1 Department of Pediatrics, Nassau Hospital, Mineola, NY 11501
In Reply.
If all swimming were limited to pools that were always supervised by a lifeguard or competent adult, we would not have approximately 1,500 children drowning each year.
The risk of drowning or near-drowning for a child with epilepsy is four times that of other children. The risks to children who have been seizure-free for 1 year are only minimally greater than for the general population if they have stable therapeutic anticonvulsant levels, are mentally normal, and are well supervised in the water.1