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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffCertain activities could be dangerous if you have a seizure while doing them. Activities include:
- Swimming. If you go in water, don't go alone and wear a life preserver.
- Bathing. Bathing also can pose a risk of drowning. Shower instead.
- Working high up. You could fall during a seizure.
- Driving a car or operating other equipment. All states have licensing restrictions for driving for people with a history of seizures. The rules differ from state to state.
Consider wearing a medical bracelet to help emergency medical personnel. The bracelet should state whom to contact in an emergency, what medications you use and your medication allergies.
References
- Temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy Foundation. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/types/syndromes/temporallobe.cfm. Accessed March 29, 2011.
- FDA warns about potential Topamox related birth defects. FDA Reports. http://www.fda-reports.com/alerts/?p=187. Accessed March 23, 2011.
- FDA: Aseptic meningitis risk with use of seizure drug Lamactil. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm222212.htm. Accessed March 23, 2011.
- Practice parameter update: Management issues for women with epilepsy - Focus on pregnancy (an evidence based review): Teratogenesis and perinatal outcomes. St. Paul, Minn.: American Academy of Neurology. http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/WNL.0b013e3181a6b312v1. Accessed March 23, 2011.
- Shallcross R, et al. Child development following in utero exposure: Levetiracetam vs. sodium valproate. Neurology. 2011;76:383.
- Stafstrom CE, et al. Pathophysiology of seizures and epilepsy. http://www.uptodate.com/index/home.html. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Seizures and epilepsy: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/epilepsy/detail_epilepsy.htm?css=print. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Schachter SC. Evaluation of the first seizure in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index/home.html. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Seizure disorders. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch214/ch214a.html. March 23, 2011.
- Change EF, et al. Predictors of efficacy after stereotactic radiosurgery for medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Neurology. 2010;74:165.
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