Epilepsy & Seizures: Treatment in Nigeria
Updated October 2026 · Educational information — not a substitute for a doctor or pharmacist
Epilepsy is a brain condition in which a person has repeated, unprovoked seizures — sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity that can cause convulsions, a brief blank stare, or strange movements and sensations. It affects well over a million Nigerians, most of them children and young adults, and most of them could live seizure-free on one daily medicine. The gap between those two facts is the treatment gap: in Nigeria the majority of people with epilepsy are on no medicine at all.
Epilepsy is not contagious, not a spiritual attack and not a sign of madness, and a seizure cannot be caught from the saliva, breath or touch of the person having one. These beliefs keep families from the clinic and send them to traditional healers first, often for years, while uncontrolled seizures do real harm — burns from falling into a fire, drowning, head injuries, lost schooling and lost work.
The medicines work. Carbamazepine, sodium valproate and levetiracetam are all NAFDAC-registered, made or imported by several companies, and available in most Nigerian cities; phenobarbital is still widely used in primary care because it is cheap. About two in three people become seizure-free on the first or second medicine tried, as long as it is taken every day without gaps. Which medicine is right depends on the seizure type, the person's age and sex and what else they take — a decision for a doctor, ideally one who has seen the seizures described or recorded.
Signs & symptoms
- Convulsions (fits): the body stiffens, then jerks rhythmically, usually for one to three minutes, often with loss of consciousness
- Seizures that look like a blank stare for a few seconds, especially in children, often mistaken for daydreaming
- Sudden jerks of the arms or body, typically soon after waking
- Strange smells, tastes, feelings of fear or déjà vu, or repeated lip-smacking and fiddling, followed by confusion
- Tongue-biting, wetting oneself, or deep sleep and confusion after an episode
- A seizure lasting more than five minutes, or one seizure after another without waking up between them — an emergency
How it's treated
Get a diagnosis before a prescription. A single seizure is not epilepsy, and fever fits in a young child, low blood sugar, severe malaria, a head injury or alcohol withdrawal can all cause one. A doctor needs a clear description of what happened — a phone video from a family member is worth more than any test — and may order an EEG or brain scan at a teaching hospital. Epilepsy is usually diagnosed after two or more unprovoked seizures.
Treatment is one medicine, every day, for years. The dose is started low and raised slowly until the seizures stop or side effects appear; this takes weeks, so a medicine is not judged a failure after a few days. Never stop or skip doses because you feel well — a missed dose is the commonest cause of a breakthrough seizure, and stopping suddenly can trigger a prolonged, life-threatening one. Buy the same brand each time where you can, and if a pharmacy swaps the brand, keep the strength the same and tell your doctor.
During a seizure: move hard or hot objects away, cushion the head, turn the person onto their side once the jerking stops, and time it. Do not put anything in the mouth, do not hold the person down, and do not pour anything on them. Call for emergency help if a seizure lasts more than five minutes, if another follows without recovery, if the person is pregnant or injured, or if it is their first.
Women and girls need a specific conversation. Sodium valproate causes birth defects and learning problems in a high proportion of babies exposed in the womb, so for any girl or woman who could become pregnant a doctor should consider another medicine first and arrange reliable contraception if valproate is the only option. Carbamazepine also lowers the effect of the combined pill. Nobody should stop their medicine on discovering a pregnancy — uncontrolled seizures are more dangerous to the baby — but they should see a doctor that week.
See a doctor if…
- After any first seizure, however brief — and urgently for a seizure lasting over five minutes or repeated seizures without recovery between them
- Seizures continuing despite taking the medicine every day: the dose or the medicine may need changing, never the person's effort
- A rash, fever, mouth sores, unusual bruising, yellow eyes or severe vomiting after starting a new anti-seizure medicine — stop and be seen the same day
- Before trying to conceive, or as soon as a pregnancy is known, for any woman on an anti-seizure medicine
- Before stopping treatment: after two or more years seizure-free a doctor may taper the medicine slowly, but this is never done alone or abruptly
- A child whose school performance drops or who has repeated 'absences' and staring spells
Prevention
- Take the medicine at the same time every day and never run out — keep a week's spare supply and refill before the last strip
- Sleep enough; sleep loss, missed meals, alcohol and fever are the commonest seizure triggers after missed doses
- Treat malaria and fevers in children promptly; prevent head injuries with helmets and seat belts; manage high blood pressure and diabetes, which cause strokes that cause epilepsy in older adults
- Avoid swimming alone, climbing, open fires and cooking over an open flame until seizures are controlled; do not drive until a doctor says it is safe
- Tell family, teachers and workmates what a seizure looks like and what to do, so the response is a cushion and a clock, not a spoon in the mouth
Frequently asked questions
Can't find these medicines, or buying in bulk?
Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with a verified, NAFDAC-registered source.
Related conditions
This page is educational information about how epilepsy & seizures is generally managed in Nigeria. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or a prescription. Always consult a licensed clinician or pharmacist, and verify any medicine's NAFDAC registration with our free checker before buying.