Emergency Medication and Treatment

Someone living with Dravet Syndrome may need to have emergency medication to control their seizures.

Rescue medication at home

‘Rescue medication’ is the term used to describe medicine given in an emergency to relieve symptoms quickly. In epilepsy, if a seizure lasts more than five minutes, rescue medication is usually needed.

People living with Dravet Syndrome need to have an emergency protocol that has been developed with their neurologist, which includes details of their home rescue medication and instructions for using it.

Rescue medication varies from person to person. An example of one that can be used at home is oxygen.

Emergency treatment in hospital

The medical team may:

• check someone’s airway, breathing and circulation
• set up an intravenous line (called a cannula)
• give the person oxygen
• take blood to check someone’s blood glucose levels and for infection, and to make sure that their kidneys and liver are working well
• administer intravenous medication. This is typically anti-anxiety drug lorazepam first and seizure medication levetiracetam or phenytoin after that. But the medical team should check the person’s emergency protocol which may indicate that they respond best to a particular emergency treatment
• give the drugs diazepam or paraldehyde rectally so it can get into the body quickly if there’s a delay in inserting a cannula
• inject medications, fluids, or blood products directly into the marrow of a bone if it’s not possible to access veins via a cannula
• put the person with Dravet Syndrome on a medical ventilator, a machine that helps their lungs to work so they can get the oxygen they need. If this happens, they will need to be intubated, which is when a tube goes through their mouth or nose, into their windpipe.