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Home Safety
Do
the people around you know how to help if you have a seizure?
Make
sure your family, friends, teachers or coworkers know seizure first aid.
Hang up a first aid poster in a prominent place.
You and your family should also know first aid for choking.
Carry
a card in your wallet or wear a medical identification bracelet or
necklace (available from Medic Alert by phoning 1800 882 222).
Avoid
things that trigger seizures, like forgetting to take your medication,
not getting enough sleep, or drinking alcohol.
Carry
a small pre-programmed phone or beeper in case you have to call for help
and you are away from a telephone.
Have
you ever fallen during a seizure at home?
Making specific changes
around the home can significantly reduce such injuries.
•
Carpet the floors, including entranceways and bathrooms, using
dense-pile carpet with thick underpadding.
•
Avoid free-standing or table lamps and glass decorations.
•
Whenever possible, sit down when doing household chores or using
tools.
•
Avoid smoking, lighting fires or candles when you’re by
yourself.
•
Keep floors clear of clutter and tie up dangling electrical
cords.
•
Avoid climbing up on chairs or ladders, especially when alone.
Put safety gates at the top of steep stairs.
•
Securely lock outside doors if you tend to wander during a
seizure.
•
If your seizures are very frequent and sudden, consider wearing a
helmet with face guard and/or knee or elbow pads, at least when you’re
at home alone.
Do
you get seizures at night?
•
Avoid using hard-edged bed frames or sharp-cornered bedside
tables.
•
Avoid top bunks.
•
Avoid potentially suffocating sleeping surfaces, like waterbeds.
•
A monitor in your bedroom may alert others to the sound of a
typical seizure.
•
High tech, seizure alarms (eg. triggered by seizure movements in
bed) are now available.
Have
you ever had a seizure while cooking?
Avoid
burns, cuts and other injuries by taking these steps:
•
Use a microwave oven for boiling water and cooking.
•
When using a stove
-
Use the back burners as much as possible.
-
Saucepan handles should face the side of back of the stove.
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Use a stove guard that fits around the side or front of the
stove.
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Use long, heavy duty oven mitts when reaching into a hot oven.
•
Cook when someone else is at home whenever possible.
•
Buy a kettle and iron with an automatic shut off.
•
Avoid knives, slicers, etc.
Use a blender of food processor, or foods that are pre-cut or
already prepared.
•
Consider a wall-mounted or table top ironing board.
•
Use unbreakable dishes to prevent cuts, and cups with lids to
prevent burns.
•
Avoid carrying hot food or liquids.
•
When using a dishwasher, ensure that knives and other sharp
utensils have their blades pointed
downwards and are placed safely out of the way.
•
Wear rubber gloves when washing glassware or handling knives.
Have
you ever had a seizure in the bathtub?
Here’s
what you can do to reduce the risk of injury or drowning:
•
Take showers rather than baths.
•
Routinely check that the bathroom drain works. Don’t let face
cloths or sponges block the drain, allowing the tub to fill with water.
•
Put non-skid strips or a rubber bath mat on the
floor of the shower.
•
Shower only when someone else is at home. (Singing in the shower
will reassure others that you’re doing fine.) Otherwise, take a sponge
bath using the sink.
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Set water thermostat low to prevent scalding.
Turn on the cold water first and turn off the hot water first.
•
Be wary of a very hot shower - some people find heat to be a
seizure trigger. Keep your bathroom well-ventilated.
•
If you fall frequently during seizures, using a
shower/tub seat with a safety strap, a hand-held shower nozzle,
and padding the edges of the tub with a folded towel may be helpful.
•
Avoid glass shower doors. Use shatterproof glass for mirrors.
•
Leave the bathroom door unlocked. An “Occupied” sign will do
the trick.
•
Hang your bathroom door so it opens outwards instead of inwards
if you might fall against a closed door.
•
Avoid using hair dryers, electric razors, or other electrical
appliances in the bathroom, or near water, or when you’re alone.
•
Consider using a padded toilet seat.
Source: Epilepsy
Toronto 2005 ‘Safety & Epilepsy’ Epilepsy Matters,
Volume 1 (Issue 3) Fall 2000,
<http://www.epilepsytoronto.org/epilepsymatters/vol1-3a.html>.
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