MEDICAL TREATMENT OF SEIZURES: CHOOSING THE BEST MEDICATION
All drugs do not work equally well for every seizure-type. Therefore it is necessary to classify the child’s seizure. For each seizure-type there are several drugs that are usually equally effective. The choice between the drugs is then made on the basis of the drug’s side effects and cost, the child’s age, and any previous drug allergies. Some medications are more effective for partial and tonic-clonic seizures, others for absence seizures. We will discuss them in those groupings and the order in which they were discovered.A large number of anticonvulsant medications are available. The following are those most commonly used.Drugs for Partial Seizures and Tonic-Clonic Seizures – PhenobarbitalPhenobarbital is one of the oldest, cheapest, and safest of the anticonvulsants. Since phenobarbital is slowly metabolized by the body (has a long half-life), it usually can be taken only once per day. As with any drug, it can lead to occasional allergic reactions.Phenobarbital, like its two close barbiturate cousins, mephobarbital (Mebaral) and primidone (Mysoline), is effective in partial and generalized tonic-clonic seizures but ineffective in absence seizures (and, indeed, may even cause them to increase).*117\208\8*
