National Epilepsy Week Raising Awareness of a Condition effecting 1 in 100 people in UK

National Epilepsy Week Raising Awareness of a Condition effecting 1 in 100 people in UK.

Monday (20th of May) marks the start of National Epilepsy Week 2024, organisations that support those with Epilepsy are asking the public to take a small step to look past that initial barrier, and learn what you can do to help.

This year National Epilepsy Week runs from 20-26 May 2024 and the Epilepsy Society one of the UK and worldwide organisations that support those with Epilepsy have launched a new awareness video “Epilepsy – it’s more than just seizures.”

In the UK 1 in 100 people have epilepsy, that’s over 600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK. Anyone can develop epilepsy, at any age or time of life with 79 people diagnosed with the condition every day in the UK. 

While some with epilepsy live normal lives because their seizures are controlled well by medication, many experience challenges that can affect numerous aspects of their lives.

Epilepsy can affect mental health and memory, and can have impact’s on people’s social life, employment prospects, and freedom to drive, which can lead to social isolation for some with epilepsy.

The film launched today by the Epilepsy Society at the start of National Epilepsy Week lets viewers hear how Jasmine first diagnosed at the age of 17 was asked to leave her dance course because of her epilepsy and was then turned down for endless jobs as people feared she might have a seizure and how Tom fell down a flight of stairs and now struggles to remember words. And how Karen worries about her son who has epilepsy and who is a student at uni.

A new report by Epilepsy Action, has found that a lot of the public is still “fearful” of epilepsy and seizures. 

A quarter of people in the UK (23%) said they would be scared to be in a room with someone with epilepsy “in case they had a seizure”. A further 24% said this would make them “uncomfortable”.

In the same study, almost one in five (18%) people admitted they would be likely to walk past if they saw a person having a seizure. One in 10 (10%) said their first reaction to seeing someone having a seizure would be to laugh.

Rebekah Smith, deputy chief executive at Epilepsy Action, said: “Fear is an understandable human reaction to something out of our comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t challenge that fear.

“When it comes to epilepsy, we want the public to understand that the fear they may feel around the condition, or the prospect of seeing a seizure, has very real consequences for people who have it.”

National Epilepsy Week, organisations supporting those with Epilepsy are asking the public to take a small step to look past that initial barrier, and learn what you can do to help.

You can find out more about how you can help someone who has a seizure or more about the condition via https://epilepsysociety.org.uk or https://www.epilepsy.org.uk

Business can also help by having staff trained and certified to help in understanding the condition and responding to a person suffering a seizure. Locally Penrith based Cumbria Fire Safety Training provide and epilepsy awareness course, were those attending can find out more about epilepsy and how to respond in the right way. You can find more information on the course at https://www.cumbriafiresafetytraining.co.uk/product/epilepsy-awareness-certification