People who have gone through Covid are at an increased risk of experiencing seizures or developing epilepsy in the six months after being infected, Oxford medics say.
The side effects were more noticeable in children than in adults, and were also more common in those who had been hospitalised with a Covid-19 infection. Researchers made the discovery after studying the health records of more than 150,000 people who developed both the flu and Covid.
None of the patients had previously experienced epilepsy or seizures and were all of a similar age, sex, and medical history. Over a six-month period, the scientists found that those who had Covid were 55% more likely to develop epilepsy or seizures over the six months following their infection than those who had the flu.
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Despite this, the overall risk of developing seizures or epilepsy remains low among the public, the scientists say, as it accounted for less than one percent of all people who had tested positive for the bug. Despite the low-risk, the author of the study, Arjune Sen, said the increased risk of seizures and epilepsy in children “gives us another reason to try to prevent Covid-19 infections in kids”.
He also cautioned doctors to pay particular attention to patients who “may have more subtle features of seizures, such as focal-aware seizures, where people are alert and aware of what is going on, especially in the three months following a less severe Covid-19 infection”.
Scientists keep discovering side-effects of the virus, with another study recently revealing that half of people with Long Covid struggle with memory problems after an infection. There’s still a threat of catching Covid in Ireland but all restrictions outside of hospitals and medical settings have ended.
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