Status epilepticus is a prolonged seizure or continuous series of seizures. It is a medical emergency. Not everybody who has epilepsy will suffer from status epilepticus. It usually occurs in people who have frontal lobe epilepsy. It is rare for such seizures to arise from other parts of the brain, but because it is so dangerous anyone who has close contact with someone who has epilepsy must be able to recognize it and know what to do.
Normally when someone has a seizure, the brain responds by becoming less excitable for a while, so that another seizure is less likely. However seizures sometimes occur one after the other with only a small gap between them. Like status epilepticus these so-called ‘serial seizures’ may also require urgent medical help, but if the person having the seizures has time to recover between them, the situation does not have quite the degree of urgency of someone who is in status epilepticus.
If, on the other hand, the seizures follow hard on one another, occurring so often that the person has no time to recover from one before the next one begins, then it is important to get help as quickly as possible. In true status epilepticus the seizures become continuous, so there is no gap between them and the person remains unconscious, convulsing all the while. They may be unable to breathe properly, and the lack of oxygen may lead to brain damage. It is essential to seek help immediately.
Normally when someone has a seizure, the brain responds by becoming less excitable for a while, so that another seizure is less likely. However seizures sometimes occur one after the other with only a small gap between them. Like status epilepticus these so-called ‘serial seizures’ may also require urgent medical help, but if the person having the seizures has time to recover between them, the situation does not have quite the degree of urgency of someone who is in status epilepticus.
If, on the other hand, the seizures follow hard on one another, occurring so often that the person has no time to recover from one before the next one begins, then it is important to get help as quickly as possible. In true status epilepticus the seizures become continuous, so there is no gap between them and the person remains unconscious, convulsing all the while. They may be unable to breathe properly, and the lack of oxygen may lead to brain damage. It is essential to seek help immediately.
