Find out about our Take epilepsy action campaign, and how you can get involved in raising awareness of different kinds of seizures and first aid. You can also download this video.
- Tonic-Clonic seizures
- Seizures involving altered consciousness or behaviour
- First aid in other languages
Tonic-Clonic seizures
The person goes stiff, loses consciousness and then falls to the ground. This is followed by jerking movements. A blue tinge around the mouth is likely. This is due to irregular breathing. Loss of bladder and/or bowel control may happen. After a minute or two the jerking movements should stop and consciousness may slowly return.
Do...
- Protect the person from injury - (remove harmful objects from nearby)
- Cushion their head
- Look for an epilepsy identity card or identity jewellery
- Aid breathing by gently placing them in the recovery position once the seizure has finished (see pictures)
- Stay with the person until recovery is complete
- Be calmly reassuring
Don't...
- Restrain the person’s movements
- Put anything in the person’s mouth
- Try to move them unless they are in danger
- Give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
- Attempt to bring them round
Call for an ambulance if...
- You know it is the person’s first seizure
- The seizure continues for more than five minutes
- One tonic-clonic seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness between seizures
- The person is injured during the seizure
- You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
Focal (partial) seizures
Sometimes the person is not aware of their surroundings or what they are doing. They may pluck at their clothes, smack their lips, swallow repeatedly, and wander around.
Do...
- Guide the person from danger
- Stay with the person until recovery is complete
- Be calmly reassuring
- Explain anything that they may have missed
Don't...
- Restrain the person
- Act in a way that could frighten them, such as making abrupt movements or shouting at them
- Assume the person is aware of what is happening, or what has happened
- Give the person anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
- Attempt to bring them round
Call for an ambulance if...
- You know it is the person's first seizure
- The seizure continues for more than five minutes
- The person is injured during the seizure
- You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
First aid in other languages
| PDF First aid for seizures: | Available in: |
| For me Please cushion my head etc |
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For someone |
French German Spanish |
For an English version with illustrations of the recovery position download the printer friendly version at the top of this page.
For first aid posters for tonic-clonic seizures and for complex partial seizures, download the pdf at the top of this page.
This information has been produced under the terms of The Information Standard.
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Updated July 2011To be reviewed July 2013
Comments: read the 23 comments or add yours
Comments
I'm so glad I found this page. I recently started going out with a guy that I truly love, and he's an epileptic, and I really need to know what I have to do in case he has a fit. I dont want any harm to come to him...
Im dating this guy as well and one night he had a fit in the bed. The only thing i really could do was turn him to the side and rub him until it was over. I mean there nothing really you could do about it. Just sit there with him until its over and ask him if hes okay and if he needs anything to drink or eat. Most of the time my boyfriend says yes because it takes the energy out of his body.
hi. i am 10 years old and today during gym class a boy had what we think was his first seizere and the whole grade was there. we dont know how he is yet because the ambulance took him away.he was playing basketball and he suddenly grasped his shoulder and kind of side walked to the bench. he fainted, and started his seizere. it was brief, like 1-2 minutes, then he stopped and regained consiousness. by then the medic was joking with him, and my grade left. please tell me if this is kind of the same as yours.
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ND
What do you do in the event the person having the seizure starts choking on their tongue?
Hi Jamie
When a person is having a tonic-clonic seizure, their tongue may roll back in their mouth. There is nothing you can do to stop this while the seizure is happening. However, when the seizure is over, you can put the person on their side, in the recovery position. This will make the person’s tongue fall forward in their mouth and help them to breathe. Here’s a link to a picture of the recovery position.
Amanda
Advice and Information team
I had my 1st seizure this year about 3 months ago.I was sleeping at the time and ended up on the floor next to my bed ,I had no idea what had happened to me and my wife dialed for an ambulance who took me to hospital and i was later dishcharged .
Unfortunatly a few hours after getting home i had yet another seizure and ended up back in hospital again and had yet another seizure whislt in hosptial .
I was put on a drip and kept in for a couple of days
Once i was let out i was put on AEDs which i took 3 a day and was made a appointment with a neurologist
The neurlogist suggessted that i try to do away with the AED's and see if i could manage with out them ,this lasted about 2 weeks and i had yet another two seizures and have started taking the AED'S again ans hoping to remain seziure free
I am not sure why the neurlogist would try to get me of the AED's mabye due to the fact that i am 40 and never had any problems like this before .At this time i am quite happy to take 3 pills a day if it will stop me having any more seizures , i only have them while i am sleeping and the pills seem to stop them all together .
Is there anything else i should do to try to stop me have seizures ?
Hi David,
When you had your first seizures, if they were all within a space of 24 hours, these would have been classed as a one-off seizure. There are many possible reasons for having a one-off seizure and some people never have any more. This could be why your neurologist decided to stop your AEDs and wait and see if you had any more seizures.
