Questions for school project

[koipondx3]

I'm doing a school project on epilepsy, and I've done a lot of research, but one thing still isn't clear to me. It says to call an ambulence if a person stops breating or has multiple seizures without waking up. But what do they do at the hospital after this happens? If they stop breathing....I get that they would probably intubate the person, but for how long? would they have to stay at the hospital for a couple of days or could they go right home? and how do they treat someone who had seizures without waking up inbetween? Do they make the person wake up? how? and then how long do they have to stay on the hospital? All these are for tonic clonic seizures...that's the one I'm doing my project on.

thanks for your help, I really appreciate it. It seems as if these answers are tough to find online.

-Koi in Alaska

[LivingFruity]

My son was intubated when he was unresponsive after a seizure. He remained intubated for several hours, until he was stable (less than 6 hours). He was observed in the hospital for 24 hours and then released. They do not make the person wake up during these seizures. They just give them medication (such as Ativan) to try to stop the seizures. I hope this helps

[Meetz1064]

vary by person, and NO it does not have to be just for tonic clonic seizures. This can apply to the other types of seizures also. It is possible to have status seizures of simple partial or status complex partial seizures, too.

What is done in the hospital is purely dependent upon each case and the severity of each case.

I myself have never been hospitalized for status--I've been hospitalized for toxicity of meds while I was in college. That was a mess.

But each case is handled totally separately, and differently......

[skillefer]

Hi koi! As meetz said, each case is different. But Meetz and LF both have the facts right.

[koipondx3]

Thank you everyone for your help with my project. I really appreciate it!

[Ann T.]

Hi, Koi

THANK YOU for doing a school project on epilepsy. Please, keep us posted on how your school project turned out! Take care & Best Wishes. ~Ann

[Bernard]

But what do they do at the hospital after this happens?

The emergency room has one priority - stabilize the patient. They will pump people with a valium type drug (Ativan, Versed, etc.) and/or IV solutions of their current anti-epileptic drug if known (after testing current blood levels of course).

The last time my wife ended up in the ER, the nurses/docs did not really observe her closely and relied on their monitors to alert them when she stopped breathing. They assumed it was an apnea problem and were all set to intubate her. Thank goodness I was there though. She stopped breathing because she was having complex partial seizures and the nursing staff couldn't recognize them as such. %*&%^(*

Do they make the person wake up? how?

They will generally test the patient to see if they are responsive (talking to them, shining lights in the eyes - checking for dilation, gently shaking or squeezing the arm/hand, etc.) or not.

and then how long do they have to stay on the hospital?

Until they are stable and not in danger of having a seizure the minute they walk out the door (it's a judgement call by the attending physician) - or until the patient signs a release and leaves against medical advice.