Prevention

Since the cause of epilepsy is often not clear, it generally is not possible to prevent it.

Head injury, a common cause of epilepsy, may be preventable. Always wear your seat belt in the car and a helmet when riding a bike or motorcycle, skiing, skating, or horseback riding.

Home Treatment

Controlling seizures caused by epilepsy requires a daily commitment to following your treatment plan. If you are using antiepileptic medicine, you must take your medicine exactly as prescribed. Not following the treatment plan is one of the main reasons why medicines fail to control seizures.

Antiepileptic medicines will work only if you keep the right medicine level in your body. Your doctor will set up a schedule of medicine dosages that keeps the proper medicine levels in your body. Missing one or more doses can throw the whole system off. See information on:

Epilepsy: Taking Your Medicines Properly.

The same rule about following your treatment plan applies if you or your child is on a special ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet can be hard to follow, but it must be followed exactly.

As you follow your treatment plan, also try to identify and avoid things that may make you more likely to have a seizure, such as:

• Not getting enough sleep.
• Using drugs or alcohol.
• Being emotionally stressed.
• Skipping meals.

If you continue to have seizures despite treatment, keep a record(What is a PDF document?) of any seizures you have. Note the date, time of day, and any details about the seizure that you can remember. Your doctor can use information about your seizures to plan or adjust your medicine or other treatment. If you have not been diagnosed with epilepsy, a record of your seizures can help your doctor figure out whether you might have epilepsy and what kinds of seizures you are having.

If your child or someone else in your family has epilepsy, learn what to do when someone has a seizure.

If you have epilepsy (or your child has epilepsy):

• Be sure that any doctor treating you for any condition knows that you have epilepsy and knows what medicines you are taking, if any.
• Wear a medical identification bracelet. In the event of a seizure or accident that leaves you unconscious or unable to speak for yourself, a medical ID bracelet will let those who are treating you know that you have epilepsy. It will also list any medicines you are taking to control your seizures so that you are not given any medicines that will react badly with those already in your body.

If you have a child with epilepsy, there are other tips for parents that may be helpful.