Over the last 15 years, the number of seizures from drug exposure has doubled in kids aged 6-19.
This is from a new study from the University of Virginia analyzing cases reported to poison control centers across the nation
The most common medications to cause seizures were the antidepressant bupropion, commonly known as Wellbutrin, the allergy medicine diphenhydramine, known as Benadryl, synthetic cannabinoids and amphetamines.
Researchers stressed the importance of keeping medicines locked up and out of reach, no matter the child’s age.
“I think it’s a matter of who has control of the bottles and what kind of products are you buying. Again, for the toddler age group, we want things childproofed and out of their reach,” said Dr. Chris Holstege, director of UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center. “For the groups where they’re older and self-administering some of these, being careful on how big those bottles are, my preference always has been blister packs, because it’s hard to get a lot of pills out to overdose and cause problems if you have a blister pack as opposed to a bottle that may have a hundred tablets in it.”
Holstege advised that medications like bupropion can cause seizures even in small quantities.
