Water Safety With Epilepsy or Seizures

People with epilepsy or other seizure disorders can enjoy the water more safely with a few firm rules: take showers rather than baths, keep the bathroom door unlocked, and have one-on-one supervision from a strong swimmer whenever you're in or near water. Ask your doctor whether your seizures are controlled enough for swimming, and call 911 if a seizure ever happens in water.

This page shares general safety guidance from CDC and children's hospitals. It is not medical advice; your care team knows your situation and can tailor it.

Why water raises seizure risk

CDC reports that people with seizure disorders such as epilepsy are at a higher risk of fatal and nonfatal drowning (opens in a new tab). For people with seizure disorders, drowning is the most common cause of unintentional injury death, and the bathtub is the most common place it happens.

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Children's Hospital Colorado explains the core danger simply: a child could drown during a seizure that occurs in water, even when bathing (opens in a new tab). Seattle Children's adds that the risk is especially high for children 5 years of age or older (opens in a new tab), that swimming pools are also places where seizures are likely to lead to drowning, and that most drowning events are silent and happen within minutes. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) lists children with medical conditions such as autism and epilepsy (opens in a new tab) among those at higher risk.

Showers, baths and bathroom doors

Because the bathtub is the most common place these drownings happen, the bathroom is the place to start.

CDC says people with seizure disorders can consider taking a shower rather than a bath (opens in a new tab). Seattle Children's goes further: baths are not recommended for people with seizures; showers are safer (opens in a new tab).

For babies and young children (from Seattle Children's):

• Give babies constant touch supervision in the tub, and stay in the bathroom the whole time a young child is bathing.
• Start teaching your child to shower by using a handheld sprayer in the tub, with no standing water and the drain open.
• When your child is old enough to want to bathe alone, they should shower, not take baths.

For older children, teens and adults:

• Keep the door unlocked. Seattle Children's says to keep the bathroom door unlocked and open (opens in a new tab); Children's Hospital Colorado recommends a no-locked-bathroom-door policy (opens in a new tab). Talk with your teen about how to keep both safety and privacy.
• Keep water from pooling. Make sure shower and tub drains run quickly and aren't covered (opens in a new tab). Children's Hospital Colorado suggests removing the drain plug in tub-shower combinations, since a person could fall on it during a seizure.
• Sit if seizures are frequent. Children's Hospital Colorado suggests a plastic shower chair and a hand-held shower head (opens in a new tab) if seizures are frequent. Seattle Children's suggests a tub seat with a safety strap for a child who falls often during seizures.
• Prevent scalds. Seattle Children's says to set the water heater to 120°F or lower (opens in a new tab), or install anti-scald devices if you can't control the heater.

For general bath-time setup for young children, see bath time safety.

Swimming with one-on-one supervision

CDC's rule is clear: if you or a family member have a seizure disorder like epilepsy, have one-on-one supervision around water (opens in a new tab). Here is what that looks like in practice, based on Seattle Children's, Children's Hospital Colorado and the AAP:

• Ask the doctor first whether seizures are under enough control to allow swimming (opens in a new tab).
• One strong swimmer, right there. The person with your child should swim well enough to help, be strong enough to lift your child to safety, and stay in water shallow enough to stand on the bottom while helping.
• Arm's reach. The AAP recommends touch supervision, staying within arm's reach at all times (opens in a new tab), and a water watcher whose only job is supervising.
• Lifeguarded pools. Swim in a supervised pool, and tell the lifeguard that your child has epilepsy or seizures (opens in a new tab). The AAP says to swim where there are lifeguards or someone trained to respond if a seizure occurs in water.
• Tell the swim teacher. Seattle Children's recommends swim lessons, and telling the teacher about the epilepsy.
• Easy to see. Seattle Children's suggests a brightly colored swimsuit and life jacket so your child is easier to see (opens in a new tab).
• Never alone. Children's Hospital Colorado says a child with epilepsy should never do water sports alone (opens in a new tab), and suggests a medical alert bracelet or necklace.
• Hot tubs too. Seattle Children's says to make sure your child is supervised at all times in a hot tub.

Looking for a class that can accommodate seizures? See adaptive swim lessons.

Open water and boating

Open water calls for extra care. Seattle Children's advises:

• Avoid swimming in open water, like lakes or rivers, unless your child is well supervised and wearing a life jacket (opens in a new tab).
• Always wear a life jacket on a boat, raft or dock, or close to water, and have the adults wear theirs too.
• Sit inside the boat, not on the edge.
• Carry a phone if you can, in case of emergency.

Children's Hospital Colorado notes that water sports such as jet-ski riding, windsurfing and sailing are risky for people with epilepsy, but with a few accommodations can be safely pursued in most cases (opens in a new tab). For choosing a jacket that fits, see how to choose a life jacket.

If a seizure happens in water

Seattle Children's gives these steps for a seizure in the water:

1. Support the person's head and keep their face out of the water (opens in a new tab).
2. Bring them to the shore or the side of the pool, and place them on their side once they are out of the water.
3. Check their airway and breathing.

Children's Hospital Colorado adds that if there is any possibility that water was swallowed or breathed into the lungs, get a medical checkup (opens in a new tab). CDC's general seizure first aid includes staying with the person, timing the seizure, and calling 911 if it lasts longer than 5 minutes (opens in a new tab) or if they have trouble breathing or waking up afterward.

If someone is not breathing, call 911 and start CPR if you are trained. Learn CPR from the Red Cross or American Heart Association, and see what to do in the first minutes of a drowning emergency.

Talk with your care team

Bring these questions to your next visit:

• Are my (or my child's) seizures controlled enough for swimming? Are there activities to avoid?
• Do any of my medicines affect balance, coordination or alertness in the water?
• Is a shower chair or other bathroom equipment a good idea for us?
• Can you help us write a seizure plan for school, camp and swim lessons?

Children's Hospital Colorado notes that schools will most likely ask you to fill out a "My Seizure Plan" form (opens in a new tab) from the Epilepsy Foundation, updated every year. Share it with swim teachers and camp staff, too. For other conditions that can affect water safety, see heart conditions, medicines and swimming.

What you can do today

1. Switch to showers, with the drain open and the door unlocked.
2. Check your drains run quickly, and remove any loose tub plug.
3. Name the swim buddy. Decide who gives one-on-one supervision at the next pool trip, and make sure they swim well enough to lift and help.
4. Tell the lifeguard and the swim teacher about the seizures every time you go somewhere new.
5. Pack a life jacket for any lake, river, dock or boat.
6. Write it down in your family water safety plan, and share it with caregivers: