10 Life Hacks for Living with Epilepsy

With epilepsy, a condition that affects the brain, you may experience fits (seizures) that often recur throughout an extended period. During seizures, your body can move erratically. The majority of seizures last a few seconds to several minutes. Some people with epilepsy only experience one seizure yearly, while others get many daily seizures.

Problems Epilepsy Can Cause

Epilepsy can affect your quality of life by contributing to various problems. Let us have a look. 

Falling: You risk breaking a bone or injuring your head if you fall while having a fit.

Car Accident: When operating a vehicle, having a seizure or fit that makes you lose control might be risky.

Drowning: Due to the possibility of having a seizure in the water, your chances of drowning while bathing or swimming are considerable.

Emotional Health: Individuals with epilepsy are more likely to have depression, extreme worry, or anxiety.

During Pregnancy: Fits and seizures can harm both mother and child. In addition, certain drugs used to treat epilepsy can harm the unborn child. Therefore, you must consult a doctor before you decide to have a baby.

Life Hacks for Epileptic Patients

1. Understand Your Epilepsy

Every person with epilepsy uniquely goes through daily life. So, the first step in treating your ailment is to understand your particular form of epilepsy fully. Ideally, you should ask the following kinds of queries your physician:

• How frequently should I visit the doctor?
• What adverse effects might my medicine have?
• Which type of seizures do I experience?
• Who should be aware of my epilepsy?

In addition, consider creating an epilepsy plan and educating others around you regarding rendering first aid in case of a seizure.

2. Monitor Your Symptoms

Ideally, you should track your drug side effects, mood, stress level changes, seizure patterns, etc. Finding out what causes your seizures might help you and your doctor assess and improve your current treatment plan.

You can use a regular journal or download a mobile application to record this data. You may manage your epilepsy using these applications in many different ways.

3. Invest in Tech 

There are a variety of help-summoning and alarm-sounding gadgets to support you if you experience a seizure, ranging from sleep activity monitors to the most recent smartwatch technologies.

4. Connect with Other Epileptic Patients

The World Health Organization estimates that fifty million individuals have epilepsy worldwide. Join one of the several support groups in your region to access this expansive network. In addition, making new acquaintances, discussing your experience, and exchanging coping mechanisms are all positive ways to boost your mood and eliminate loneliness.

5. Exercise

Regular aerobic exercise may lessen the frequency of your seizures while enhancing your mood, overall health, and sense of self-worth. Simple forms of exercise include going for a stroll with a friend or working in the garden. 

Depending on the type of seizures you have, you should avoid engaging in certain activities like contact sports, rock climbing, and swimming because doing so could put you in danger if you have a seizure.

6. Get Sufficient Sleep

Regular sleep is crucial because, for certain people, fatigue can increase the risk of having a seizure. Therefore, make sure to establish a regular sleep schedule and follow it. Discuss adjusting your hours with your supervisor if this conflicts with your job schedule.

7. Be Careful of What You Consume

Reduce your intake of highly caffeinated drinks like soda and coffee, which can also cause you to lose sleep. Avoid alcohol as well since it may interact with your prescriptions, cloud your judgment, and cause you to engage in potentially dangerous activities.

8. Use Aromatherapy

Another well-known cause of seizures is stress. While there are numerous methods to unwind, including exercise and meditation, aromatherapy massage is a particularly effective method. While many relaxing essential oils, such as jasmine and chamomile, are suitable for people with epilepsy, others, like eucalyptus, camphor, rosemary, spike lavender, and fennel, should be avoided.

9. Make Your Home Safer

If you experience a seizure, there are various ways to make your house safer.

• Buy lidded glasses and cups to prevent spills
• Utilize plastic utensils and dishes.
• Utilize electrical equipment and gadgets with auto-off switches.
• Use the microwave for cooking food whenever you can think instead of the stove.
• Invest in high-arm chairs for the kitchen and living room to prevent falls.
• Cover or swap out hardwood and tile flooring with carpeting.
• Put a safety strap in the shower or bathtub

10. Always Carry Your Medical ID

Carry a medical ID card or wear a bracelet or other jewelry item that specifies that you have epilepsy, lists your medications, and includes emergency contact information when you are out and about. This is crucial when traveling while having epilepsy.

Bonus Tips and Tricks

Driving with Epilepsy

You are not permitted to operate a vehicle if you have uncontrolled epilepsy. If you change or stop taking medication, you should wait to drive until your doctor says it is safe for you to do so. This is true even if your seizures (fits) have been managed.

Driving while tired, stressed out, or ill increases your risk of having a fit, so stop immediately and go to the doctor. Drinking alcohol while operating a motor vehicle is also prohibited.

Working with Epilepsy

If you have well-controlled epilepsy, it might not affect your ability to work. However, discussing a few concerns with your employer can help you have better work performance and productivity. These include making sure you do not have to drive for work, time off for medical appointments changing your work hours and extra breaks, and ensuring instructions are written down rather than just being given to you.

Work without humans nearby, near open waterways, at heights, with unattended fires or heat sources, with high voltage electricity, or on or near cars may not suit you if you experience uncontrollable seizures.

Bottom Line

Everyone’s brain contains a small amount of electricity. The brain uses this electricity to communicate with your body and instruct it on what to do. When the brain produces too much electrical energy, the messages become jumbled. That is what takes place during a seizure. Learning how to manage your epileptic seizures can significantly help improve your quality of life.