The Swiss Epilepsy League has significantly expanded its information offer in English. It now also provides information in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, and the leaflets in Albanian and Portuguese have been updated.
(Zurich) Epilepsy is more common than many people think: in Switzerland almost one in a hundred are affected, which equates to around 70,000 to 80,000 people. An estimated 3,800 of these speak and read English as their main language, while around 2,100 understand Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian best. Roughly two thirds can be treated with pharmaceutical drugs, but for the other third, epilepsy remains very difficult to manage. Contrary to widespread prejudice, epilepsy is a neurological disease, not a mental illness; it is rarely inherited and does not always manifest itself in dramatic seizures.
Four information flyers have now been translated into English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian: „What are epileptic seizures and epilepsies“, „First aid during epileptic seizures“, „Epilepsy and pregnancy“ and „Driving with epilepsy“.
There are also four information flyers in Portuguese and Albanian respectively, including the recently updated guidelines on driving with epilepsy.
The flyers are available on the website www.epi.ch and can be easily printed out on four pages of A4 pages. Within Switzerland, the Epilepsy League also sends them by post on request, free of charge or for a small contribution towards expenses.