First Aid for seizures
Tonic-Clonic seizures
The person loses consciousness, the body stiffens, 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 occur. 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
- Be calmly reassuring
- Stay with the person until recovery is complete
Don't...
- Restrain the person
- Put anything in the person’s mouth
- Try to move the person unless they are in danger
- 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
- 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
Seizures involving altered consciousness or behaviour
Simple partial seizures
Twitching, numbness, sweating, dizziness or nausea; disturbances to hearing, vision, smell or taste; a strong sense of deja vu.
Complex partial seizures
Plucking at clothes, smacking lips, swallowing repeatedly or wandering around. The person is not aware of their surroundings or of what they are doing.
Atonic seizures
Sudden loss of muscle control causing the person to fall to the ground. Recovery is quick.
Myoclonic seizures
Brief forceful jerks which can affect the whole body or just part of it. The jerking could be severe enough to make the person fall.
Absence seizures
The person may appear to be daydreaming or switching off. They are momentarily unconscious and totally unaware of what is happening around them.
Do...
- Guide the person from danger
- Look for an epilepsy identity card or identity jewellery
- 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
- One seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness between them
- The person is injured during the seizure
- You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
Further information on seizures can be obtained from Epilepsy Action by using the Email Helpline or if you live in the UK, by phoning the Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 5050.
Epilepsy Helpline
- UK freephone 0808 800 5050
- International +44 113 210 8850
- Email: helpline@epilepsy.org.uk
- Txt msg: 07797 805 390 info
- Live online: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1230-1330 UK time
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Comments
I thought we have to turn the person to left (not right) am I wrong?!
I was always tought to turn them to the left as well.
Often the reason for turning an individual to left is also a matter of turning them 'away' from you. If the person goes into shock or has swallowed large amounts of water, they will vomit away from you instead of into your lap.
Any side is always better than back. Sometimes circumstances can prevail...... However, I believe there can be more oxygen exchange with some people when the right side of the lungs is upwards (that would be lying on the left side). Recall there are two lobes on lung on the left side along with the heart, and three lobes on the right side of the body. The initial basic goal is to keep oxygen / CO2 exchange going after the seizure and to reduce the risk of aspiration of vomit or secretions.
It is a common misconseption in first aid that there is a right or a wrong side to be rolled onto when put into the recovery position, either side is correct (there is also a recovery position for people on their front).
-Jay
Um i was wondering i know it says not to restrain them but is it alright to hold their head so they dont hit it on anything. My friend had a seizure while sitting in chair with her head leaned against the wall and we grabbed it & held it so she would stop hitting it on the wall. is that ok?
Hi - if someone is in danger of hitting their head, then it's a good thing to hold their head away from the source of danger. You can use your hands to cushion and protect their head. So it sounds as if what you did was OK. Main thing is to keep it as gentle as possible.
Mark @ Epilepsy Action
The reason why you have to roll the patient to the side, may be LEFT OR RIGHT, is to PREVENT ASPIRATION. Aspiration refers to the accidental sucking in of food particles or fluids into the lungs.
is it possible or normal for someone to be aggressive and violent during a complex partial seizure
It's not a common occurrence for someone to be aggressive or violent but it can happen. If you look on our website under temporal lobe seizures and frontal lobe seizures you will find that things like our emotions and social behaviour can be affected during a seizure. However, it's important to bear in mind that there are many reasons why people are aggressive or violent and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with epilepsy, just because someone has epilepsy. We have a section of our website called Learning, behaviour and epilepsy that may be of interest to you. While this section relates to children the causes of behaviour can also be the same for adults.
Epilepsy Action helpline team
my boyfriend recently had what we think is a seizure... he is 23 --- he's never had a seizure before. how common is it for an adult to obtain epilepsy? I would advise that everyone is told/taught the symptoms of epilepsy as it is quite a frightful thing to watch someone experiencing it. Doctors have not diagnosed him officially - - tests are still being done. Can anyone tell me how common it is to get fits from brain tumors?
um... If people with epilepsy live alone or have seizures with no one around them is there a risk of them dying at all? it disturbs me to think if i was not with him he would have had the seizure with no one around.
