Epilepsy is a group of acute conditions often associated with neurologic disorders in children. Common causes include hereditary (or genetic mutations), structural (intracranial tumors, vascular malformations, brain dysplasia), and infectious (encephalitis). Regardless of the cause of seizures, oral antiepileptic drugs are essential. Epilepsy medication needs to be completed under the guidance of a professional doctor. Unreasonable way of medication, time of medication, and dosage of medication may cause harm to the child, and in serious cases, can be life-threatening. In this article, we will summarize the precautions of oral medication for children with epilepsy, and help parents to do a good job of disease management for children with epilepsy. 1.Do I need to take antiepileptic drugs for life once I start them? Epilepsy is a chronic disease, once diagnosed, it needs to be treated under the guidance of a professional doctor. The total duration of antiepileptic drug treatment is at least 3-4 years. The general principle is that the dosage can be reduced after 3 years of seizure-free treatment, with normal electroencephalogram (EEG) on multiple follow-ups and no persistent cause of the disease. It takes at least 1 year from dosage reduction to complete discontinuation of the drug. Some children with poor control and unsuccessful drug reduction process even have to take drugs for life. 2. How to choose antiepileptic drugs? The choice of antiepileptic drugs is related to the type of epilepsy, etiology, comorbidities and other factors, and needs to be selected under the guidance of a doctor specializing in child neurology, and the type of medication should not be decided without authorization. In terms of dosage form, the general principle is to use oral liquid for children younger than 5 years old and tablets for children older than 5 years old. During the whole treatment period, unless the drug effect is not good, or serious adverse reactions, under the guidance of the doctor to change the drug, the patient should not easily change the drug varieties, and even brand and dosage form changes can affect the therapeutic effect. 3.What are the precautions for daily medication? 1, the method of medication: oral liquid: many oral liquids are suspensions, need to be shaken well before use, so as to avoid uneven concentration above and below the bottle. Tablets: some (such as valproic acid) are slow-release tablets, can not be broken or chewed, can only be swallowed as a whole, otherwise affect the efficacy of the drug. 2, medication time: the general medication time is 1 time in the morning and 1 time in the evening, with an interval of 12 hours, after meals. Try to fix the time to take medication, do not change the time to take medication. Multiple antiepileptic drugs combined treatment, such as the doctor did not specifically account for the requirements, can be taken at the same time. 3, drug preservation: generally no special instructions, room temperature preservation can be, but pay attention to avoid direct sunlight. 4, prohibited drugs: a small number of drugs containing ephedrine, amantadine (such as some cold medicines, anti-allergy drugs, anti-asthma drugs) and other drugs that can induce seizures are prohibited. 5.Discontinuation of drug leakage: leakage (even once), drug reduction, discontinuation of drugs are very dangerous operations, may induce epileptic status quo, serious life-threatening. 6, special circumstances: vomiting after using the drug: if vomiting soon, need to immediately replenish the original dose of drugs; such as vomiting half an hour – 1 hour after the use of drugs, when most of the drug has been absorbed, do not need to replenish the drug. If you suffer from other diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, etc., most of the conventional drugs can be taken, if necessary, consult a doctor. Vaccination: For national mandatory immunization, you can be vaccinated when your epilepsy is seizure-free for half a year and your electroencephalogram improves. For non-compulsory immunization, try to wait until the epilepsy has completely improved before considering vaccination. For emergency immunization (tetanus, rabies, etc.), you must be vaccinated immediately. 4.What are the precautions for daily life? 1.Diet: During the period of taking anti-epileptic drugs, diet should pay attention to eat less chocolate, spicy and stimulating food, can not drink alcohol-containing drinks, as well as coffee, red bull, cola and other drinks that have a euphoric effect. 2.Life: avoid staying up late, overworking and staring at the screen for a long time. 3, body weight: weigh every 3 months, adjust the drug dose according to the kilogram body weight, weight growth should be increased accordingly, to ensure that the dose of kilogram body weight is relatively constant. 5.Preventive antiepileptic drugs after neurosurgery In addition to the use of antiepileptic drugs in children with a clear diagnosis of epilepsy, some children undergoing neurosurgery need to receive preventive antiepileptic treatment because intraoperative interference with the cerebral cortex may cause transient epilepsy. Neurosurgery-associated epilepsy is unique in its treatment (or prevention). Pre/postoperative seizure-free children: if discharged on oral prophylactic antiepileptic medication, the current medication will be continued orally for 2 weeks after discharge, then halved after 2 weeks for another week, during which time the medication may be discontinued if still seizure-free. Routine EEG is not necessary. Children with preoperative/postoperative seizures: Oral medication is usually required for at least 2 years, and then discontinued if seizure-free. The type of medication is usually not recommended to be changed easily. Careful reading of the medication instructions is recommended. EEG is repeated every 3-6 months after discharge from the hospital.