A seizure occurs when electrical activity in your brain is disrupted, preventing brain cells from effectively sending messages to each other.
Ö
If you have epilepsy or any other condition that puts you at risk of recurrenceseizures, it is important to take preventive measures to prevent their occurrence.
Remember that there isdifferent types of seizureswhich can affect different parts of your brain. Each person's experience with seizures may also vary.
This can also help reduce the likelihood of developing related conditions, such as:
- Difficulty thinking
- wounds
- Tod
Seizure prevention depends on an overall management and treatment plan, such as: B. Taking your prescribed medication.
Talk to a doctor about the following measures that may help.
(Video) 3 reminders that can help prevent epileptic seizures
Preventing seizures and treating epilepsy depend on taking and maintaining your prescribed medicationan overall healthy lifestyle.
Consider the following measures to discuss with a doctor.
1. Take your medicine as directed
Antiepileptic drugsare designed to prevent seizures. You should never stop taking these medications without your doctor's approval—even if your condition seems to be improving.
If you're not taking your medication properly, you're at risk of uncontrolled seizures.
Withdrawal seizures can occur if you skip the drug. Drug toxicity when too much is taken at once can lead to side effects that may include seizures.
2. Do not consume alcohol
Alcohol is not recommended for people with epilepsy due to an increased risk of seizures. You can help prevent future episodes by avoiding alcohol.
However, if you learnalcohol abuse, be sure to talk to a doctor about how to safely stop drinking.
3. Avoid substance abuse
In addition to avoiding alcohol, it is important to avoidsubstance abuseas part of your seizure management plan.
Talk to a doctor if you have problems using legal or illegal substances.
4. Practice stress management
Stress can be a trigger for seizures in epilepsy. It may help reduce your risk of seizures if youManage your stressvon:
- get enough sleep
- A practice
- take time to relax.
5. Stick to a sleep schedule
Getting up and going to bed at the same time every day can help.stick to a sleep schedule.
Fatigue and short-term sleep deprivation are known to be triggers for seizures, so getting regular sleep can help prevent them.
6. Maintain a consistent meal plan
Hypoglycemia from skipping a meal can lead to seizures, especially in diabetics.
If you have diabetes, it's wise to stick to a consistent meal plan and carry fast-acting supplies of glucose with you at all times.
7. Avoid flashing lights
According to estimates by the Epilepsy Society, there are approx3 percentof people with epilepsy have a rare form called photosensitive epilepsy. With this type of epilepsy, your seizures can be triggered by flashing lights or contrasting light patterns.
If you are sensitive to light, exposure to light can immediately trigger an attack.
While antiseizure drugs can help prevent seizures, it's also important to avoid flashing lights and pictures, and those in geometric patterns. Playing video games with fast flashing graphics is also possibletrigger seizuresin some people.
If you are suddenly faced with flashing lights or patterns, quickly cover one or both eyes with your hand. AccordinglySociety for Epilepsy, this can help prevent a seizure from occurring.
8. Protect yourself from head injuries
Head injuries can result in a single seizure or recurring seizures in someone who doesn't have epilepsy. Related seizures can occur weeks—or even months—after the injury.
AccordinglyFoundation Epilepsy, if you had a seizure after a head injury, your chances of having another seizure double.
A head injury can also trigger a seizure in someone who already has epilepsy. Therefore, it is important to protect yourself against future head injuries and the possibility of more associated seizures.
Wear a helmet when biking, skating, or playing contact sports. Talk to a doctor about stability exercises to lower your risk of falling.
9. Call a doctor if your baby has a high fever
Some children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years may be at risk of developingfebrile seizures. These are triggered by fevers of 38°C (101°F) or higher and may accompany infections.
Not every child with a high fever will develop a febrile seizure, and the episode can occur hours later.
Call 911 if your child has a seizure. Children with febrile seizures may be at higher risk for future episodes, so medication may be needed to prevent them.
10. Consider surgery
Northwestern Medicine estimates20 percentof people with epilepsy may be candidates for minimally invasive surgery when drugs aren't working to prevent seizures.
Two possible techniques to discuss with your doctor are:
- Laserablation
- Insertion of the responsive neurostimulator (RNS).
Although not all seizures require emergency medical care, you should call 911 if a child has a seizure of any duration, an adult has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, or a loved one is injured during a seizure.
What to doIn the event of a seizure, you can help a loved one by:
- stay calm
- Place a pillow or pad under your head
- Set aside for protection when padding is not available
- Make space to avoid injury by rearranging furniture and objects
- Record the time the seizure begins and ends
- Stay with your loved one throughout the seizure - it may last a few seconds or as long as 2 to 3 minutes
what not to doIt's also important to know what not to do when your loved one is having a seizure. You can avoid further complications by not doing the following:
- put something in your mouth to avoid biting your tongue - this could cause injury
- move them to another room
- limit them
- leave her alone
Prescription antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the first-line drugs for seizures. These drugs, also known as antispasmodic or anticonvulsant drugs, come in many types and brands.
Treat some AEDspartial seizures, while others deal with the more general ones.
AEDs cannot cure epilepsy, but they can help prevent future seizures. It's also important to talk to a doctor about possible side effects, such as:
- fatigue
- dizziness
- Difficulty thinking
Others may pose longer-term risks, such as B. hormonal diseases or osteoporosis.
Other treatment options for seizures may include:
- after aketogenic diet
- inserting oneVagus-Nerv-Stimulatorin your chest
- passbrain surgery
Once you have a seizure, you may be at risk for future episodes for the rest of your life.
It's important to work with your doctor to create a long-term treatment plan. These likely include:
- medication
- Lifestyle Changes
- other preventive measures.
It's also important to call a doctor if you're concerned about side effects from medications or if you continue to have seizures despite using AEDs. They may recommend an alternative treatment to help.
Due to the complicated nature of seizures, there's no way to completely avoid them once you have one.
However, taking AEDs and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are ways to help.
Contact your doctor if you are not satisfied with the results of your current treatment plan. Never stop taking any medication without consulting a doctor.