Everytime I've had a siezure I've always been turned to the right!!
Me and wife were having a debate, She said that when someone is having a seizure you should put a spoon or object in their mouth to keep them from swallowing there tongue. I informed her that this is not true. She stated that this is what they train EMT's to do. Can you shed some light on this subject ?
Pregnant ladies should (if possible) be turned to their left to prevent the pregnant uterus from putting pressure on a major vein ( the inferior vena cava) which runs behind it and to the right, so lowering the blood pressure.
You should definitely NOT place anything in someone's mouth while they are having a seizure. This will do nothing other than cause damage to the mouth and teeth. Particularly you should NEVER place your fingers in the mouth. It is not taught to EMT's. Ambulance crews would use a nasal airway if they needed to.
Regarding the recovery position question, the person who mentioned the heavily pregnant patient is correct. Otherwise, it's perfectly acceptable to place the patient on either side.
Hope that helps!
you said that we shouldn't put a spoon or our finger in the mouth of a person having a seizure. What should I do if the person starts to swallow his tongue?
sorry about my poor english, I'm brazillian
my boyfriend fainted 2 nights ago. he hadn't eaten much that day apparently, drank 3 beers (5'10", about 170, and 35 years old.). We had sex at the end of the night and then got up to go to the bathroom almost immediately (maybe 5 mins max later) after but fainted... I wonder why this happens. he said he had had strong Deja Vu the week prior (came up in unrelated conversation but just read the association to epilepsy here). He has massive jerks (not always small twiches but sudden jerks of limps and contraction of his muscles at times) while falling asleep and sometimes while sleeping. Are these signs of epilepsy? he was out of it when he woke up from fainting. he was 'out' for about a min... took about 4 seconds to say 'something is not right' and fainted and I quickly grabbed his face and slapped him lightly and within 30 seconds he was waking up. he had a bit of a head ache after... what is the issue? his doctor (phone conversation) said it was just vasovagal syncope and not to worry since he is in good health normally. And not to worry unless it happens again but i hadnt mentioned the jerking while falling asleep or sleeping and didnt know deja vu had anything to do with any sort of diagnosis. What is the deal? could an expert please comment? I'll get him a doc appt asap...but in the meantime, some info would help! thanks.
Say Carly, I wouldn't worry that much. Twitching is quite normal when falling asleep. Most people know the feeling: that falling sensation while lying in bed, or the loss of balance when you're sitting down somewhere and you're really tired. Three beers on an empty stomach and sex afterwards can be a bit demanding. I'd twitch and probably faint myself. ;-)
It's impossible to swallow your own tongue unless it's cut off. It's attached you your mouth, and it's gonna stay there because of the muscle. If you put a spoon or something in there, they could bite too hard on it and break teeth or their jaw. And they may bite your fingers if you don't get them out.
The person must be roll to the left to prevent the upward movement of the gastric juices (HCL) that may cause aspiration to the patient.
Hi Lauren,
Cant help you very much as far as obtaining epilepsy etc is concerned...my only eperience of epilepsy is that my sister was epileptic from the age of 18 months to 25 years. I just wanted to reply to you because you asked whether a person could die from epilepsy. Sadly the answer is yes, and I lost my sister in January to epilepsy. As it stands her death certificate states natural death by epilepsy, but the coroner cannot give u anymore information...as far as they're concerned they can't find any reason for her dying other than just not coming round from the seizure, but they cannot figure out why she didn't come round.
