Safety While Cooking
The kitchen, with its ovens, burners, and sharp knives is another potentially hazardous area. Adjustments in methods of food preparation, cooking, and cleanup will make the kitchen safer for people with seizures. For example, a man with occasional complex partial seizures does all his food preparation with food processors and choppers instead of knives, or he purchases precut or already prepared meals. He always uses the microwave oven for cooking instead of the stove. He wears rubber gloves for cleanup and owns only unbreakable dishes.
Safety While Eating
While eating is an enjoyable event it can also be a dangerous one. For people with epilepsy having a seizure while eating can pose life-threatening consequences such as choking.
Eating Safety Tips
- Make sure that caregivers, friends, or family know basic first-aid such as the Heimlich maneuver to assist someone who is choking.
- Always eat sitting upright.
- Use chairs with arm-rests to prevent falls
- Use nonskid surfaces under plates and cups to avoid spills
- Use a bowl or scoop dish if coordination is a problem.
- Use a cup with a lid and spout (i.e. commuter cup) for warm liquids.
