There may be times when you need to administer emergency epilepsy medication to a young person in school. This page covers the different types of emergency medication, training in their use, and correct procedures for storing the medication and related documentation.
What is status epilepticus?
Although most epileptic seizures do not need treatment and stop by themselves, some can go on longer than is normal for a young person, as described in their Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP).
If a seizure lasts for five minutes it should be treated, but you should always check the individual’s protocol. It should also be treated if they have a cluster of seizures without regaining consciousness in between seizures.
It’s good practice to treat seizures after five minutes to prevent the young person going into status epilepticus – where a seizure does not stop, or multiple seizures happen in close succession.
With status epilepticus, there’s significant risk of brain damage and the condition is also life threatening. This is a medical emergency that requires prompt medical treatment.
Any type of seizure can develop into status epilepticus. But tonic-clonic seizures progressing into status epilepticus are the most serious.
Types, training and storage of emergency medication
If a young person’s doctor thinks they’re at risk of prolonged seizures, or they have a history of status epilepticus, they may have prescribed emergency medication for use at home or at school.
This emergency medication will be included in the young person’s IHP.