LIVING WELL WITH EPILEPSY
Sports and leisure
Safety matters
The potential risk in everyday activities depends very much on the individual nature of your epilepsy. You may still have to adjust your lifestyle to minimise or remove the risks that epilepsy can bring for you or those in your care. If you lose awareness during your seizures and they are not fully controlled or are unpredictable, everyday activities such as climbing ladders, using power tools, taking overly hot baths or showers, ironing and standing by the fire may pose a risk. Adopting simple, safety measures within the home can minimise many of these risks. The Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria can suggest practical measures to help make your surroundings as safe as possible, so please call for advice.
Nightclubs
If you enjoy the social atmosphere of nightclubs, being diagnosed with epilepsy does not mean you have to give up going out with your friends.
Strobe lighting or flashing lights can trigger seizures in some people. This is known as photosensitive epilepsy. However it is rare and affects only a very small number of people with epilepsy. Nightclubs and DJs generally display warnings if strobe lighting is used. If this is a trigger for you it would be advisable to avoid such clubs. If flashing lights make you feel uncomfortable, closing or covering one eye can lessen this discomfort.
Television and computer games
Unless you have been diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy watching television, using a computer or playing video games should not affect you. However, if your seizures are triggered by photic stimuli there are things you can do to minimise the risk of seizures. Watch TV in a well-lit room and do not sit too close or directly in front of the screen. When playing computer games, sit 2.5m from the screen, again in a well-lit room and reduce the brightness of the display. If a seizure is to occur it is more likely to happen within the first 30 minutes of play. Generally, playing the game for prolonged periods doesn’t pose a risk unless it is for so long that you become sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation is a recognised seizure trigger.
Identification
The decision about whether to wear or carry some form of medical identification is a very personal one. A medical bracelet or necklace or a card for your purse or wallet, stating your name, address and medical condition, can improve your chances of accurate medical treatment in the event of a seizure occurring outside your home.
Sport and leisure
When people are busy and active they are less likely to have seizures. When choosing a sport or leisure activity, give some consideration to your type of epilepsy and your degree of seizure control. Some activities involve a greater risk than others but with appropriate safety precautions most risks can be minimised.
Cycling
When cycling, take normal safety precautions such as wearing a helmet, wearing easily visible clothing and using lights at night. Use designated bike paths to avoid the traffic. If your seizures are not well-controlled stick to bike paths and parks rather than cycling on public roads.
Horse riding
Wear a riding helmet and try to ride with other people.
High-risk activities
High-risk activities such as scuba diving, boxing and bungy jumping are not recommended. High risk activities bring with them their own dangers, however, for a person with epilepsy the risk is heightened. Make sure that whoever is organising the activities is fully aware of your epilepsy and what to do if you have a seizure.
Swimming and other water sports
Always swim with someone else, making sure that your companions know you have epilepsy and how to help if you have a seizure.
Public swimming pools are generally very busy places. Informing the life guard of your epilepsy and how to assist should the need arise is a useful strategy, however, the life guard cannot be relied upon to provide close supervision and could be assisting someone else at the time of a seizure.
If your seizures are not fully controlled, one-to-one supervision is advised at all times. When engaging in any water sport such as boating, canoeing, windsurfing or sailing always wear a life jacket.
Underwater swimming such as scuba diving is not recommended. In the event of a seizure, help may not be possible.
Drowning is clearly something to be avoided and yet it still happens to people who think they are personally invincible. Near drowning events can be devastating to your general health and can in fact lead to death. Of course there is an element of risk in any water activities whether or not a person has epilepsy. But a seizure in water is a critical event that all too often has a devastating outcome. Our best advice is to avoid situations such as underwater activities, where your chances of survival, should you have a seizure, are greatly reduced.
Team and contact sports
Your epilepsy should not stop you from playing team and contact sports unless the epilepsy was caused by serious head injury. Some people choose to wear head protection while playing regardless of whether or not they have epilepsy. It is always a good idea to wear protective headgear in contact sports regardless of your health status.
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