Epilepsy and Recreation Safety

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Video Description:Recreational activities are a key part of a fulfilling life. For people with epilepsy, what activities are safe? Transcript:Having epilepsy does impose some restrictions on certain recreational activities. All too often, families or medical advisors of people with epilepsy place a heavy blanket of restrictions over all activities that may even remotely lead to an injury.  While reasonable precautions, like not allowing someone with uncontrolled seizures to fly a plane, are sensible…excessive restrictions can take the fun out of life and further stigmatize a person with epilepsy. So how do we decide which activities are reasonable, and which are not worth the risk? There is no general answer to this question, however four points should be considered. The first point to look at is the nature of a person’s seizures. Some seizures are minor and do not pose much risk. They may be the simple partial type, which occur with only an internal feeling or a fleeting sensation. Complex partial seizures and absence seizures are more of a risk during recreation, because of the associated confusion and memory loss. Tonic-clonic seizures, meanwhile, present an even higher level of risk for injury. Second, it is important to look at how well a person’s seizures are controlled.  While there is no precise definition of seizure control, patients who have not had seizures for a year or in several years are considered to be in good control. Meanwhile, those having several seizures per month have poor seizure control. But boundaries are imprecise, because even after years of being seizure-free, another seizure is always possible. Third, the risk level of the activity should be considered, since different recreational activities pose different risks. People with seizures usually can participate in low-risk activities, even if their seizures are not in good control – but a medical care professional should first be consulted.  Some popular low risk activities are: running, bowling, golf, baseball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Medium risk activities, meanwhile, may be engaged in if seizures are mild or infrequent, but, of course, review your individual circumstances with your medical team. Some medium risk activities include football, hockey and ice skating, bike racing, gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming in shallow water with a buddy, and boating. As a general rule, if having a seizure during a recreational activity would likely cause you significant harm, then use common sense and avoid activity. High-risk recreational activities include: hang gliding, motor sports. Some doctors recommend not engaging in high-risk recreational activities at all if you have a history of epilepsy. But, at the very least, a patient should not participate in high risk recreation unless he or she has been seizure-free for years. A final consideration when determining what recreational activities are safe for a person with seizures, is the risk level that the person is willing to assume. Doctors and family can and should give advice, but ultimately, assuming that the person with epilepsy is mentally competent, he or she should make final the decision. Category:Neurological Health/Epilepsy Tags:safety precautions restrictions safety type of seizures risks injury seizure control type of activity recreation sports decision-making willingness for risks health medicine athletics physical science advice community web series fitness home video blog guru