SUDEP Action Month

When a person with epilepsy dies suddenly and prematurely, this is known as SUDEP. It stands for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and means that there has been no other cause of death found.

This event is important as it focuses on educating people and asking them to take action surrounding SUDEP rather than it going unnoticed for much longer. It is a complicated issue as it is not yet known why these deaths occur, but that is why this event has been set up.

What Is SUDEP Action Month?

SUDEP Action Month is an event that takes place throughout an entire month, to help raise awareness and encourage people to take action when it comes to learning about SUDEP. There are approximately 50 million people in the world who have epilepsy, and they need to be protected from sudden and premature deaths.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases around the globe, which is why this is such an important issue. Ensuring that people know about this topic is now always easy, but people can join in this event no matter where they are in the world, meaning that the information can spread on a global level.

How to take part in SUDEP Action Month

Awareness is no longer enough, it is time to start taking action such as sharing the questions that are being posed by the campaign. Promoting the information leaflets and pages that give others the information that they need to understand what SUDEP is and how it impacts people. These are all active things that a person can do if they want to help the campaign advance.

It doesn’t matter if it is one person, an entire school, or just one family if there is something that can be done, do it. It is never possible to know who it is going to reach, who is in need of the information that has been provided or who needs the advice on how to keep themselves as safe as possible. 

History of SUDEP Action Month

In 2017, the campaign changed its name from SUDEP Awareness Month to SUDEP Action Month as more needed to be done to educate people. It was no longer enough for one person to be educated in the subject, they needed to share what they know with others so that the whole of society can understand the issue at hand. Taking an active role by doing some of the things talked about above can make all the difference in the world, and that is the goal of this campaign. Educating but also asking people to take action, communicate with each other, and ask questions when there is something that is unclear. 

SUDEP is a condition that needs more research, but to get this completed, more people need to be educated and empathetic, caring more about the issue at hand. Get people talking about it through the month, ensure that those who don’t know what the problem is are being told, and make sure that action is being taken all over the world.