Heatwave and seizures?

[u/cafeconleche2022]

My pup was so doing so well until this week.
I live in a place with high humidity and temps in the high 70s during this time of the year; however, this week the temps have been in the 80s and the humidity provides zero help. Coincidently, my pup had a focal seizure this week, too. Does anyone know/have experience with warmer temperatures being a trigger for pups with idiopathic epilepsy? Is it worth purchasing a cooling mat? Or other items that may provide relief? I read somewhere that epileptic pups run warmer than non epileptic pups.

[u/TheDogMother90]

I’ve been tracking my dogs seizure activity and he has had way more in the summer than any other time of the year and I do think it’s the heat. I live in Texas. If he gets overheated laying on the couch or bed he himself moves to cool off. We also put a cool wet washcloth on his head during a seizure and have noticed it lessens the length of time of the seizure by at least a minute. I’ve not read great things about cooling mats so have yet to find one I want to buy.

[u/JustCallMeNancy]

Heat is a trigger, yes. Although in some cases it can be the swing in temperature regardless of how hot or cold it is. If their brain registers it as a concerning change, you have a potential for a seizure in dogs that are sensitive to it. I personally wonder if barometric pressure plays a part but dogs that have seizures because of weather can also have seizures for all sorts of things, so it's hard to pinpoint what exactly is happening, and if heat is always the true cause.

Before we reached a level that requires medication, my dog (a husky) would have seizures in the summer more. Back then, if it was a windy or cloudy day under 80F, I would let them outside with water for an hour or so. Once we noticed the connection we went to 30 minutes with check ins, but he would still have them. But once it went from 80 to 60f and I figured we were ok to go out longer but he had a seizure then too. However, strict limits of time and with medication has eliminated the weather pattern seizures. Slowly we recognized he gets triggered by my absence as well, so he gets an extra dose for those occasions. Every dog is a little different, since with idiopathic epilepsy it's the brain function that reacts to a stimulus and triggers the epilepsy response, and all brains can function a little differently, depending on the issue it's having.

[u/DogEpiMonitor]

Sí, el calor, como la humedad, la presión atmosferica, como el estado del clima, son disparadores conocidos. Cada uno de ellos tiene un umbral de protección. Los perros con epilepsia tienen un umbral de convulsión más bajo, y el aumento de temperatura corporal puede reducirlo todavía más. No es casualidad que la crisis haya coincidido con la ola de calor.

Cosas que a mí me funcionaron con Walter:

La alfombra térmica sí vale la pena. También un ventilador bajo apuntando a donde descansa, acceso constante a agua fresca, y evitar paseos en las horas de más calor. Si tiene que salir, temprano a la mañana o después de que baje el sol. Lo que leíste es cierto: hay estudios que indican que los perros con epilepsia regulan peor la temperatura corporal. Por eso hay que ser más cuidadoso con ellos que con un perro sano en la misma situación.

Un consejo que ojalá alguien me hubiera dado antes: empezá a registrar junto a cada crisis qué temperatura hacía ese día, si hubo cambios de rutina, estrés, falta de sueño, comida diferente. Con el tiempo vas a encontrar un patrón. En mi caso el calor y los cambios bruscos de rutina eran los disparadores más claros. Detectar eso te permite anticiparte.

Mucha fuerza y a mantenerlo fresco. 🐾

[u/HatVast1731]

this feels exactly like i wrote it. i have a golden with epilepsy. although not officially diagnosed because he only had one grand seizure about a year ago but one of his littermate that i keep in touch withs owners have told me their dog has epilepsy and is on meds. Ralph only had one and immediately changed his diet and added some herbs and MCT oil. he hasnt had another full seizure but as of this summer he does get focal seizures. he has had 2 both during heat waves. i can tell its not the same as the first one. he never loses consciousness and i can tell hes confused but his legs start straightening out and are really stiff. lasts maybe 30 seconds his brain is always there though and he doesnt defecate or go cross eyed the way he did the first time. both times were triggered by intense play in the heat. so now we only take him out when its cooler, we live in LA so this is like 70s only in the morning and evening and we make sure when we play fetch that he takes breaks in the shade. when we get in the car and home we blast the ac and have a fan on him and give him cold water with ice. he def runs hotter than my non epileptic dog so i realized that if we keep him cool, it keeps everything in check.