If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with epilepsy, you are probably curious about what rescue treatments can be used in an emergency. An epilepsy emergency can occur when a seizure lasts longer than usual, lasts longer than five minutes, or when a person has multiple seizures in a row without regaining consciousness. When these situations occur, rescue epilepsy treatments can be used to help stop the seizure.
We’ve gathered the basics so that you can learn the most important information about rescue epilepsy treatments in one place. Here’s what you should know:
Not all rescue treatments for epilepsy can be administered by a patient or caregiver.
Rescue treatments for epilepsy vary on how they can be administered. Some rescue treatments require a medical professional, such as a doctor or physician assistant, to administer them in a hospital setting. Other rescue treatments may also be administered by paramedics in an emergency setting before you get to the hospital.
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For some individuals with epilepsy, however, rescue treatments may be prescribed to be used outside of a hospital setting – like at home or at work – and can be helpful for those living with epilepsy if:
- A person has frequent seizures despite the use of maintenance therapies
- A person lives a far distance from an emergency room
- A person is prone to having long seizures
- A person frequently forgets to take their maintenance therapies
Usually, these treatments are administered by a caregiver, as an individual experiencing an active seizure will not be able to self-administer the medication. However, some rescue medications can be used ahead of time if the person can feel a seizure about to start.
Rescue epilepsy treatments are considered “add-ons” on top of regular maintenance therapies.
Maintenance therapies for epilepsy are medications taken regularly to decrease seizure frequency and duration. Usually, maintenance therapies are taken daily as a pill and for some individuals living with epilepsy, maintenance therapies are sufficient to manage their epilepsy symptoms. However, others may need some additional help to manage their epilepsy if breakthrough seizures occur.
That’s where rescue epilepsy treatments come in – these are additional therapies that can be used in emergency or breakthrough situations to help quickly tackle seizures. Rescue epilepsy treatments often work differently than maintenance therapies because they can be absorbed by the body to work in a few minutes versus a few hours. Some scenarios where rescue treatments may be used include when a seizure lasts longer than usual, any seizure longer than five minutes (also known as status epilepticus), or any seizures that occur multiple times in a row without the person regaining full consciousness in between (also known as cluster seizures).
If you or a loved one are on maintenance therapy but still experience the examples described above, ask your doctor about rescue epilepsy treatments that you can add to your epilepsy treatment regimen.
Your doctor can help you decide what type of rescue treatment is best for you.
Depending on your situation, your doctor will likely recommend a specific rescue treatment. One thing to keep in mind is that during a seizure, a person will be unable to swallow a medication so any medication taken by mouth will likely not be able to be used. In the United States, the FDA has officially approved three therapies as rescue epilepsy treatment options. These are available in rectal gel or nasal spray form. When picking a rescue treatment, there are a few questions to keep in mind:
- How quickly the treatment takes effect
- What forms are available for a specific treatment
- Possible side effects of treatment
- Who can administer the treatment
- How easy the treatment is to administer
If you or a loved one are interested in learning more about rescue epilepsy medications, reach out to your doctor about options that may be available to you. You can also connect with others living with epilepsy and their caregivers here on The Mighty by following our epilepsy topic page here.