Originally published September 28 2005
Epilepsy foundation offers tips for avoiding video game-induced seizures
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
WHAM! Gaming reports that a recent study confirmed that the flashing images and certain patterns associated with video games can cause epileptic seizures, so The Epilepsy Foundation has issued some tips on how to reduce children's risk of seizing from a video game.
A new study indicates that flashing images and certain patterns in video games can trigger siezures in those who suffer from epilepsy.
The report which appears in the September issue of the journal 'Epilepsia' states that children and young adults 7 to 19 years of age are especially susceptible to visually induced seizures.
The report was written by Graham Harding of the Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Aston University, Birmingham, England, and his colleagues.
In response to the report, The Epilepsy Foundation has issued new recommendations for families on how to limit the risk of seizures triggered by flashing images and certain patterns in video games based on the report.
# Sit at least 2 feet away from the screen in a well-lit room.
# Cover one eye while playing and regularly change which eye is covered.
The recommendations are based upon guidelines in the UK and Japan and are the first published in the U.S. to be based on an expert review of research on photosensitivity (the susceptibility to visual stimulation).
Giuseppe Erba, MD, from the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who led development of the recommendations, said "Children with undetected epilepsy may have a first recognized seizure while playing or soon after playing a videogame.
This doesn't mean that the videogame caused the epilepsy, but it reveals the vulnerability of individuals who carry the photosensitive trait when they are exposed to visual stimuli capable of triggering the abnormal response.
The same increased risk exists for children with known epilepsy who can be photosensitive, as well."
In December 1997, nearly 700 children were hospitalized in Japan for symptoms that developed while watching a televised Pokemon episode.
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