By Joleen Murphy
Today is World Epilepsy Day.
The condition effects over 40 thousand people in Ireland.
Organisers want to raise awareness on how prevalent the condition is and educate people on how to act.
Recent reports have shown that almost 90% of Irish people underestimate the prevalence of Epilepsy in Ireland.
It is one of the most common neurological conditions in Ireland with almost 1 in 100 people living with the condition.
“The findings from our research – which sought the perspectives and insights on epilepsy from 1,000 members of the public – show that the majority of the public perceive epilepsy as a far rarer condition than it is in reality”, said Epilepsy Ireland CEO, Peter Murphy.
Epilepsy Ireland is launching an awareness campaign focusing on the three key steps you should take if you encounter a person having a seizure.
Time the seizure - if it lasts for more than 5 minutes, call an ambulance
Keep them safe - make sure the person having a seizure won’t hurt themselves and remove any potentially dangerous objects from the person’s vicinity during the seizure, but never restrain them, hold them down or put anything in their mouth.
Stay with them until the seizure is over and they have recovered.
Speaking to Beat news, Paddy McGeoghegan from the organisation, explains more about their key safety message for seizures.
"If a seizure goes over 5 minutes, it could potentially be dangerous for the person with epilepsy. So, it is of utmost importance to time the seizure in terms of keeping them safe. Make sure you stay with that person and make sure they are not in danger of hurting themselves."
He says today is an opportunity for people to learn about Seizure First Aid.
"There is 40,000 people in this country living with Epilepsy today and in all likelihood there is someone potentially in your family, in your group of friends, within in your group of colleagues, that is living with this condition and they would really appreciate it if you could learn more about the condition they are living with and for your to learn more about seizure first aid."
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