In regards to your worry, about leaving an epileptic alone, I just wanted to say that it really does not matter if someone is with them or not. My sister did unfortunately die alone. She had just gotten some independence, her own little bungalow close to my parents, a puppy to look after etc...she was living her lie to the fullest she could even though she was severely hindered by her condition. She could've lived at home, had someone watching over her at every minute, been treated like a baby all her life, constantly having omeone with her, and she could still have had a fit and not come round from it. The only difference is she would've died not knowing some of the pleasures of being independent...going out with friends or a drink, walking the dog, cooking her own tea.
Epilepsy brings lots of problems, and sufferers and their families can be severely limited but I think it's important they should all live lie to the fullest regardless. I also wanted to point out (because I know some of this will probably have you worrying) that death through epilepsy and fits is rare. Very rare in fact. Its little known when someone does die from it, and my sisters doctor said that he'd only known two epileptics in his care to die in a thirty year time span. It is something that is probably in the back of every sufferer's head (and their families) and is something they can mentally prepare themselves for if you see what I mean, but very rarely actually happens.
I hope this has answered some questions for you, maybe put things into perspective. You'e going to worry, it's natural, but it really doesn't matter whether they're with someone or not, if they are one of the unlucky people who succumb to this disability then theres nothing anyone can do. We did eerything to ensure my sister had a fa ntastic life regardless, and it still took her from us despite everything we had done.
love n hugs
Hi - i know you aren't supposed to put anything in their mouth but isn't there a risk of them biting off their tongue? I always thought you were supposed to use a bite block. I also was under the misconception that you were supposed to restrain them to stop them from hurting themselves. If this only harms them further then is there anything else you can do to prevent them from hurting themselves during the seizure other than cusioning their head? - thanks
It has been said along the years that placing something in someone's mouth keeps them from swallowing their tongue. A person can not swallow their tongue because it is attached. Placing an object into a seizure patient's mouth can cause more harm like chipping their teeth and swallowing it's pieces causing them to choke! I am a seizure patient and have been for 21yrs as well as an Student RN so please don't stick anything into the the patients mouth!
re putting objects in peoples mouths during seizure - I've had 3 in last 2 months and each time i've badly bitten my tongue and/or bottom lip so if anything or anyone's fingers were in my mouth, they would have been mangled! apparently I've been havin petit mal fits for years (i jus called them my 'wee episodes') but have just started having generalised seizures, falling to floor unconcious, jerkin badly, incontinent, etc.... has me really worried. can't understand why this has suddenly become so much worse - anyone any ideas? is it something i've been doin? is there anythin i can do to stop them? haven't started medication yet as tests still ongoing - takes sooooo long to sort out. want my life back - have become really scared, don't like bein alone but don't want another one in work or in public..... life sucks!!!!
today apirl 13, 2009 my best friend katie had a seizure after running hard in athletics she has had one befor at our basckitball tornament but it was not as bad as this one. she lead down on the grownd and said she was tierd and started shaking and her eyes rolled back in her head and had 3 seizures in 4 mins. and i had read this web site after the first one and this time i knew what to do. katie is only 13 years old and the world would be lost with out her
-ariel
Hi,
I've a question on the first aid section: it seems to me that instead of calling an ambulance if you know it's a persons first seizure, you should always call an ambulance if you don't know for a fact the person has a history of epilepsy. What do you think?
Al
If ever you are not sure, call an ambulance. They will understand!
i though that inserting the patient's mouth will help them to prevent aspiration specially when their mouth is close, because my niece attacking seizure i put a small towel in her mouth because she produce saliva in her mouth..
i am an emt and you want to put the patient on their left side when you can, this is due to the fact that how the stomach is shaped. the stomach cavity itself goes towards the left side of the body. so turning the person on their side will help prevent putting pressure on the esophagus and causing vommitting ultimately compromising their airway.
I was just wondering, do you need to put something dark over the persons eyes? I mean like a cloth, obviously not restricting the breathing. I think someone said that to me somewhere, it sounds sane. But I would really like to know if that actually would help someone who is having an epileptic fit. Also is it possible to die of epilepsy?