When you started taking the AEDs again, did you follow medical advice from your neurologist, epilepsy nurse or GP? It’s really important to never make any changes to your medication without following medical advice. This is because taking the wrong dosage may increase your risk of having seizures or side-effects. Also, there may be different AEDs that would be more suitable for you and the type of seizures you have.
If you did start taking your AEDs again without medical advice, it would be a good idea to speak to your GP and arrange a referral to see an epilepsy specialist. They’ll be able to review your seizures and AEDs and make sure you’re taking the most suitable one(s) for you.
You can find more information about the treatment of epilepsy on this website.
Some people with epilepsy say that certain things make their seizures more likely to happen. These are called ‘triggers’. Here are some common triggers.
It can be helpful to keep a diary of your seizures, making a note of things you were doing or how you were feeling before they happened. This might help you to identify any things that trigger your seizures, so you can try to avoid those situations.
Amanda
Epilepsy Helpline team
Hi,
i just wanted to write that my epilepsy came back this year at first i was just having the petit mals, but i call them staring dues, as i basically stare for a few moments, so as a result of this i had to surrendor my driving license which upset me because you have to be fit free for 1 year before i can drive again, and last saturday i had a proper fit (grand mal) i woke up to find my parents with me and i had no idea what had happened but i bit my tounge and its still bad now and its swollen with an infection in my mouth :( so having anti biotics to try and sort it out.
but after reading the website and what causes it, it made me think the reason i could have had a fit is becasue my mum wasnt very well last year she had a perfereated colon (think thats how you spell it) and the stress just hit me this year, also i haven't been sleeping properly i go to bed at say 11pm and i can still be lying there at 2pm wide awake and that was another side affect wasnt it as in lack of sleep, this website has been really usefull and im going to forward them pictures to my friend cos she asked me what to do if i have a fit even though its only ever happend at night, so i didnt really no what to do, so thanks again.
sara
I suffered from a dizzy head and very bad chest pains at work on Monday the 6th of September 2010 and ended up in hospital. The nurse at work seems 2 think that it was another seizure coming on is that true?
Hi
I have been having fits for the last 10 years now and I am 27 years old at the moment. I have my last 2 fits in the last 2 months after 3 years. The last 2 fits that I have had, I think it is a had a slight agrument with my family which made me not able to sleep till late (stres). Since I have been having fits, I have always dislocated my shoulders, which now means I may have to have a operation in order to repair my joints. Please reply if anybody has similar types of fits
Hi was just reading everyone’s comments and thought I would share my story. I started having petit mal’s when I was around 12 but when going to a specialisted and having tests nothing came up so the doctors told me it was because of hormones. This carried on for two years getting worse as time went on. When I was 15 I had my first seizure in my science lesson and then another one later in the day. I went to the doctors and they still told me it was because of hormones. The seizures carried on for another year mainly at night and I carried on going to the doctors and was told I was depressed. At one time when having seizures I was sick so lost a lot of weight and the doctors started asking me about that. As I was in between seeing the children’s epilepsy specialist and adult a lot of my notes got lost and when I went to apply for my driving licence I recorded all the seizure I had and when the specialist’s saw the notes she realised there was a problem. I eventually go diagnosed at 17 and was put on medication. I am now 20 and I still have fits mainly at night when I'm stressed but it has been a lot better. I am happy that I now have now been diagnosed and understand more about epilepsy. Also it has put my Mums mind at rest. My best friend also has epilepsy as she was on a trampoline 2 years ago and fell off and hit her head. Ever since then she has had seizures and they are a lot more serious than mine. She was having seizures about 3 times a week sometimes more and when she comes out of them it takes her ages to know where she was or who everyone was. She ended up having to take sick leave from work. She was put on a lot of medication by the doctors and it felt like her seizures were getting worse the more they put her on so she decided to try without. She now has about 2 seizures a month. I am not saying that people should take themselves of medication but it is weird how she reacted to her medication and it seemed to make her worse.
Hi
This morning my boyfriend had a fit, he went to brush his teeth and started feeling faint so he sat down. i was in the bedroom and heard a crash, as I went in he fell to the floor and his body went stiff, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he was shaking a lot. After about a minute he woke up and sat up really confused. I called an ambulance and we went to hospital.They ran a few test and are not sure of what it could be at the moment.
My boyfriend has had these fits before, when he thinks about work and his worries.
Please could you give me some advice as to what it could be, Im really worried for him and watching him have a fit was really scary.
Thanks
Sima
Its a good thing you went to the hospital because it is a really serious thing to deal with. It is possible that he has epilepsy. It can be caused from many things but in this case it is most likely from stress. When you say "fits" is it the same as you described? Has he had these kinds of experiences when he was younger? My friend recently had a seizure and she did the same thing your boyfriend did,she was really confused and pale afterwards. I hope he is okay because I know how scary this is.
