The holidays are here. As many of us prepare to
travel—and welcome—friends and family to share, people who have epilepsy should
take some extra precautions to stay healthy and safe.
Covid Protection:
Vaccinate! Vaccinate! Vaccinate! Booster when 6 months since your last
vaccination has passed. We all know the guidelines: distance and mask when
exposed to other people.
Get enough sleep:
Excitement, stress and jet lag can disturb sleep patterns. Extreme sleep
deprivation is known to cause seizures. For example, soldiers returning home
from Vietnam during the 1960s and ’70s were so excited that they would be up
for 36 hours straight. This extreme lack of sleep caused a convulsion in people
who do not have epilepsy; it could certainly precipitate seizures in people who
have epilepsy.
Alcohol: Alcohol is often
served at holiday meals. People with epilepsy can probably tolerate a beer or a
small glass of wine or spirit. However, excessive use/abuse of alcohol is more
likely to bring on a seizure than in a person without epilepsy.
Nutrition and hydration:
In my experience, people who have epilepsy do not need to follow a special
diet; just follow routine recommendations for good nutrition and water intake.
Bring an adequate supply of anti-seizure
medication when you travel: Be sure to bring enough anti-seizure
medication with you to last the duration of your trip plus a couple extra days
to be safe. Keep the medications in their original bottle/container with the
prescription (dosage) and your doctor’s name on the label. (This information
may be required if you must cross state or international borders.)
Stress: No matter how
much you enjoy the festive season, holidays can be stressful for anyone.
Emotional stress can definitely bring on a seizure in people who have epilepsy.
If possible, minimize the amount of time you spend in a stressful environment.
Meditation and light exercise are good ways to reduce stress.
Carry identification when you go out:
People who have epilepsy can have a seizure at any time. During a seizure, a
person cannot tell bystanders that he or she has epilepsy. When a seizure
occurs, it’s usually not necessary to call an ambulance; the person will stop
jerking and shaking after a minute or two and just sleep it off. A MedicAlert
bracelet or necklace would reassure observers that the person has a known
chronic condition that may not be that serious. This information is also useful
if emergency personnel are called. Always carry a card in your wallet that
states your condition (type of epilepsy) and up-to-date medications you take to
control it. Be sure to include a contact address and phone number of one or two
relatives that emergency personnel or a Good Samaritan can contact in an
emergency. If you are away from home visiting friends or relatives, be sure to
provide similar contact information about your hosts.
Wear a helmet:
After eating sumptuous meals, a lot of people like to get out and exercise to
work off the calories they have just consumed. Everyone—and especially people
with epilepsy—should wear protective headgear (a helmet) if you ride a
skateboard, bicycle, horses and even ski. A helmet will protect your precious
brain from injury if you fall and hit your head while participating in one of
these activities.
I wish you a happy and healthy holiday.
Lance Fogan, M.D. is Clinical Professor of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His emotionally hard-hitting family medical drama, “DINGS, is told from a mother’s point of view. “DINGS” is his first novel. Aside from acclamation on internet bookstore sites, U.S. Report of Books, and the Hollywood Book Review, DINGS has been advertised in a recent Publishers Weekly, New York Times Book Review and the Los Angeles Times Calendar section. DINGS teaches epilepsy and is now available in eBook, audiobook, and soft and hard cover editions.
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