Anti-Seizure Medications for Cerebral Palsy
In many cases, one of the things that will accompany cerebral palsy is known as epilepsy where children will suffer seizures as well. Doctors do their best to recommend the most organic treatment that will have the least side effects. Unfortunately, when it comes to CP, this approach can be difficult. You may even have to depend on medications as a way of helping the child to feel better.
Not only do seizures scare parents, it can cause serious injuries, such as:
- Death
- Stroke
- Falling
- Brain injuries
- Break a bone
Klonopin
In the United States, they call it Klonopin, but in other parts of the world, they call it Clonazepam. When it comes to seizures, it helps through slowing the electrical signals within the brain. Primarily, they use this to help children suffering from cerebral palsy because it is used for helping with epilepsy.
One of the dangers of anti-seizure medications like Klonopin comes from how it is highly addictive, and your child could grow in tolerance to it over time, meaning that it will be less effective. Withdrawal has become one of the dangerous side effects of this drug. If you have a child with a birth injury that doesn’t seem to respond to other forms of medication, you might find this one useful to check out. Beware: Your child could start to feel drowsy from using this type of medication. For children who don’t sleep well, this might be a good drug for helping them to sleep.
Dilantin
When it comes to this drug, you have two different names for it. You might hear it called Dilantin, but you will also hear it called Phenytoin. This drug works like an anti-convulsant, which means that they will typically be used to treat seizures. It works by decreasing the electrical activity within the brain, and while this drug can’t stop all seizures, you stop most of them without having to worry that it will form a habit.
Some of the side effects from this drug include:
- Confusion
- Loss of coordination
- Slurred speech
- Dizziness
- Abnormal body movements
For those concerned about giving their child a substance that is addictive, this drug doesn’t have any dangers of forming an addiction that known. You shouldn’t, however, try this one if your child struggles with eating.
Depakene
The other name that it is known as is valpronic acid. They use this as a way of controlling seizures, most often as seizure medicine. People have also found this successful in treating mania and migraines. You should never give this drug to a child under the age of two because of how it can damage the liver. In addition, you should only take this medication with food.
When you look at the list of anti-seizure medications for this birth disorder, you should never give your child any of these medications without first getting a recommendation from doctors.