Mr. Robin Salmansohn
08-23-2003, 01:31 PM
On the other side of the Pacific, such as in Europe, there are record heat related deaths. In the U.S., there are heat/wind driven fires. This concerns me. Aside from the obvious lose of life from the heat/fires, there is another problem. Medications, (not only those for Neurology) have a storage temp..
Above/below a certain range of temp, humidity, and expose to light, medications break down. Ask your Chemist / Pharmacist about the storage conditions for your meds (and for those of your family/S.O./loved ones, and friends).
Also, keep yourself properly hydrated. Many AED's require that you take extra water while taking them.
You may need to replenish your electrolyes (ask your health care provider).
Keep tabs on babies, children, older adults, as well as anyone who's health is compromised.
DO NOT guzzle, gulp, or chug water rapidly!
You can trigger seizures, cause brain damage, a stroke, or a heart attack by drinking water too rapidly. Chugging, guzzling, or gulping water or other fluids can trigger seizures - or it can kill. Your body needs water to live. Your body has regulatory mechanisms which controls the amount of water in your body. Each cell must balance the pressure that is inside of the cell with the pressure that is outside of the cell (otherwise the cells would implode or explode). It is possible to consume so much water, too rapidly, so that you could overwhelm the regulatory mechanisms of the body. Anyone, epileptic or not, is subject to the potential problem of over saturating the cells of the body with water. In water saturation, cells in the brain bulge or burst. Neurons come in to contact with adjacent cells. The complex electro-chemistry of the cell wall is disrupted. The person has seizures. Cells die, and the person is at risk for a heart attack or a stroke. Anyone, with or without epilepsy, can be at risk. People with epilepsy have a lower seizure threshold than an otherwise healthy person. Because of the increased sensitivity to seizures in an epileptic, it takes less excess water to cause a water saturation seizure. Prior to the invention of the E.E.G., inducing water saturation seizures was a diagnostic test for epilepsy. An NG tube was inserted in the patient, and water was pumped in to the stomach of the patient as rapidly as possible. The water was pumped at a fixed rate. By timing how long it took for the patient to seize, it became possible to test for epilepsy (an epileptic seized in less time than in an otherwise healthy person). Today, crude and dangerous tests such as water saturation seizure tests are no longer used.
Above/below a certain range of temp, humidity, and expose to light, medications break down. Ask your Chemist / Pharmacist about the storage conditions for your meds (and for those of your family/S.O./loved ones, and friends).
Also, keep yourself properly hydrated. Many AED's require that you take extra water while taking them.
You may need to replenish your electrolyes (ask your health care provider).
Keep tabs on babies, children, older adults, as well as anyone who's health is compromised.
DO NOT guzzle, gulp, or chug water rapidly!
You can trigger seizures, cause brain damage, a stroke, or a heart attack by drinking water too rapidly. Chugging, guzzling, or gulping water or other fluids can trigger seizures - or it can kill. Your body needs water to live. Your body has regulatory mechanisms which controls the amount of water in your body. Each cell must balance the pressure that is inside of the cell with the pressure that is outside of the cell (otherwise the cells would implode or explode). It is possible to consume so much water, too rapidly, so that you could overwhelm the regulatory mechanisms of the body. Anyone, epileptic or not, is subject to the potential problem of over saturating the cells of the body with water. In water saturation, cells in the brain bulge or burst. Neurons come in to contact with adjacent cells. The complex electro-chemistry of the cell wall is disrupted. The person has seizures. Cells die, and the person is at risk for a heart attack or a stroke. Anyone, with or without epilepsy, can be at risk. People with epilepsy have a lower seizure threshold than an otherwise healthy person. Because of the increased sensitivity to seizures in an epileptic, it takes less excess water to cause a water saturation seizure. Prior to the invention of the E.E.G., inducing water saturation seizures was a diagnostic test for epilepsy. An NG tube was inserted in the patient, and water was pumped in to the stomach of the patient as rapidly as possible. The water was pumped at a fixed rate. By timing how long it took for the patient to seize, it became possible to test for epilepsy (an epileptic seized in less time than in an otherwise healthy person). Today, crude and dangerous tests such as water saturation seizure tests are no longer used.