How might an anti-suffocation pillow help minimise the risks of living with epilepsy?
How might an anti-suffocation pillow
help minimise the risks of living with epilepsy?
People living
with epilepsy often incorporate various changes into their lives to help manage
their condition, ranging from taking medications to ensuring they get ample
sleep. Another such step that some individuals might make, is purchasing an anti-suffocation
pillow.
These pillows
are sometimes referred to as “epilepsy pillows” or “anti-seizure” pillows.
Regardless, the broad principle behind them is the same: they are designed to
allow for easier breathing if someone suffers a seizure while they are asleep,
and is lying face down in their pillow at the time this occurs.
Lying face down
can make it harder to breathe, thereby potentially presenting a risk of
suffocation if someone is doing so and has a seizure while asleep.
Why are
epilepsy pillows so necessary?
As a condition
that affects the brain and causes frequent seizures, epilepsy can present a
risk of SUDUP, otherwise known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. This is
the term applied to sudden, unexpected death in a person with epilepsy, whether
or not there is evidence of a seizure preceding the death, in which there is no
evidence of other disease, injury, or drowning having caused the death.
It is important
to understand that SUDUP is rare. Approximately one in every thousand adults
with epilepsy die from SUDUP every year, and one in 4,500 children with the
condition.
However, with
research having discovered that the majority of SUDUP cases occur at night,
with as many as 80% or more of SUDUP victims found lying face-down in their
beds, the knowledge of this spurred on the development of anti-seizure pillows
to help reduce the risk of SUDUP.
There are
various ways in which these pillows are designed to help improve airflow. Here
at Epilepsy Solutions, we are pleased to stock the Breathe-zy
Anti-Suffocation Pillow, which is a Class 1 medical device that is
breathable across the entirety of its surface, rather than merely certain
areas.
Indeed, the
Breathe-zy pillow is 10 times more breathable than a standard pillow, and seven
times more breathable than its closest competitor. So, choosing this
anti-suffocation pillow enables you to enjoy peace of mind, knowing that you
will always be in a safe and secure position at any stage of your sleep, and
whatever your sleeping style.
How effective
are anti-suffocation pillows at protecting against SUDUP?
It is important
to acknowledge that there is presently a lack of scientific evidence on the
subject of whether epilepsy pillows truly prevent SUDUP. It has been suggested
by some observers that SUDUP could be attributable to heart problems rather
than breathing; there is much that we do not yet know about this condition.
However, one
study in 2014 did find that anti-suffocation pillows allow for improved oxygen
flows when compared to traditional pillows in situations where the user is
lying facing down. This suggests that such pillows could greatly help improve
safety, if the hypothesis that suffocation is the principal cause of SUDUP does
turn out to be correct.
If, then, you are seeking out the benefits that the right anti-suffocation pillow can bring – ranging from improved airflow when the user is lying down, to increased peace of mind – the Breathe-zy Anti-Suffocation Pillow in our range could represent an excellent investment.