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What You Should do If Someone Has a Generalized Tonic Clonic (gran mal) Seizure.*
First aid for epilepsy is basically very simple. It keeps the person safe until the seizure stops naturally by itself.
These are the key things to remember:
- Keep calm and reassure other people who may be nearby.
- Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp.
- Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make breathing difficult.
- Remove eye glasses or sharp objects in hair.
- Put something flat and soft, like a folded jacket, under the head.
- Turn him/her gently onto their side. (This may not be possible until after the seizure is over and the body is relaxed) This will keep the airway clear. Do NOT try to force the mouth open with any hard implement or with fingers. It is not true that a person having a seizure can swallow his tongue. Efforts to hold the tongue down can injure teeth or jaw.
- Don't hold the person down, or try to stop his movement.
- Don't attempt artificial respiration except in the unlikely event that a person does not start breathing again after the seizure has stopped.
- Stay with the person until the seizure ends naturally.
- Be friendly and reassuring as consciousness returns.
- Offer to call a taxi, friend or relative to help the person get home if he seems confused or unable to get home by himself.
- Have someone time length of seizure on a clock/watch.
Should An Ambulance Be Called?
If you know the person has epilepsy, it is usually not necessary to call an ambulance unless the seizure lasts longer than five minutes, unless another seizure begins soon after the first, or unless the person cannot be awakened after the jerking movements have stopped. If the person having the seizure seems ill, injured, or is pregnant, and ambulance should be called.
What Should You Do If Someone Has One of The Other Types of Seizures?
You don't have to do anything if a person has brief periods of staring and shaking of the limbs. If someone has the kind of seizure that involves a dazed state and automatic behaviour, the best thing to so is:
- Watch the person carefully and explain to others what is happening. Often people who don't recognize this kind of behavior as a seizure will think that the dazed person is drunk or on drugs.
- Speak quietly and calmly in a friendly way.
- Guide the person gently away from any danger, such as a steep flight of steps, a busy highway, or a hot stove. Don't grab hold, however, unless some immediate danger threatens. People having this kind of seizure are on "automatic pilot" so fas as their movements are concerned, and instinct may make them struggle or lash out at the person who is trying to hold them.
- Stay with the person until full consciousness returns, and offer help in returning home.
*Source: Questions and Answers about Epilepsy, 1989, Epilepsy Foundation of America
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We'd like to encourage anyone with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders and their family/friends to attend meetings with Fairbanks' Epilepsy/Seizure Support Group. Meetings are held every 4th Thursday of the month, from 7-9 pm at either the Fairbanks Resource Agency or Access Alaska. For more information please contact Christine Evenson by emailing her at
evenson@mosquitonet.com
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