Many jurisdictions forbid certain activities to persons suffering from epilepsy. The most commonly prohibited activites involve operation of vehicles or machinery, or other activities in which continuous vigilance is required. However, there are usually exceptions for those who can prove that they have stabilized their condition. Those few whose seizures do not cause impairment of consciousness, have a lengthy aura preceding impairment of consciousness, or whose seizures only arise from sleep, may be exempt from such restrictions, depending on local laws. There is an ongoing debate in bioethics over ''who'' should bear the burden of ensuring that an epilepsy patient does not drive a car or fly an airplane.
Automobiles
In the U.S., people with epilepsy can drive if their seizures are controlled with treatment and they meet the licensing requirements in their state. How long they have to be free of seizures varies in different states, but it is most likely to be between three months and a year. The majority of the 50 states place the burden on patients to report their condition to appropriate licensing authorities so that their privileges can be revoked where appropriate. A minority of states place the burden of reporting on the patient's physician. After reporting is carried out, it is usually the driver's licensing agency that decides to revoke or restrict a driver's license.
In the UK, it is the responsibility of the patients to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if they have epilepsy. The DVLA rules are quite complex, but in summary, those that continue to have seizures or who are within 6 months of medication change may have their licence revoked. A person must be seizure free of a 'daytime' seizure for 12 months (or had only 'sleep' seizures for 3 years or more) before they can apply for a licence. A doctor who becomes aware that a patient with uncontrolled epilepsy is continuing to drive has, after reminding the patient of their responsibility, a duty to break confidentiality and inform the DVLA. The doctor should advise the patient of the disclosure and the reasons why their failure to notify the agency obliged the doctor to act.
Aircraft
Persons with a history of epilepsy are usually prohibited from piloting aircraft, unless it can be shown beyond a reasonable doubt that future seizures are extremely improbable. In the United States, a history of epilepsy is generally disqualifying for the medical certification of pilots, although there are rare exceptions for persons who have experienced only isolated seizures in childhood or are otherwise at extremely low risk for future seizures.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Epilepsy"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.