Take control of your epilepsy and seizures. Seizure management has never been easier.
TAKE CONTROL TODAYUse this list of questions to help you consider how your seizures may or may not affect where you want to go and how to get there. Then talk to your doctor for his or her recommendations and guidance. You’ll also want to schedule an appointment with the doctor or nurse to get prescriptions or medical forms updated before traveling.
If you’re traveling for work, you may not have a choice of where to go. Yet if you are planning a vacation, think about where you are going in relation to your seizures. Is it a realistic place to visit, or will you be limited by your seizures once you arrive? If you can’t drive, consider a resort where you won’t need to leave the vacation spot, or make sure that other transportation is readily available. If you’ll need to travel around once you arrive at your hotel, do your homework on accessible forms of transportation well ahead of time.
If you (or your loved one) have frequent seizures, or seizures in which she may injure herself, it’s best to travel with someone who knows about your seizures and what to do if problems arise. If you must travel alone, this may affect where you are going and how to get there, as well as what type of precautions you may need to take.
People with seizures that do not affect their awareness or consciousness will have different concerns than people who have tonic-clonic or complex partial seizures. People who may be confused or need to walk around during or after a seizure may have difficulty if this type of seizure occurs on an airplane where these behaviors may be restricted or can’t be done safely. If you tend to have clusters of seizures or long seizures, you’ll need to think carefully about plans that call for lengthy travel times and how you can get help if seizures occur. Traveling by airplane offers very limited if any in-flight medical help and may not be a safe idea for people with these risks. Consider how likely you are to have seizures while traveling and plan ahead using your Seizure Plan.
Traveling can be stressful and lead to frequent disruptions in sleep schedules, changes in eating habits or medication times. Think carefully about your seizure triggers and how to manage these or prevent them from occurring in the first place! Make sure you plan time to rest, rather than being on the go all the time. This may be especially important for families with young children. If you or your child are photosensitive, be careful when visiting amusement parks, particularly at night – there can be lots of flashing lights and excessive stimuli that can trigger seizures. If you are outdoors a lot or just have a busy schedule, make sure you drink and eat regularly.
Think about your mode of transportation as well as your destination in regards to safety. Then sit down with your doctor, nurse and family to plan how to prevent injuries and make sure the trip is fun and safe! People with seizures should be able to participate in most activities. However, activities that involve significant safety risks, such as climbing high places, flying, and parachuting, are usually not recommended and can pose significant safety risks. Other activities might be possible with practical safety precautions and having a buddy. This is especially important for water sports and swimming.
If you can’t drive, then ideally you’ll be traveling with others. Talk to your doctor, nurse and family about managing seizures on other forms of transportation and if you can do this safely. If you drive, plan plenty of time for breaks, don’t forget your medicine, and don’t try to push it when you are tired! Put safety first, even if your trip will take longer than anticipated. Read about the different types of travel to see what is best for you.
Think about where you are going in relation to what you’ll need. If you are traveling to a resort or city, you’ll probably be able to find a pharmacy, doctor or hospital easily. However, if you are traveling to rural or remote areas, you may not have access to these resources at all or may need to travel just to find a doctor. This may not be wise for people with frequent seizures or who are likely to run into emergency situations. For others, making sure you have adequate supplies of medicines and someone with you may be all that you need. Also make sure you check out your medical insurance coverage before you travel. Find out if you’ll be covered, and if there are specific instructions to follow should you need health care while traveling.
Continue to Types of Travel and Vacations
Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, MD and Patricia O. Shafer, RN, MN.
Last Reviewed:7/25/07
Welcome to the Wiki. This space is created for epilepsy.com members to share their own experiences and expertise to help refine and expand the discussion around important topics.
No members have yet contributed to this topic. If you are not yet an epilepsy.com member, register today to get started on this Wiki topic and the many other advantages of being a member. If you are a member and wish to be the first to edit this Wiki topic, please make sure to login, then click on the orange "Start Wiki" button at the top of this page. Or, learn more about Wikis.
