-products of an epileptic seizure. This includes storing knives and other sharp objects, arranging furniture in an open fashion to allow room for movement and eliminating as many sharp edges as possible.
8. Make sure all floors and sharp furniture corners are padded. You don't want to risk the patient hitting his head or body and causing injury in the event of a seizure.
9. Keep all electrical appliances far out of the reach of the bathtub. It is also helpful to ensure the bathroom door opens out, instead of in, so that the person can still be reached if they are having an epileptic seizure on the bathroom floor.
10. Cook on a stove only sparingly. Take extra care to use only the back burners if a stove is used. This will be much safer in the event they cannot be turned off because of an epileptic episode. Keep sharp objects well out of reach, and consider using plastic utensils instead of sharper metal ones.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your doctor before combining any other medication with any anti-epilepsy drugs you may be taking. Certain drug combinations are unhealthy and potentially dangerous.