Safety advice for people with epilepsy

• If you live alone or are at home alone often, consider getting a key safe. This is a locked box fitted by your front door that holds a key. You can give the code to open the box to family, friends or carers. This means they can get into your home if you’ve had a seizure and you can’t get to the door. The NHS website has more information about key safes
• Installing smoke alarms can help to protect you and your home from fire risks. Your local Fire and Safety Service can do a free fire safety check and install free smoke alarms
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) have advice and information about home safety
• Some people use a seizure alarm or monitor to alert other people to seizures. While there isn’t enough evidence to say that an alarm can guarantee safety, they can be useful to help to reduce risk
• You may be able to get some help with making your home safer from your local authority, if they think that you need it. This would usually involve an assessment by an occupational therapist. Ask your family doctor or your local social services agency. Or you could contact an independent occupational therapist directly

Burns and scalds

Here are some general suggestions to reduce the risk of burns and scalds:

• Keep wires and cables out of the way to avoid pulling over equipment that could cause a fire or burns
• Use guards on heaters and radiators to stop you falling directly onto them
• Use heated appliances like hair dryers, hair straighteners, curling tongs and irons which turn themselves off. Or use them with a timer, so they could switch off automatically after a certain length of time
• Switch off heated appliances immediately after use and place them out of reach until they’re cool
• Have carpets with high wool content rather than high synthetic content, to reduce the risk of friction burns

Cuts, bruises, fractures and head injuries:

Here are some general suggestions to reduce these:

• Try to have cushioned flooring, such as carpets, linoleum, cork and rubber rather than hard floor surfaces
• Keep stairs and other routes through your home clear of obstructions
• Put a soft rug or carpet at the bottom of the stairs, to cushion any falls
• Cover any furniture edges or corners that are sharp or stick out
• Use safety glass instead of ordinary glass in windows and doors wherever possible
• Have locks or catches on upstairs windows or balcony doors to stop them being opened wide
• Make sure there are no trailing wires that you could trip over. Cable tidies, available from DIY (hardware) stores, can keep wires out of the way
• Where possible, use cordless versions of things like irons and kettles

If you have seizures, it’s important to take extra care when bathing, because there could be a risk of drowning during a seizure.

Here are some safety suggestions:

• Use a shower instead of having a bath if you can – it’s safer because the water runs away
• If your shower is over the bath make sure you have removed the plug
• Let someone know you’re taking a shower or a bath. You could ask them to stay in the bathroom with you, or to wait outside the door, so they can hear if you have a seizure
• Put ‘engaged/vacant’ signs on the bathroom door, instead of using locks
• Have a bathroom door that opens outwards, or folds or slides open and closed. Then, if you fall against it during a seizure, its easier for someone to get to you
• Try and have bath and shower fittings as close to the wall as possible, to avoid banging against them
• Cover taps and other fittings, with protective material like a thick towel

In the shower

• Have a shower cubicle with a flat floor rather than a shower tray, so that water can’t collect
• If possible, sit down in the shower tray rather than stand up, to help avoid injuries if you fall
• Check that the temperature controls work well and that there’s a safety ‘cut-off’ in the shower

In the bath

• Keep the water depth shallow and turn off the taps before you get in. There is still a risk of drowning, even in shallow water, so if possible, have someone with you in the bathroom
• Keep the bath unplugged and sit in the bath with the water running from the taps or the shower attachment

Here are some safety suggestions:

• Use a microwave rather than other types of cooker
• Use cookers and cooking appliances with an inbuilt timer
• Place saucepans on the back of the hob burners. Turn handles away from the edge of the cooker, so you can’t knock them over
• Take plates or dishes to the cooker, rather than carrying hot pans to the table
• Use a toaster instead of a grill to avoid the risk of burning food
• Use kettle tippers and teapot pourers, to avoid the risk of spilling hot liquid
• Stack the dishwasher with blades and sharp points facing down

Here are some safety suggestions:

• If you have seizures at night, choose a bed that is lower to the floor. Put cushions or a thick rug around the bed
• Keep your bed away from walls, cupboards with sharp edges and radiators to help prevent injuries if you have a seizure in bed

Anti-suffocation pillows

Anti-suffocation pillows have small holes that may help you breathe more easily if you are lying face down during a seizure. These may be safer than ordinary pillows. But we don’t have any research to prove this or that they can reduce the risk of SUDEP.

Epilepsy Action has more information about where to buy anti-suffocation pillows.

Weighted blankets

Some children and adults use weighted blankets to help improve sleep and reduce anxiety. But there’s limited evidence to show that they do this.

Weighted blankets may not be safe if you have some medical conditions. This includes conditions that could affect your alertness, ability to breathe, regulate your temperature and to remove the blanket.

We can’t make recommendations about weighted blankets. We advise that you talk to a healthcare professional before using one.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) have a guide about weighted blankets and carrying out risk assessments for these.  

If you have mobility difficulties, you may need to use a stair lift or vertical lift. Neither of these options are risk-free if you have seizures. Here are some safety suggestions to consider:

Vertical lifts

If you have your own vertical lift installed in your home, try to have padding on the walls and floor to cushion you if you fall.

Stair lifts

• Most stair lifts have simple straps which you should use, as they’re not likely to cause injury if you have a seizure
• You may need to wear a full harness to prevent you from falling. But be aware that this could cause injury during a seizure. This may, however, be safer than falling from the stair lift

• Avoid getting close to bonfires or barbecues, in case you fall on them or wander into them during a seizure
• If you have ponds or pools, make sure they are securely fenced or covered with mesh