If you look after someone with epilepsy, you may be their ‘carer’. Caring can involve a number of skills and can be both rewarding and exhausting.

Who is a carer?

A carer is someone who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of a health condition, disability or frailty, and who would not be able to manage without this help. All the care they give is unpaid. The term ‘carer’ does not mean someone who is in paid employment as a care worker.

In the UK today 1 in 10 people(almost seven million)are carers and nearly 6 in 10 carers (58%) are women. Not all carers are adults: there are around166,000 young carers under 18 in England(2011 census). Every year, more than two million people become carers for the first time.

Some people are carers for a short period of time, others for many years…