ABOUT EPILEPSY - FIRST AID FOR SEIZURES

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.

What if my child has a seizure during his sleep?

Children are usually awakened by seizures that occur while they sleep. Thus, a parent of a child with a known seizure disorder is usually aware when their child has seizures during the night. Only in those rare cases where a child vomits or experiences other problems during a seizure is there a need to worry.