By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune Published: October 12, 2012 Updated: October 12, 2012 - 1:15 PM
Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights seems like an entertaining way to spend an evening to a lot of folks -- including, at one time, Christina Wagner.
Why wouldn't a theme park packed with ghoulish characters, gory mayhem and a cacophony of blood-curdling screams appeal to an 18-year-old and her friends? So off they went.
But Wagner discovered something far more terrifying there, and twisted her fake fear into reality. An unexpected encounter with flashing strobe lights suddenly placed the young woman, who has epilepsy, at risk for seizure.
Once she realized what was happening, she closed her eyes and got out of there. Wagner, now 32, escaped safely and hasn't visited a haunted house since.
"If I have a feeling something is going to happen, I remove myself and I calm down," Wagner says. "I know my limitations."
Nearly 3 million Americans have at some point in their life been diagnosed with epilepsy, a brain disorder that triggers a wide range of attacks, from a mild, disorienting stupor to full-blown grand mal seizures or convulsions.
Prescription drugs and careful attention to stress and sleep can manage it for about 70 percent of the cases, says Selim Benbadis, a USF Health neurologist and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Tampa General Hospital. A lot of people never know their friend or co-worker has the chronic condition.
"The majority of them do well, living normal lives taking their medicines," he says.
But some people with epilepsy must be acutely aware of the possible environmental triggers in everyday life. About 90,000 individuals, including Wagner, have been diagnosed with photosensitivity, Epilepsy Foundation statistics show.
Originally posted here:
For people with epilepsy, Halloween strobes can cause seizures