Drowning risk much higher for people with epilepsy

By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with epilepsy are up to 19-times more likely to drown than people without the condition, according to a new analysis of existing research. While people with epilepsy should not be banned from swimming, they should not swim alone -- especially if they are having active seizures, Dr. Ley Sander of the University College London, a researcher involved with the study, told Reuters Health. "I think that anyone who has had a seizure in the last year or so, these are the ones who I would be more particularly insistent in having supervision." The increased risk of drowning for people with epilepsy is well known, Sander noted in an interview. He and his colleagues set out to quantify it by analyzing 50 studies including 51 groups of people with epilepsy for which information on... [read full story]