Do you know in some cases of epilepsy specific triggers cause seizures? Identifying epilepsy triggers might be hard, not impossible. And once you do, you can use the pattern or trigger to prevent seizures. These triggers can vary between individuals, so you need to find yours. Learn how you can identify epilepsy triggers and common epilepsy triggers in this article. Log on to www.doralhw.org for a consultation.

Common epilepsy triggers

Some people with epilepsy may find patterns or environmental situations that trigger their seizures. Seizure triggers don’t cause epilepsy in every case but may trigger seizures in people who have epilepsy. While most people don’t have reliable seizures, they do find some triggers that make it easier to prevent a seizure. Possible seizure triggers include:

1. Missed medications:

Taking your anti-epileptic drugs regularly helps to maintain their level in a person’s body. If you miss a dose, this may increase the risk of seizures to be more intense or occurring more often. Not taking medications as prescribed may lead to status epilepticus, a prolonged seizure that is a medical emergency because it is life-threatening if the seizures don’t stop.

If you miss one dose you don’t need to panic because it is common for people to miss a dose ever so often. In most cases, nothing bad happens. The only thing you need to do is to take the medicine as soon as you remember it unless it’s almost time for the next dose. Ask the doctor what you should do then.

2. Sleep deprivation:

Some researchers found that seizures and sleep have a bidirectional relationship, which means seizures may cause a lack of sleep, and lack of sleep may trigger seizures. A 2020 study found that people with epilepsy have poor sleep quality or sleep during the day. It also showed that poor sleep quality leads to seizures. This might happen because changes occur in your brain’s electrical and hormonal activity when you sleep. When you don’t sleep enough this regulation doesn’t occur leading to seizures which affect your brain chemistry and lead to a lack of sleep and trap you in a vicious cycle. This may also occur due to some epilepsy medications that cause side effects like insomnia that keep you from falling or staying asleep. People with epilepsy are more prone to sleep apnea – a condition that impacts sleep. You need to get at least 7 to 9 hours per night.

3. Stress:

Stress is quite a common trigger for seizures, however, how they connect is still unknown. Everyone experiences stress differently and it occurs in many forms. A person could experience stress due to many factors that take a physical toll on the body and may cause lack of sleep, changes in eating habits, and alcohol or substance misuse, all of these can trigger seizures. It can also work as a double-edged sword because seizures can also make you stressed and lead to seizures.

That’s why you should visit a mental health professional if you are frequently stressed, to find ways to lower your stress levels. They’ll suggest some effective ways to relieve your stress, like deep breathing or relaxation techniques, whenever stress occurs.

4. Alcohol:

Consuming alcohol in small amounts doesn’t cause seizures. However, binge drinking even for a short period or more than 3 drinks can trigger seizures. Sometimes, even for people who don’t have epilepsy. Alcohol-related seizures are more common during withdrawal when alcohol is leaving the system, which occurs within 6 to 72 hours (about 6 days) after drinking. Additionally, alcohol also lowers the effect of seizure medications and disrupts sleep, which increases the risk of a seizure.

Remember it’s a good idea that you just drink alcohol in limits to avoid this or not drink at all.

5. Flashing lights:

Some individuals have photosensitive epilepsy, which means flashing lights or contrasting patterns can trigger a seizure. This type of epilepsy is rare, and only 3% of people experience this. Evidence suggests that this type is more common among females and younger people.

6. Nutritional deficiencies:

If a person has diabetes and experiences severe hypoglycemia, which may occur from skipping meals, leading to extremely low blood sugar levels which triggers a seizure. Sometimes, vitamin and mineral deficiencies may also trigger seizures because nutrients are important to ensure the brain chemicals work normally. Vitamin B6 deficiency may trigger seizures in babies but is less common in adults. Abnormal levels of minerals such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium can affect brain cell electrical activity and lead to seizures.

7. Illness and infection:

In some people, illness also triggers seizures due to the physical stress the illness puts on the body, lack of sleep, poor eating habits, certain medications, or dehydration. Viral infection often affects the central nervous system which triggers seizures. Occasionally, common illnesses such as sinus infections or colds also trigger seizures.

How to identify epilepsy triggers?

It can be difficult and may take some time for an individual to identify their personal seizure triggers. But if you keep a seizure diary to note the activities or situations that lead to seizures you may be able to identify the patterns over time, revealing possible seizure triggers. While attempting to identify possible triggers, a person should try to manage their condition and avoid those triggers or reduce their exposure. To identify epilepsy triggers, you can try these strategies:

• Whenever you have a seizure, note what time of day it happens, any special situations surrounding you, or how you feel. Note if any commonly reported triggers were present.
• Write all these things in your seizure diary. Do this consistently, for each seizure.
• If you notice a particular trigger happens consistently, then note it down. You should also note if the trigger happens, but a seizure doesn’t Keep track of this as well – this can help determine if this is a consistent trigger for you.
• If you have a form of reflex epilepsy, talk to your doctor about the trigger to understand epilepsy and triggers that help you build ways to avoid the triggers whenever possible or find ways to lessen their effect on you.

When to seek medical help?

You should seek immediate medical help if you notice any of the following:

• A seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes.
• A person is not breathing or regaining consciousness after the seizure.
• A second seizure occurs right after the first.
• The person is pregnant.
• The person has diabetes.
• The person gets injured during the seizure.
• The person continues to have seizures even after taking seizure medication.

You should also see a doctor if you have any of the following:

• This is your first seizure.
• You have repeated seizures.
• You have seizures more often than normal.
• You’re not sure if you have had a seizure.
• You have a diagnosis of epilepsy but feel like your medicine is not working.

Identifying epilepsy triggers can be difficult because when you have the episode it is difficult to remember things. Triggers can also vary among individuals, but common triggers include illness, tiredness, alcohol, and missing medication. You can use the above-mentioned tips to find triggers and use them to prevent seizures from occurring.

If you need help with epilepsy triggers, visit our neurology clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!!

Doral Health and Wellness has several urgent care clinics around New York that can cater to your family’s medical needs. We also have the best medical providers, physicians and staff that are highly trained in their respective specialties. To know more about the locations of our urgent care clinics, you can visit us at Doral Health and Wellness. If you are looking for urgent care near you, you can visit Doral Health and Wellness Urgent Care. We provide urgent care for common illnesses and injuries. Additionally, we also provide comprehensive care for any related injuries and health problems. We also offer other services, such as vaccinations, immunizations, and blood testing. For more info, visit us or call 1-347-384-5690.