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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffEven after they've been controlled with medication, seizures may affect areas of your child's life, such as attention span and learning. Your child will require close supervision for activities such as swimming. He or she will have to be seizure-free for reasonable lengths of time (intervals vary from state to state) before being able to drive.
You may find it helpful to talk with other people who are in the same situation you are. Besides offering support, they also may have advice or tips for coping that you haven't considered. The Epilepsy Foundation has a network of support groups, as well as online forums for teens and adults who have seizures and parents of children who have seizures. You can call The Epilepsy Foundation at 800-332-1000 or visit its website. Also, your doctor may know of support groups in your area.
- Absence seizures (also called petit mal). The Epilepsy Foundation. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/types/types/seizureabsence.cfm?renderforprint=1&. Accessed March 23, 2011.
- FDA: Aseptic meningitis risk with use of seizure drug Lamactil. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm222212.htm. Accessed March 23, 2011.
- Hughes JR. Absence seizures: A review of recent reports with new concepts. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2009;15:404.
- Seizures and epilepsy: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/epilepsy/detail_epilepsy.htm?css=print. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Practice parameter update: Management issues for women with epilepsy - Focus on pregnancy (an evidence-based review): Teratogenesis and perinatal outcomes. Neurology. 2009;73:133.
- Seizure disorders. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch214/ch214a.html. March 22, 2011.
- Schachter SC. Evaluation of the first seizure in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index/home.html. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Stafstrom CE, et al. Pathophysiology of seizures and epilepsy. http://www.uptodate.com/index/home.html. Accessed March 22, 2011.
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