Doctors have a good guess as to what dose your kids need
Drug companies constantly strive to develop new drugs for just about any malady or discomfort. Their job is not a trivial one: they must (or are supposed to) develop an effective drug, determine dosage, warn of side effects (”may cause nausea, heartburn or death”), and test whether the drug is safe in the long- and short-term.
Some newer drugs have been developed which are prescribed for child epilepsy, but have not been fully tested for long-term effects, or have not had an appropriate dosage determined for children:
Many medicines are not fully tested on children before licensing, meaning consultants have no official guidance on doses to refer to when prescribing. Instead they often have to estimate a safe and effective dose based on the age and the size of the child.
Which I’m sure is comforting to parents everywhere.
(As for my seizured self, the doctors have prescribed an “old stalwart”: phenytoin sodium, aka Dilantin. It’s been used for decades, so despite a few side effects, I’m probably not at increased risk of spontaneous combustion or offspring growing a third eye.)
