KEEPING THE CONVERSATIONS GOING WITH ALERT-IT
There are currently more than sixty-five million people in the world living with epilepsy, with 600,000 of those in the UK alone. Each day, eighty-seven more people are diagnosed in Britain and 1 in 100 people are estimated to have epilepsy with the cause unknown in 50% of cases. Although diagnoses are more common among older people and children, it may come as a surprise that anyone can develop epilepsy at any stage of their life and for people whose lives aren’t directly affected by epilepsy, the realities of the condition can come as a shock.
Epilepsy is not rare or curable, and the consequences can be devastating. The harsh truth is 1,000 people die in the UK each year because of their epilepsy and around 400 of these deaths are preventable. The knock of effect of an epilepsy diagnosis is life changing and causes some people to lose their driving licence and their job. It can also affect education and employment prospects and lead to loneliness.
RAISING AWARNESS TODAY AND EVERYDAY
If you’re living with epilepsy, then you’ll be talking about it every day, but on Saturday 26th March 2022 is Purple Day, the International Day of Epilepsy Awareness, it’s the day for everyone to get involved to raise awareness of the condition, its impact on families, and keep the conversation going!
Purple Day is recognised as THE day when tens of thousands of people across the globe come together to start conversations around epilepsy, raise awareness of the condition and fundraise to make a difference to the lives of people affected by epilepsy.
So, whether you’re a carer, a person living with epilepsy or have a friend or work colleague who has epilepsy, it’s a day for everyone to get involved.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Celebrated in over 100 countries here’s how you can participate:
Wear Purple – lavender is recognised as the international flower of epilepsy. By wearing a little pop of purple shows your support and for the very daring you could even spray your hair purple!
Fundraise Purple – hold a sponsored walk, quiz, wear purple to workday or a coffee morning with homemade purple cakes. The epilepsy society has lots of fun fundraising ideas.
Become a Purple Ambassador – promote awareness of epilepsy in communities by participating in Purple Day Every Day Initiatives, hosting epilepsy awareness events, and/or distributing information about epilepsy in schools, workplaces and community organisations.
These are just some ideas of how you can make a difference in your local community to help raise awareness about epilepsy.
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
If you enjoyed reading this blog, then why not keep in the spirit of this year’s theme sharing to friends, family, or anyone you feel could benefit from knowing more about the help and support that is out there if they too are dealing with epilepsy.
We’d also love to see how you got involved with Purple Day, from your fundraising to wearing purple, join the fun by sharing your pictures with us on Twitter @Alert_iT_Care or by posting on our Facebook page using the hashtag #AlertITpurpleday and you could win an Alert-it Purple Day Goody Bag.