One of the first reports has come out about people with seizures and epilepsy risks of drowning. The medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology reported in their August 19, 2008, issue of Neurology reported exactly how much risk people who have seizures actually have of drowning.
Researchers compared the number of people that die each year who suffer from seizures with the general population by examining and compiling information from population registries and 50 case studies of people with who suffer from seizures.
In 2000, that about 7 people for every 100,000 died from drowning. It was also found that 4.7 people from the general population drown compared to 88 people who had seizures. This means that people who had seizures were 15 to 19 times more likely to drown than an average person without the disorder. It was also found that children were much less likely to drown than adults with seizures, probably because children are highly supervised by adults.
People With Seizures–Who’s At Risk?
People more at risk for drowning who have seizures include people who are unsupervised during baths, who have had brain surgery recently but are still not seizure free, or those who may have learning disabilities. This is because people who have had surgery may falsley assume that because they have had surgery, that they are symptom free. People with learning disabilities may not see the inherent danger of taking a bath or swimming alone.
In order to prevent drowning, Ley Sanders MD, FRCP, PhD, from the University College London Institute of Neurology says that “It is important that people with epilepsy and their caregivers take steps to prevent these tragedies.” Some of the ways Sanders suggests to do this is by controlling seizures, increasing the amount of supervision a person has when swimming or bathing, and by taking a shower instead of a bath. Increasing a patient and their family’s awareness could result in better outcomes in the future.
The study was supported by the UK National Society for Epilepsy and by the UCLH/UCL Comprehensive Biomedical Research. If you would like to discuss your condition with your doctor or what your risks are visit your neurologist.
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