Hi Sima
This must have been frightening for you. I hope your boyfriend has recovered fully by now.
People pass out for lots of reasons. That’s why it’s really good that he was checked out at the hospital. If it’s suspected that his fit was an epileptic seizure, then he can expect to be seen by an epilepsy specialist. This is recommended by NICE. If it is decided he has epilepsy, then it’s likely he will be given anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) to control the seizures.
You mention that he has been stressed about his work. Stress can trigger seizures in some people. Sometimes finding ways to deal with the stress can help to prevent more seizures happening. If you or your boyfriend would like to speak to someone about this, please call the Epilepsy Helpline, freephone 0808 800 5050, or email helpline@epilepsy.org.uk.
Kathy
Advice and Information Team
Hi Sima,
It sounds like your boyfriend has had a Tonic-Clonic seizure. Although it looks really bad, its not as bad as it looks, I personally have had 14 and I am fine. It cound be a number of different things and not all of them include epilepsy as a diagnosis. It could just be something as simple as a toxin or infection. Alternatively it could be epilepsy, which put simply is a low threshold to the body being suseptable to having a seizure. The worse case senario is brain tumor, but usually in hospital they rule that out with a CT or MRI scan.
But don't worry as the dotors will find out exactly what caused it and appropriate action will be taken.
Phil
this website is so so useful. its so reasurring to hear that other people are going throught the same thing. my brother had a fit and luckily my whole family was there to call an ambulance etc because it was his first one. it was so scary and i understood completely when i was reading other peoples comments that they just stare right through you, its like they dont recognise you. is it true that if you touch them it makes the seizure go on longer??
i know how you feel i love this website when i found out that i had epelisy this website helped me and my family alot
Hi.
My mother is 47 and suffers from MS ( multiple sclerosis ) she has also been diagnosed with epilepsy, which she has probably had for the past 4/5 years. Her speech/ memory and general day to day movements can be very sluggish due to her MS and she only really suffers seizures 3/4 times a year ranging from mild to worse casses mainly due to infections or medication not being strong enough.
Each time she has a seizure it can take her a good few hours to come around but she is awake and looking around, but still not able to answer any questions or bring herself to speak, when she does it doesnt ake any sense. Usually though she finally comes around and can start to recognise the people in the room.
However yesterday she suffered a fit whilst sat up watching TV. Her face was shaking and her right arm but apart from that no obvious sign of a seizure. When paramedics arrived she wasnt able to understand what they where saying but just to look around and smile now and again.
We got to the hospital where she was shown a bed and they ran tests. As she was sat up on the bed her left eye was twitching and her right arm. After that episode she has now completely spaced out. She is still breathing on her own but has oxygen. She cannot however respond to any commands now and just stares into space.
I worried that this may be long term, as we have not heard anything from the doctors yet as to wether she will come round eventually i just wondered if you had any hopefull light to shed on my situation.
thank you
Hello,
My 25-year-old sister is epileptic. She has been having seizures since middle school, so her having a seizure is nothing abnormal for me to hear about. Every time she has had one, my mom (an RN) has been there to take care of her. Recently, I was actually in the room without my mom when she had one. Honestly, and I am not trying to offend anybody, it was a very frightening event to witness. The act itself was very abnormal, but I was afraid she was never going to start breathing again. I didn't know if she'd ever wake up or if she had permanent brain damage. Immediately after the actual seizing stopped, we put her on her side and she started doing something that was similar to snoring loudly for about a minute. She was spitting a little (almost like foaming at the mouth), but still was not conscious. Is this normal?
Also, her biggest issue is she always bites her tongue up pretty badly. Is there anything I can do to prevent that? I have heard to stick a pillow or a wallet (but NOT your fingers!) right between her teeth but this website is saying not to do that.
And some advice: whenever my sister is about to have a seizure (about a minute beforehand), she will look around and act really confused. Also, I find it really important to follow the advice about not screaming at the person and allowing them to slowly regain his/her bearings. We had to tell my sister 5 or 6 times calmly that she had a seizure. The person may feel embarrassed or scared, so just be comforting and sensitive.
please need advice on my own experience of seizures i get really aggressive and lash out on those who care the most for me . i hate when i come around and hear what i done any one out there
experience same seizures ?
Please take this seriously:
We have a dog that suffers from epilepsy.
His attack lasts about 5-7 minutes.
You say do not restrain the victim's movements!!
Our dog tries to jump over invisible obstacles. At first his back is arched and after he falls over he struggles to his feet and springs about all over the place, so in order to prevent him injuring himself I have to hold him down.
He only weighs ten Kilos, but he's quite strong, the last time this happened I slipped a disc and damaged a nerve. It still tickles.
So, any advice?
Thank you for your time.
William, Dog lover.
Hi William,
I'm afraid we only have information about people with epilepsy. You might find some useful information from Canine Epilepsy though.
Hope this helps
Andy
Epilepsy Action
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