Does Epilepsy Put Me at a Higher Risk of Developing COVID-19?

Many of us may have questions about the ever-evolving situation involving the COVID-19 pandemic. For questions that have to do with epilepsy and seizures, we are here to help.

In today’s blog post, we will go over answers to the question “Does epilepsy put me at a higher risk of developing COVID-19?”

Before we go into this information, we wanted to let you know that the BC Ministry of Health has developed an online assessment tool that will tell you what you need to do based on your symptoms so check out the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool here.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes recurring seizures. The research shows that having epilepsy does not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 and does not increase the severity of COVID-19 if it is contracted.

However, as epilepsy is a very unique condition that affects everyone that has it in different ways and as epilepsy can often be seen alongside other health conditions, some people may just have epilepsy and no other health conditions  other people may have epilepsy and other co-existing health conditions. It is important to note that people with epilepsy and other health conditions may be at a higher risk from COVID-19. If this is the case for you and your epilepsy, you should contact your healthcare provider about your individual risk and if any precautions are required.

Additionally, anti-epileptic medications may play a role. If the anti-epileptic medications you are taking also affect your immune system, you may be at a greater risk from COVID-19. If this is the case for you and your epilepsy, you should contact your healthcare provider about your individual risk and if any precautions are required.

We hope that the information contained in this blog has helped to answer some of your questions. For more information on COVID-19, check out our blog post on the subject here. Up-to-date information can be found from the Government of Canada here.