Natasha Serrano on LinkedIn: What Parents Need to Know About Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) (2024)

#Epilepsy scares parents for many reasons, but fearing your child's death often tops the list. While there isn’t a perfect, singular way to prevent #SUDEP, there are factors you can control. Understanding SUDEP, its causes, and addressing these factors can save your child’s life. Check out this article to learn some preventative measures:

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Seizures are not always easy to recognise, especially in children. It’s important for anyone who cares for children to know the signs of epilepsy in children. Read this guide developed by the Epilepsy Foundation to learn more. https://lnkd.in/g5K4k_XE

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Infantile spasms are a type of epilepsy that typically occur in the first year of life. This is a severe epilepsy syndrome seen in infants, which involves seizures that are like ‘jack-knife’ movements where the arms are flung out as the knees are pulled up and the body bends forward. However, movements can also be more subtle and limited to the neck or other body parts. The seizures tend to occur in clusters and are most common after waking up.Most children with infantile spasms develop intellectual disabilities later in life, and even if the seizures stop, children may develop other kinds of epilepsy, including Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.If you believe your child is having infantile spasms, please contact your GP or neurologist as soon as possible.For further information on epilepsy syndromes, please visit https://bit.ly/3MW496q or contact the National Epilepsy Support Service on 1300 761 487 or support@epilepsysmart.org.auFace-to-face meetings are by appointment only.#EpilepsyFoundation #Epilepsy #InfantileSpasms #WestSyndrome #EpilepsySyndromes #EpilepsyAwareness #EpilepsySupport #ChildhoodEpilepsy #BreakTheStigma #Seizures #SeizureManagement #EpilepsyManagement #EpilepsyResources

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⚕ Sustained headaches coming from a concussion, lead kids & youth to having long term adverse effects. ⚕ Sufferers experience inferior quality of life - i.e., dealing with migraine headaches. ⚕Research indicates that posttraumatic headache occurs in up to 90% of children.PS: The string of concussion, posttraumatic headache, and migraine headache is an unwelcomed set of realities for kids. They need HELP!#kidsheadtrauma #concussionawareness #braininjury#brainhealth #migraines #posttraumaticheadache

There are two times in our lives when epilepsy is most likely to start – once in childhood, and again after age 65. If you work with older adults who have epilepsy or other seizure disorders, what do you need to know? Read our blog to learn some important information.https://fal.cn/3A9h7

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Becoming #newparents can be exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking as you try to figure out how to care for your #newborn. Even though all newborns go through #colic crying, parents often feel anxious and may not know how to handle it. Read my article to find out what causes #colic and what parents can do to navigate through the phase. https://lnkd.in/gnmXZvfg

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November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month (NEAM), and this year, we’re taking big actions! Our theme is“There is no NEAM without ME”.We chose this theme because November is all about our community — YOU. Without your collaboration and support, we wouldn’t be able to build a seizure safe nation. Together with you, we can raise awareness and funds, educate the general public about the epilepsies and seizures, and push for more research to improve outcomes for you.https://lnkd.in/gKWngc9kQuick Facts About Epilepsy:➡ 1 in 10 people will have a seizure and 1 in 26 will develop epilepsy during their lifetime. ➡ There are 3.4 million people living with epilepsy in the United States; 470,000 of them are children. ➡ Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that can affect any one of us regardless of race, age, or gender. ➡ Seizures are a symptom of epilepsy. Not all seizures are the same. Many people with epilepsy have more than one type of seizure. #NationalEpilepsyAwarnessMonth #diversityequityandinclusion #diversityandinclusion #makeadifference #makeanimpact

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Did you know that the November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month?Let's show some love and raise awareness of all those who are going through this condition. Did you know that in the United States, approximately 3.4 million people have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological disorders out there? It can happen to anyone, at any age, and at any time. The unpredictability of seizures can impact not only the quality of life of the person living with epilepsy but also their family and friends.But here's the thing, knowing how to help someone with epilepsy can make all the difference in their life. If someone you know has a seizure, make sure to stay calm and move any dangerous objects out of the way. Put something soft under their head, and turn them on their side. Never try to hold them down or put anything in their mouth.Education is key to fight prejudice and break down stigmas surrounding epilepsy. Join us in spreading awareness this month, and let's support those with epilepsy in our community! ❤️ #EpilepsyAwarenessMonth #SupportEachOther #Nursing #Healthcare #Empathy #Facts #Education

In general, people living with epilepsy have a risk of up to 1.2 in 1,000 of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) per year. Among Australia’s estimated 142,740 people living with epilepsy, this would equate to approximately 171 SUDEP-related deaths per year across the general population with epilepsy.Among children, one in 4,500 are at risk of SUDEP. Most, but not all, cases of SUDEP occur during or immediately after a seizure.For further information on epilepsy, please visit https://lnkd.in/gqFvmiP or contact the National Epilepsy Support Service on 1300 761 487 or support@epilepsysmart.org.auFace-to-face meetings are by appointment only.Share this Epi-Insight card to help raise awareness of epilepsy.#EpilepsyFoundation #Epilepsy #EpiInsights #EpilepsyAwareness #EpilepsySupport #EpilepsyResources

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Sleep is supposed to be healing and restorative, not potentially life-threatening. But if your child has nocturnal seizures, you are constantly on edge. It doesn’t matter how many times we are reassured that the risk of #SUDEP is low and we work to minimize that risk, it’s always in the back of your mind, always. It’s extra hard on Michael when I travel since he doesn’t have someone else to co-monitor. And when I’m traveling, I don’t sleep well wondering if something may happen and I wake up to the worst news possible. Because when you have been on the other side of statistics so many times, you don’t believe the good ones will happen to you. We don’t qualify for any kind of respite or overnight nursing because they are “fairly well controlled”. That doesn’t minimize the impact that a lack of sleep has on us. We can’t find qualified caregivers we trust to be able to intervene and don’t have overnight family support that we can count on either (not that anyone has volunteered to learn or help anyway). Lack of sleep makes us irritable, impacts our cognition and executive functioning, and means we never, ever get a break for the both of us overnight unless there is a magical 4-5 nights like Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan & North Star Reach pull off in the summer during camp (and that is questionable — please NSR & EFMI make it happen in 2024). We never know when it will strike and it retraumatizes our entire family when it does. Yet, there is VERY LITTLE published on this impact.So, while there are many well-meaning people out there, unless you are willing to learn seizure first aid training, monitor a monitor all night and give us a break, your comparisons or downplaying is irrelevant. I miss sleep & the lifestyle we had prior to December 2020. My heart is with my fellow no-sleep-club members. Epilepsy is a boogeyman. ✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️

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