QuestionHi, thanks for volunteering. I know this may not be your specific area, but I thought you might have a thought to share. My question concerns cooling the skin and body in hot weather.
My son hasn't had a seisure in almost 2 years and we beleive he may outgrow the Mild Seisure Disorder that he has. He has only had a total of 5 ever, so he is the Neurologist's healthiest patient....thankfully!
My question is about the side effect of his medication and living with it. He takes Topamax, which has obviously been great. The only problem is this medication doesn't allow him to sweat properly and he over heats. We live in Florida. Today, once again, he was out playing (he's 13) and some kids at a party went on a hike. He ate watermelon before leaving. He brought water with him. He drank when he got back. Still he started to feel bad. When I picked him up at the party, he said his hands wouldn't close up all the way- we never got to THAT point before. Anyway, I give him Gatorade and pop him in the shower. At camp he hopped in the pool. Today I took him to a neighbors pool and he submerged. All of these work- submerged works very fast.
But is there a way to do something before he heads out? When I used to be a welder we would take salt tablets on a hot day. Is that something my son could do? I would appreciate any ideas on cooling down, but mostly I'm looking for suggestions on avoiding the over heating. We have to address this with the PE teacher every year- I wish there was something more comforting for me and him besides drinking water and Gatorade.
Thanks for any advice,
Lisa
AnswerThe welder/salt trick is because of sweating and salts, not overheating. I am not aware of why topamax makes him overheat, but the treatment for that isn't salt, but avoiding those situations. I would talk it over w/ the neurologist, possibly another med would be as useful without the side effect.
