Triggers

Not taking your epilepsy medicine as prescribed, or forgetting to take a dose, can be a seizure trigger.

There are some tips for remembering to take your meds on the epilepsy medicines page.

You might have more seizures if you don’t get enough sleep or get over tired.

For tips on getting a good night’s sleep see the page about sleep.

You might find that stress makes you more likely to have a seizure – lots of people with epilepsy find stress is a trigger. It’s not really possible to avoid stress all the time. But it is possible to try and manage it.

There are some ideas on the page about stress

Drinking alcohol or using recreational drugs can sometimes trigger seizures. Binge drinking over a short space of time can be a seizure trigger. Drinking a lot can also make some epilepsy medicines less effective.

Recreational drugs include illegal drugs and ‘legal highs’. There is no control over what goes into these drugs. They come with a high risk to your health and they can trigger seizures.

For more info see the page on alcohol and recreational drugs page

Around 3 in 100 people with epilepsy have seizures which are triggered by flashing or flickering lights, or high contrast patterns. This is called photosensitive epilepsy.

To learn more visit, the page about flashing lights

Hormone levels change during the menstrual cycle. You might have more seizures than usual at certain times in your menstrual cycle. This could be at the start of your period, around the middle of your cycle (when you ovulate) or in the week before your period.

There is more about how hormones affect epilepsy on the hormones, sex and parenthood pages

Some people with epilepsy say that missing meals makes them more likely to have a seizure. If you think that skipping meals is a trigger for you, try to make sure you eat regularly.
To learn more about eating well visit the Eat well pages on the NHS website.

You might be more likely to have seizures if you’re sick or have a high temperature. Ask your epilepsy doctor or nurse what to do if you vomit or have diarrhoea.