Taking a shower / bath

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notime

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I know this is probably a stupid topic. I was just wondering what others did. My doctor told me that I shouldn't take baths anymore because of epilepsy, at least if I do only 1" no more. I haven't taken any baths in a LONG time. I just lay down in the tub and leave the shower running when I want to relax. Anybody else do this?!
 
Hi notime,
I found that often when I take a shower it would trigger a seizure for me when I spoke to my Dr. about it he told me to keep the water a little cooler because the hot water is what was firing up the neurons and that in turn was triggering seizures for me. If you are using really warm water make it a little cooler and see if that helps you out. I wish you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
notime,
If you are doing something that relaxes you(not illegal), what you are doing is good. We understand that relaxation is a major objective for people w/E. If you are trying to find something out about E No question is 'dumb'. You are only attempting to add to your knowledge!
Anybody who thinks that a question is 'dumb' is the type of person that is more worried about image than knowledge even though knowledge is more important!

ACsHuman
 
Porkette said:
Hi notime,
I found that often when I take a shower it would trigger a seizure for me when I spoke to my Dr. about it he told me to keep the water a little cooler because the hot water is what was firing up the neurons and that in turn was triggering seizures for me. If you are using really warm water make it a little cooler and see if that helps you out. I wish you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
Click to expand...

When my seizures starting getting worse in the mid 1990's they all happened in the shower while washing my hair. Cool/cold showers stopped the problem.
 
notime said:
I know this is probably a stupid topic. I was just wondering what others did. My doctor told me that I shouldn't take baths anymore because of epilepsy, at least if I do only 1" no more. I haven't taken any baths in a LONG time. I just lay down in the tub and leave the shower running when I want to relax. Anybody else do this?!
Click to expand...

Frankly, I've always thought this advice from docs was stupid. What the hell difference does it make whether one takes a bath or a shower? If someone with E knows their limits and what does/doesn't provoke a seizure, a shower or a bath isn't going to matter. My very first Tonic Clonic seizure happened when I had just finished my shower. I was stepping out of the shower, the water was already turned off, and all of a sudden I was overcome with this strange sensation. So I grabbed the towel and sat down on the toilet for a moment, thinking it would pass. When I thought it had stopped, I stood up I went into a 2nd seizure. This time it was a TC. And when I did, I fell backward into the showerstall, hitting the hot water and I lay there long enough to suffer 2nd, and 3rd degree burns on my right arm, back and part of my right side. I was in the hospital for 2 1/2 months, undergoing test after test, plus skin debridiment, skin grafts and more.

So leaving the shower running is just as ludicrous as not taking a shower or taking a bath!! :ponder: People have been known to drown in only 1" of water while seizing. If one is going to have a seizure, they usually know if they have "auras". IMO, doctors are the wrong folks to take advice from when it comes to this kind of thing, unless of course, they've experienced them.

To this day, I haven't stopped taking showers and I still have an occasional seizure. I keep the water temp down. I've also had a failed brain surgery and the VNS. I trust MY instincts!
 
Back when I was having daytime partial seizures (nocturnal seizures only now) it was decided I was in fact safer having a bath rather than a shower or otherwise I could fall. So "different strokes for different folks".
 
masterjen said:
Back when I was having daytime partial seizures (nocturnal seizures only now) it was decided I was in fact safer having a bath rather than a shower or otherwise I could fall. So "different strokes for different folks".
Click to expand...

:ponder: yep, "different strokes for different folks".
I DID fall onto the HOT WATER!! I know what it is like to have a seizure in the shower stall coming out of water. What the hell does a doc know?! What the hell difference does it make whether one is sitting or standing? Eventually, one will need to somehow get out of the bath or shower!! How the hell are they going to do that? Crawl?!????

However, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, it states it is safer taking showers instead of baths.
http://www.epilepsy.com/get-help/staying-safe
Water Safety

~**A person can drown if they have a seizure in water. It doesn’t take much water either - only enough to cover a person’s nose so they can’t breathe.
~Talk to your health care team about whether it’s wise for you to swim and what precautions to take.
~Use common sense. If you do swim, use a buddy system. Wear a life jacket with any water activities.
~Make sure someone is around that knows how to swim, has lifesaving skills, and knows how to respond to seizures.
~Take showers instead of baths. If seizures are frequent or you tend to fall, use a shower chair and a flexible shower hose. Or sit on the bottom of an unfilled tub to shower instead of standing.
Click to expand...
 
"Water Safety

If seizures are frequent or you tend to fall, use a shower chair and a flexible shower hose. Or sit on the bottom of an unfilled tub to shower instead of standing."

Hmph - wish someone had suggested that to me way at the beginning of my seizures. Now it seems more obvious, but unfortunately I was too naive about everything (risks, options, etc.) to think of these things. This is clearly an area many neurologists fail to see as important to discuss or somehow expect newbies to discover on their own.
 
I just take a shower and I make sure that my dh is home when I take one. never take a shower when your alone.

I've busted my head open grabbing shower falling out plenty of times.

I never know when my seizures are going to increase'
I busted my nose in the shower when I was a teenager.
 
masterjen said:
Wise advice, but unfortunately not possible if someone lives alone, and all they can do is make the best of things and take all feasible precautions.
Click to expand...

That is what I do! And like I said before, I will always take showers, despite the HELL I've already been thru!!!
 
notime said:
I know this is probably a stupid topic. I was just wondering what others did. My doctor told me that I shouldn't take baths anymore because of epilepsy, at least if I do only 1" no more. I haven't taken any baths in a LONG time. I just lay down in the tub and leave the shower running when I want to relax. Anybody else do this?!
Click to expand...


My Daughters Neuro has warned me never to leave my girl unsupervised in the bath due to the danger of drowning and be vigilant in swimming activities.
So she is supervised for her safety, as some other posters have mentioned, showers involve standing and I don't want to risk my girl in having a fall, yes there is shower aids like a chair but she does love her bath.

This is a suggestion, are you able to organize somebody to help you out with a pampering session? I'm not referring to any someone standing over you and not keeping your privacy.. but a person you can trust?

Its about doing something you enjoy whilst being comfortable and safe.
 
Porkette said:
Hi notime,
I found that often when I take a shower it would trigger a seizure for me when I spoke to my Dr. about it he told me to keep the water a little cooler because the hot water is what was firing up the neurons and that in turn was triggering seizures for me. If you are using really warm water make it a little cooler and see if that helps you out. I wish you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
Click to expand...

I understand what you are stating.

When the water is too hot it can trigger seizure activity in the spa bath it happened to my girl a while back a very scary experience. I had to hold her head up above the water to keep her from not getting water into her lungs.
 
I think everything in life got risk factor You could have have heart attack fall down stairs refuse use knives in kitchen.Think sometimes got to say to hell with it today.I am firm believer in kismet what ever meant to will be.Nothing you can do.At moment the e got upper hand but very soon you going to say sod it I having bath
 
Me, i'm more of a morning shower person, even though i've trained my seizures to happen in the mornings, only once did i have it in the shower. I'm not worried of it happening in there, since i normally have auras, whereby i make my exit quick to a safe place, wet and naked.

If you have aura, i don't think there should be problems taking baths.

:piano: :pop:
 
Hey Blondie,

I explain it in my profile, but the gist of it is the time the medicine is active/works. I'm on Gabapentin, which only works for 6 hours (that's know as the half life) I take my last dose of meds at 7pm at night, so by the morning i don't have any medicine in me that is still working. After i wake, i do not take any medicine for 1 hr, and if seizures will happen, it will happen during this time period. After being up for 1hr, i'll take my meds. For the record, out of the last 32 seizures i've had, 29 have been during this period i mentioned.

So basically i'm giving my seizures an hour to happen, if it's time for it to happen it will happen then. This to me is a miracle, since before this medicine, i would have the seizures at anytime during the day and normally at the worst time. That is the reason i don't take the medicine right away after waking, if i do take it right away after waking, I risk the chance that the seizure might happen during the day.

Cheers,
Zolt

:piano: :pop:
 
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