Medical Conditions Related to Brain Injury: Seizures
Protocol for Lengthy or Multiple Seizures
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Most seizures stop within five minutes. If a person tends to have longer seizures or has multiple seizures (status epilepticus), ask the doctor about prescribing Diastat. Diastat is rectal valium in gel form given like an enema that often stops seizure activity. It should be kept on hand as a precaution. If the medication is needed, quickly remove the person’s clothing and roll him/her on her side and give the Diastat even as the seizure continues. Afterwards, call 911. A second dose can be given twenty minutes after the first if another seizure begins. When help arrives, be sure medics know what the patient has been given, when and how much.
As a rule, seizures are not reason for great alarm. The exception is prolonged or multiple seizures. Sometimes emergency personnel, accustomed to receiving panicked calls from family members who are frightened by any seizure activity, do not appreciate the seriousness of these types of seizures. In this case, inform them of the importance of getting to a hospital for medical intervention as quickly as possible.
A person known to have lengthy or multiple seizures should wear a medic-alert bracelet or carry an emergency card with personal information. Family, friends, teachers, and coworkers frequently with the person should be alerted and given emergency instructions. Keep prescription doses of Diastat at school or work as well as home. (If Diastat expires before used, it can usually be exchanged at the pharmacy where purchased.)
The above information should be printed off along with the In the Event of a Seizure instructions, laminated to make a 2-sided instruction sheet then posted in a prominent place in the person’s home, school and/or work where others can easily access the information.
Dr. Weissman is the current Medical Director of Day Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Services of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Resource Foundation. In addition, she is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine and a committee member of the American Society for Neurorehabilitation.