If Your Child Has Seizures
Caring for a child with a seizure disorder takes time, patience, and understanding. When a child is diagnosed with epilepsy, it may be a painful shock. You may be afraid that the child will not be able to live a normal life.
This is far from the truth. People with most types of epilepsy, including children, can be helped by antiseizure medicines or other treatments, and some may go months or years between seizures. Most people with epilepsy can lead outwardly normal lives.
Talking with your child's doctor
It may be helpful to track your child's seizure patterns using the Events Calendar. Bring the calendar with you when you talk with the doctor.
The doctor is the best source of information about what to do for a child with a seizure disorder. Here are some questions you may want to ask:- Should the paramedics or an ambulance be called every time my child has a seizure?
- What constitutes an emergency in my child's case? If it is an emergency, whom should I call?
- How long should I wait before calling an ambulance if the seizure goes on for longer than usual?
- Is there any at-home therapy that I (or a family member or caregiver) can use to stop prolonged or clusters of seizures in my child?
- Are there any precautions I should take at home (such as moving furniture, blocking stairwells, not having the child bathe alone)?
- Should the dose of my child's antiseizure medicine be increased?
- Would my child do better on a higher dose of just one medicine?
- Would adding another medicine control seizures more effectively?
- Are there other medicine(s) that can be tried?
- Should a blood level test be done to see if the right amount of medicine is getting into the bloodstream?
- Would more extensive testing help?
- Is my child a candidate for vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy or epilepsy surgery?
- Is it possible to slowly reduce or stop the antiseizure medication(s)?
- What are the risks and benefits of reducing medicine in children?
Keep others informed
Be sure to share potentially life-saving information on controlling your child's seizures with all those who care for the child—including family members and caregivers, teachers, babysitters, etc. Remind them when to call the doctor, and teach them the necessary precautions to take in the event of a seizure.