36 How can I help someone who is having a seizure?
Description
This article is from the Epilepsy FAQ, by Andrew Patrick (andrew@calvin.dgbt.doc.ca) with numerous contributions by others.
36 How can I help someone who is having a seizure?
The appropriate behaviour for helping someone who has a seizure depends
on the type of seizure it is. While a person experiencing a
tonic-clonic seizure may require some first aid, in most cases there is
little that can be done.
Tonic-Clonic (Grand Mal)
This type of seizure is often the most dramatic and frightening, but it
is important to realize that a person undergoing an epileptic seizure
is usually unconscious and feels no pain. The seizure usually lasts
only a few minutes, and the person does not need medical care. These
simple procedures should be followed:
1. Keep calm. You cannot stop a seizure once it has started. Let the
seizure run its course. Do not try to revive the person.
2. Ease the person to the floor and loosen clothing.
3. Try to remove any hard, sharp, or hot objects that might injure
the person. It may be necessary to place a cushion or soft item
under their head.
4. Turn the person on his or her side, so that the saliva can flow
from the mouth.
5. Do NOT put anything in the person's mouth.
6. After the seizure the person should be allowed to rest or to sleep
if necessary.
7. After resting most people carry on as before. If the person is not
at home and still seems groggy, weak, or confused, it may be
better to accompany them home.
8. In the case of a child having a seizure, contact a parent or
guardian.
9. If the person undergoes a series of convulsions, with each
successive one occurring before he or she has fully recovered
consciousness, or a single seizure lasting longer than 10 minutes,
you should immediately seek medical assistance.
Absence (Petit Mal)
No first aid is required.
Complex-Partial (Psychomotor or Temporal Lobe)
1. Do NOT restrain the person. Protect him or her by moving sharp or
hot objects away.
2. If wandering occurs, stay with the person and talk quietly.
Simple-Partial (Focal)
No first aid is required.
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