Status epilepticus

Status epilepticus (often simply called status) is a medical emergency where the brain will not stop having seizures. In medicine, a person who is having status epilepticus is described as being "in status."
What is Status Epilepticus?
Definitions of status epilepticus have changed over time. It used to be that a seizure had to last 20 or 30 minutes to be thought of as status epilepticus. (Most normal seizures last only one to two minutes.)
Today, a person is usually described as being "in status" when:
Why is Status Epilepticus a Medical Emergency?
Status epilepticus is very dangerous. About 10 - 20 % of the people who go into this status die from it.
Status Epilepticus is considered a medical emergency for many reasons:
If people in status get the right treatment quickly, they can survive with little or no brain damage.
Causes.
Only about one in four people who go into status epilepticus have epilepsy. The other three out of four people who go into status have never had a seizure before. Status epilepticus can happen for many other reasons.
Illnesses.
Many different illnesses can cause status epilepticus:
Injuries.
Very bad injuries can also cause status:
Drugs and medications.
Illegal drugs, alcohol, and some medications can cause status:
Treatment.
People in status epilepticus are unable to end their seizures on their own. They are often unconscious and unable to react.
The most common way to end status is to inject special medicines that can stop seizures. If these medicines do not help, the patient must be treated in the intensive care unit at a hospital. Sometimes patients have to be put into a coma to stop very bad status epilepticus.