Ional Epilepsy ess Day 2019

will still have seizures, despite maximising the use of available medication.

Despite ongoing research, it is still not fully understood why some people have epilepsy and not others. However, it is known that the condition can be due to head trauma or injury, or the after-effect of a tumour or stroke, but in others it is idiopathic (ie the cause remains unknown). To complicate matters further, various triggers, including stress, fatigue, alcohol, drugs or flashing lights, can lead to a seizure.

In view of the fact that not many people are aware of the condition, and the varying types of seizures and its implications, many people are afraid to try and help a person having a seizure – and some mistakenly think the individual is intoxicated. There is nothing that can be done to shorten the duration of a seizure, but you can still help in several ways.

What is the Epilepsy Toolkit?

This year, with the support of the Commission for the Rights of People with Disability – CRPD, the Caritas Malta Epilepsy Association is launching a toolkit.

What should you do if someone has a seizure?

Caritas Malta Epilepsy Association has come up with 10 simple things to do when someone has a convulsive seizure. 1. Stay calm. 2. Look around is the person in a dangerous place? If not, then don’t move them. Move objects such as furniture away from them. 3. Note the time the seizure

began. 4. Stay with the person. If he/she doesn’t collapse but seems blank or confused, gently guide them away from any danger. Speak quietly and calmly. 5. Cushion their head with something soft if they have collapsed on the ground. 6. Don’t hold them down. 7. Don’t put anything in their

mouth. 8. Check the time again. If a convulsive shaking$ seizure does not stop after five minutes, call for an ambulance dial 112$. 9. After the seizure has stopped, put the person into the recovery position and check that their breathing is returning to normal. Gently check their mouth to see that nothing is blocking their airways such as food or false teeth. If their breathing sounds difficult after the seizure has stopped, call for an ambulance. 10. Stay with the person until

he/she is fully recovered. For more information about the Caritas Malta Epilepsy Association visit www.caritasmalta.org This project has involved a wide range of professionals in order to develop a Maltese resource that acts as a point of information and explanation to those who have just been diagnosed and to carers, teachers and families looking for further information. It will be available in hospitals and to anyone who requests it and there has also been work regarding the training of workforces and educational establishments on how to support those with epilepsy.