Epilepsy Increases Drowning Risk

A recent article on Medscape reported that people with epilepsy have a high risk of drowning when compared to the general population. The article goes on to say,

"Researchers have quantified the risk and report that epilepsy raises the likelihood of drowning 15- to 19-fold — most probably as a result of seizures that occur during swimming or bathing [italics added]. The findings appear in the August 19, 2008 issue of Neurology. And so the article rolls painfully on stating that,

"People with epilepsy should still be encouraged to swim, but supervision is especially important," Dr. Sander said. "Patients need to be careful and should never enter the water without someone who knows about their condition and who can intervene, if necessary."

Now surely this is a no brainer. Its said that there is nothing common about sense, but surely by the very nature of the condition, developing a study that concludes that Epilepsy increases drowning risk is just plain stating the obvious. Its a bit like saying,

"people who are physically active are more likely to get fit then those who are not".

I'm not playing down the seriousness of the condition and that attention should be brought light about epilepsy and drowning, but come on people did you really need to invest time and money to do a study to come to this conclusion? I don't know, maybe its just me.

I guess I see a difference between research for the sake of research, and developing a study that will increase understanding and pushes forward for a solution. Its a thin line, but one that should be questioned rather than simply lapping up what researchers and scientists spew out.

You can check out the full medscape article on their website.