It has been a long time since my last post. Apologies for my absence. Things are very busy right now as I am wrapping up my thesis.
I was in Manitoba this past weekend at a family gathering. We were talking about heart disease and how some individuals with heart disease can be a real risk on the roads (eg, they could faint from poor blood flow or even have a heart attack behind the wheel). This raised the issue of whether or not people with epilepsy should be allowed to operate a motor vehicle.
The laws vary from country to country, but in general if you are diagnosed with epilepsy you lose your permit to operate a motor vehicle until you have been seizure free for a set period of time (usually a year or two). My supervisor often mentions that individuals with epilepsy do show an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. However, the number of accidents for this group is not nearly as high as the accident numbers for individuals with cardiovascular disease. To top it off, neither of these groups is anywhere close to the "most at risk" population for motor vehicle accidents, which is young male drivers.
I think of insurance companies as being very shrewd and number-oriented (ie, all of their rates/policies are determined by statistics). If this were really true then young males wouldn't be allowed to drive. Instead, insurance companies simply charge young male drivers much higher insurance rates. I wonder why they can't simply do the same with other "at risk" populations, such as those with heart disease or epilepsy. Either way, they should be consistent.
Food for thought.
Have a good one.
Kirk.
Monday, March 24, 2008
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2 comments:
Hey Kirk, long time! Ca va? Best on your thesis and your food for thought is quite frankly, thought provoking.
Much thanks and keep up the research!
My daughter has epilepsy and has driven until recently. She was happy to stop once her husband and I were able to work out carpooling arrangements with her, because the speed of visual images tends to cause her to have episodes. All the same, she has never had an accident because she is never taken by surprise by a seizure. Is that unusual? I hardly think so. Just like I might feel very tired on the road and think I may nod off, I never have because I pull over and rest. On the other hand, people always seem surprised by heart attacks or strokes or sneezing. Yet people who may potentially have such events (who isn't caught unaware by a sneeze sometimes?) are allowed to keep driving.
By the way, she just started Atkins to gain better control of her condition, and I'm joining her on the diet at least for the first month. One week in, and she is delighted with her improvement. Thanks for spreading the word about ketogenic diets.
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