Categories: Neurology

Lifestyle Changes Which Epileptics Should Follow

Your first experience of a seizure can be traumatic. And if you get diagnosed with epilepsy, it can take a while to come to terms with the ramifications of living with the illness. There is no known cure for epilepsy and one has to learn how to manage life around the illness. One of the biggest differences about managing epilepsy, which is different from managing other illnesses, is the loss of physical and mental control, which can be frightening. A person with epilepsy has to make lifestyle changes to accommodate that.

Factors that trigger epilepsy

One of the ways that you can control the disease is to figure out what triggers a seizure. Though, there may not be a specific cause, in time, you will learn to avoid some triggers like:-

A sleepless night
Certain types of food
Alcohol/Smoking/drugs
Flashing lights
Vivid colours
Stress

Also Read: Do you need to modify your lifestyle? Take this Quiz to find out.

Small lifestyle changes you can do to avoid a seizure

Create a good sleep pattern – Sleeping on time, waking up on time and having a good number of hours of sleep can calm you and reduce a trigger.
Avoid alcohol – There are two reasons to avoid alcohol if you’re an epileptic. One is, alcohol can be a trigger in itself, and secondly, anti-epileptic drugs cannot be mixed with alcohol.
Manage medication – If you fall sick with some other illness, make sure that you tell the consulting doctor that you are an epileptic. Certain medications react badly with anti-epileptic medication.
Maintain a diary – Write down your daily routine so that you can try and figure what you did on the day you had a seizure. This will help you narrow down triggers.
Ask for help – Develop a good support system so that the people around you are aware of your condition and know how to help you if you have a seizure.
Avoid stressful situations – Make your life as uncomplicated and calm as possible.

Have regular check-ups – You need to Neurology Specialist in Chennai regularly to make sure that you have the correct dosage of your anti-epileptic medication. Another reason to be regular about consulting with your doctor is that there are constantly new kinds of medication coming into the market to help manage seizures and your doctors may be able to update you on a better drug to manage your epilepsy.

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