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Lamictal & Seizure questions - help??? | May 25, 2012 | |
| PPlex | ||
| Severe Epilepsy And Pregnancy | May 25, 2012 | |
| AmyBoop88 | ||
| 7 yr old seizures and autism/hearing loss/adhd, etc | May 25, 2012 | |
| jackjack | ||
| epilepsy and hormonal effects | May 25, 2012 | |
| cindyloowho | ||
| Tried Potiga yet? | May 24, 2012 | |
| tcameron | ||
| Can exercise induce seizures? | May 24, 2012 | |
| MichaelK | ||
| Lamictal Nausea, Dizzy Spells | May 24, 2012 | |
| karyliin6 | ||
| Anyone on Lamictal AND Keppra? | May 24, 2012 | |
| Bloodyrose | ||
| Paying for your seizure pills with no insurance? | May 24, 2012 | |
| Tatianalee | ||
| Brain Surgery Complete - Sex Drive Almost GONE | May 24, 2012 | |
| peytonwelch | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| my.epilepsy.com Updates | 20,619 | |
| epi_help | ||
| topamax and weight loss | 19,330 | |
| alexia mom | ||
| kepra | 19,244 | |
| brian mattingly | ||
| Possible cure for absence seizures | 16,388 | |
| pdl1 | ||
| How exactly do aura's feel | 14,077 | |
| WendyBendy | ||
| Sexual Side Effects | 13,524 | |
| George R | ||
| MEDICAL ALERT I.D.'s | 12,453 | |
| picnupthepcs | ||
| Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures - Revised | 10,443 | |
| spiz | ||
| electrical shock in head? | 10,083 | |
| Maggie | ||
| Weight Gain and Depakote | 9,011 | |
| galinda | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Update 2012 -- lots has happened! | May 25, 2012 | |
| ninabva68 | ||
| My Blog Disappeared! Can't my seizures too? | May 24, 2012 | |
| MichaelK | ||
| SEIZURES ARE CHANGING. WHY? WHAT KIND AM I HAVING NOW? BRAIN EXPLOSION I FELT IS A MYSTERY TO ME | May 24, 2012 | |
| ROCKNROLL | ||
| Hyperventilation & epilepsy, a way to help yourself. | May 23, 2012 | |
| buteykomike | ||
| Medicine adjustments | May 23, 2012 | |
| fashionlove45 | ||
| NOT YELLING, VISUALLY IMPAIRED. POSTICTAL SHOPPING. ANYONE ELSE WITH THIS PROBLEM? TBI AND SHOPPING | May 22, 2012 | |
| ROCKNROLL | ||
| Seizures and medical marijuana | May 21, 2012 | |
| seizureprone134 | ||
| being unigue and being hypocrite | May 20, 2012 | |
| futuer poet | ||
| Coming out? | May 19, 2012 | |
| fashionlove45 | ||
| RWAY40 | May 19, 2012 | |
| rway40 | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| my partial complex seizures | 4,540 | |
| Zanna1211 | ||
| Topomax... The Dreaded......... | 3,787 | |
| Dr Jason | ||
| Brain Zaps, tics & twitches | 3,586 | |
| JudiS | ||
| How can you tell if a sleep seizure happens? | 3,545 | |
| epl_controller | ||
| Feeling Sick | 3,308 | |
| JBJ1984 | ||
| side effects of phenobarb. | 3,215 | |
| pksmom | ||
| Tegretol XR and ANXIETY meds | 2,904 | |
| Butterflygrl | ||
| TYLENOL, AEDs & SEIZURES | 2,836 | |
| cmscribbles | ||
| Nonepileptic "Events" vs. "Seizures" | 2,711 | |
| teft | ||
| newborn seizure | 2,256 | |
| Sunny_80 | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Angela-48 | May 11, 2012 | |
| ANGELA-48 | ||
| Babies with seizures | May 5, 2012 | |
| gabrielsmommy121911 | ||
| Parent and Family Support Group Newton Kansas | Mar 13, 2012 | |
| Brown67114 | ||
| No more driving | Mar 9, 2012 | |
| Amy829 | ||
| Audubon, Pennsylvania (King of Prussia area) Parents of Kids with Epilepsy Looking to connect with others in thier area | Mar 7, 2012 | |
| ajssoscia | ||
| People who have epilepsy and are parents of young children, step children or pregnant. | Feb 27, 2012 | |
| kjsdestiny | ||
| Had the worse seizure of my life last night! Complex Partial | Feb 8, 2012 | |
| jlamont | ||
| Self-Management of Medication | Feb 7, 2012 | |
| columbia.epilepsy.study | ||
| Dravet Spectrum Disorder | Feb 4, 2012 | |
| mytboy | ||
| Diving with eplilepsy | Feb 1, 2012 | |
| p59 | ||
| View all Groups | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Imagining the past | May 25, 2012 | |
| jrgeorge | ||
| Feeling Epilepsy as a part of Life....... | May 25, 2012 | |
| Avnish | ||
| My life with epilepsy | May 24, 2012 | |
| BigTom_85 | ||
| I thought there was nothing wrong | May 24, 2012 | |
| Mendoza87 | ||
| New to this | May 23, 2012 | |
| kitkat2503 | ||
| Is it Emotional | May 23, 2012 | |
| frustrated1965 | ||
| Adjusting with the thought of epilepsy after misdiagnosis for over 20 years | May 22, 2012 | |
| goofyheather | ||
| Continuing with life | May 21, 2012 | |
| nastaran | ||
| Working my life around having epilepsy | May 21, 2012 | |
| 1505loupylou | ||
| The frustration of not knowing exaclty what is wrong... | May 20, 2012 | |
| cag122 | ||
| View all Stories | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Roiz | 2,433 | |
| kroiz | ||
| my story | 562 | |
| snoby | ||
| Temporal Lobe Epilepsy | 561 | |
| Always Have On Clean Underwear | 508 | |
| crashllama | ||
| my brain has died a thousand deaths........... | 476 | |
| banffgirl | ||
| Kelly's Life With Epilepsy | 472 | |
| kjcanada1979 | ||
| What My Seizures Are Like...... | 421 | |
| javaman | ||
| Nocturnal grand mal seizures (primary generalized epilepsy) | 395 | |
| karalyeva | ||
| Life......... | 376 | |
| dizzygal | ||
| My Daily Philosophy..... | 366 | |
| KatieFerguson88 | ||
| View all Stories | ||
