What to Do When Someone is Having a Seizure?

Witnessing a seizure can be a frightening experience, but knowing what to do can make a significant difference in ensuring the safety and well-being of the person experiencing it. Seizures vary in type and severity, and each requires a specific response. In this article, we’ll explore how to recognize different types of seizures and provide the latest guidelines on how to respond.

Recognizing a Seizure

Understanding the signs of a seizure is crucial for responding appropriately. Here are the main types of seizures and their typical presentations:

• Focal Aware Seizures (Simple Partial Seizures):

  • Symptoms: The person remains conscious but may exhibit unusual sensations, emotions, or movements. They might experience sudden fear, joy, or déjà vu, along with tingling or twitching in one part of the body.

• Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures (Complex Partial Seizures):

  • Symptoms: The person may seem dazed or confused, performing repetitive movements like lip-smacking, hand-rubbing, or wandering aimlessly. They might not respond when spoken to and may not remember the seizure afterward.

• Absence Seizures (Petit Mal Seizures):

  • Symptoms: Characterized by brief lapses in awareness, often mistaken for daydreaming. The person may stare blankly and will not respond to their surroundings for a few seconds.

• Tonic-Clonic Seizures (Grand Mal Seizures):

  • Symptoms: These seizures involve a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. The person may stiffen (tonic phase) and then begin to jerk rhythmically (clonic phase). They might also lose control of their bladder or bite their tongue.

• Atonic Seizures (Drop Attacks):

  • Symptoms: Sudden loss of muscle tone, causing the person to collapse. These seizures are brief but can result in injury due to the unexpected fall.

• Myoclonic Seizures:

  • Symptoms: Sudden, brief jerks or twitches of muscles, often in the arms or legs. These seizures can occur in clusters, sometimes several times a day.

General Guidelines for Responding to Seizures

Regardless of the type of seizure, there are general steps you should take to ensure the person’s safety:

1. Stay Calm: Your calm demeanor can help others around you remain calm as well.

2. Time the Seizure: Use a watch or phone to time the seizure. Most seizures last between 1-3 minutes.

3. Protect the Person from Injury: Remove any sharp objects or obstacles around them. If they are standing, gently guide them to the ground.

4. Positioning: If the person is having a tonic-clonic seizure, place something soft under their head to prevent injury. After the jerking stops, roll them onto their side (recovery position) to help keep their airway clear.

5. Do Not Restrain or Put Anything in Their Mouth: Restraining the person or putting objects in their mouth can cause injury. Contrary to popular belief, a person cannot swallow their tongue during a seizure.

6. Stay with Them: Remain with the person until the seizure ends and they are fully conscious. Offer reassurance as they may be disoriented or confused afterward.

Specific Responses for Different Seizure Types

• For Focal Aware Seizures:

  • What to Do: Stay close by and provide reassurance. If the person is in a potentially dangerous environment, guide them to a safer place.

• For Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures:

  • What to Do: Gently guide the person away from danger. They may be confused or unaware of their surroundings, so ensure they are safe until the seizure passes.

• For Absence Seizures:

  • What to Do: Absence seizures are brief and often go unnoticed. No specific first aid is required, but keeping a record of these episodes can help in medical consultations.

• For Tonic-Clonic Seizures:

  • What to Do: Protect the person’s head and prevent them from falling by lowering them to the ground. Do not hold them down. After the seizure, check for breathing and place them in the recovery position.

• For Atonic Seizures:

  • What to Do: Be prepared to assist the person if they fall. Ensure the environment is safe, and help them up after the seizure, offering comfort and checking for injuries.

• For Myoclonic Seizures:

  • What to Do: These seizures are often brief. Ensure the person is safe, especially if they occur frequently or in a cluster.

When to Call for Emergency Help

While most seizures are not medical emergencies, you should call for emergency help if:

• The seizure lasts more than 5 minutes.

• The person has repeated seizures without regaining consciousness between them.

• The person is injured during the seizure.

• The person has trouble breathing or does not regain consciousness after the seizure.

• It is the person's first seizure, or you are unsure if it is their first seizure.

Latest Recommendations and Considerations

Recent guidelines emphasize the importance of personalized seizure action plans, especially for individuals with known epilepsy. These plans should include:

• Medical Identification: Encourage the person to wear a medical ID bracelet that provides information about their condition and what to do in case of a seizure.

• Seizure Triggers: Identifying and avoiding known seizure triggers (e.g., flashing lights, lack of sleep) can reduce the likelihood of seizures.

• Support Networks: Ensuring that family, friends, and coworkers are educated on how to respond to seizures.

Advances in wearable technology also offer new ways to monitor and respond to seizures. Devices can alert caregivers when a seizure is detected, allowing for quicker intervention.

Conclusion

Knowing how to recognize and respond to different types of seizures can save lives and improve outcomes for those living with epilepsy. At Epilepsy Awareness KPK, we are dedicated to providing the latest information and resources to support individuals and families affected by epilepsy. By spreading awareness and educating others, we can create a safer and more inclusive world for everyone living with this condition.