Surviving the festive season if you have epilepsy.
Maria’s ‘Ten-Plus-One Valuable Tips’ on surviving the festive season:
1) If you are prone to photosensitive epilepsy as a result of: flashing fairy lights, sunlight bouncing off the water or through the trees, and even the tv or the computer screen, by covering one eye and turning away from the source of the light this may prevent a seizure from happening. Wearing wrap-around glasses may also help to avoid those glaring sun-rays.
2) Christmas is a stressful time of year and so find out what your stress triggers are and try to avoid them; be it mad late-night shopping trips, crowds of people, hot and sticky weather conditions or just the thought of coming together with family and friends. It is okay to adjust your social calendar in times of stress. Be kind to yourself to avoid unwanted seizures.
3) This festive season can be a time of over-indulgence and so go easy on those highly caffeinated soft drinks and alcohol. These can trigger seizures.
4) Be careful near the barbeque with those hot plates and glowing charcoals. Think safety all the time. There are some helpful tips to be found on ewct.org.nz....
5) Special care needs to be taken around any water activities. New Zealand has particularly high drowning rates and you are especially vulnerable if you have seizures. Swim with a buddy and avoid those activities that put yourself, and others, at risk. Take a look at: ewct.org.nz...
6) Late nights can play havoc on your body’s ability to cope with tiredness. Being tired is a seizure trigger and you may forget to take your medications, which is also a seizure trigger. If you are out late, set an alarm to remind you to take your morning meds.
7) If you take short walks in the sun, don’t forget to ‘slip, slop, slap and wrap’ to avoid getting burnt. If being hot is your seizure trigger, then find ways of keeping cool. You may like to invest in a portable fan.
8) If you are going away on holiday, make sure that you take plenty of your medications. Don’t be caught short without them, and risk becoming vulnerable to having seizures and possibly going into status epilepticus, which is a serious medical condition.
9) Keep these important telephone numbers close at hand.
10) Have fun! Do enjoy yourself, meeting friends and having fun is therapeutic and it makes us feel energised and happy to be alive. If you get a ‘dose of nature’ at the same time, then it doubles your chances of feeling great. Call a friend for a walk or a cuppa.
11) Check us out on Facebook: www.facebook.com...
or our website at www.ewct.org.nz...
Emergency (Police, ambulance and fire) 111
Healthline 0800 611 116
Poisons centre 0800 764 766
Waikato Hospital (07) 839 8899
Take special care and have a good and relaxing festive season.
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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59.9% Yes, supporting people is important!
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25.8% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.4% ... It is complicated
Poll: Are you a Te Huia fan?
All three Hamilton MPs appear to be united behind the retention of the Te Huia passenger rail service between Hamilton and Auckland, as well as potentially expanding it to Tauranga.
But whether Hamilton East’s Ryan Hamilton, Hamilton West’s Tama Potaka and soon-to-be Labour list MP Georgie Dansey have the combined power to shunt transport minister Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon onto their line of thinking remains to be seen.
Are you a Te Huia fan? Tell us more in the comments (adding NFP if you don't want your words used in print).
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82.7% Yes
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17.3% No
Wild weather in the Waikato
The Waikato really copped it over the weekend, with wild weather leaving a hefty clean-up bill that may run into the millions.
While things are looking calmer in the days ahead, there are still plenty of slips and flooded roads across the district — so if you’re heading out, take it easy and stay alert.
We want to know: How did you and your whānau get on over the weekend?
Want to see what recovery will look like from here? The Waikato Times has the latest.
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