Thank you,
mollie.
hi,
whenever I have fits in the night and I wake up in the darkness, it always makes me feel worse.
I don't know if it does for anyone else, it makes me feel really panicky.
and yes you can die from epilepsy unfortunately.
it's very rare to die from a convulsion alone though. It's normally due to injury that occurred during the seizure.
Wanting your PDF for others to understand what to do in case a friend has a seizure.
Thanks,
I have nocturnal tonic-clonic seizures, i can only have them when I'm asleep.
Does any one else have this complex?
someone i know had a seizure and started biting his tongue making it bleed during it. i wasn't sure whether i should have put my finger in his mouth to stop him hurting himself or not?
Hi
Yes, my son has noctornal tonic clonic seizures. They started whilst he was taking his GCSEs (thought it may have been stress) and he has had six in the last two years. All of them have been between 5 and 7 in the morning whilst asleep.
Obviously no explanation although he is on medication since his second a month or so after his first.
We attend clinic yearly but not much information is given.
Interesting to read that your son has seizures between 5-7am, my daughter also has them mainly at that time (she's like a personal alarm clock), although I'm not sure what type of epilepsy she has as it's quite a long winded sounding diagnosis that we received.
Having said that, she also has them at various others times, recently she had 9 in 14 hours and it's really hard to watch her go through it knowing there's nothing I can do.
I have recently asked for first aid training and support from others dealing with this condition and that's how I come to be here at this moment.
The worst thing for me is that my husband is disabled and also currently in plaster and cannot get upstairs to her bedroom quickly if I'm out, does anyone know of any help I can get from anywhere, as so far I've drawn a blank?
But I agree, you attend hospital, they ask you the standard same questions and send us home for 3-6 months, surely there must be more they can do or offer sufferers and their families.
It's very peculiar too as to why she's got it as it's not in my husbands family nor my family, so all very strange.
My biggest fear is that one fit will be one too many!
Hey, its very reassuring to hear you guys talk about seizures so casually. I am 19 and have seen a few in my day, but two nights ago, on Halloween, my girlfriend had a seizure for the first time ever (which was the most frightening thing) literally in my arms. We were all lying around her living room and i guess she was over hydrated and had dropped her sodium levels so low her body went into a seizure. It was interesting because it happened right when her friend took a picture of us (the flash). But right then, i saw her face, and my heart stopped. I immediately screamed for someone to get an ambulance and i grabed her head and laid her down on her side. I immidietly shoved my thumb (strongest finger) between her front teeth because i could already see blood in her mouth (i know there's a chance they could bite your finger off but i couldn't let her bite her tongue off). I don't think i restrained her but i guess i did pull head head in my direction trying to get her to look at me, which kinda worked by the way. I literally felt like i would talk to her at somepoints, but i guess that not very possible.
There was one point where i really got scared because she almost stopped breathing and i felt like she was leaving me.
Is it possible for a person to pass away from a normal seizure?
-thanx
PS. im not sure if it possible to find, but i will pray everyday for them to find a cure for epilepsy. I can't imagine how painful it has to be to see a loved you go through it repetitively.
I just witnessed my 1st seizure that my boyfriend had just the other morning in his sleep. It was the scariest, strangest thing I've ever seen, seems like a bad dream, and the coming out of it was just as scary, he didn't know who I was at one point. He bite his tongue also. I find myself watching his every move now thinking he's going into another seizure, yet I don't want to treat him any different than I did before, because I know I wouldn't want that if it were me. I wish I would've done more research on seizures, as he had told me about his seizures disorder, but had not had one for along time due to diet, exercise, and meds, so I figured it would never happen. I was glad he had it while in bed, it was easier to protect him from harm. To my surprise, I kept calm, and placed pillows around him to prevent hitting his head on the nightstand, and afterward while he was coming out of it, tried to keep him in bed and calmly talked to him. I'm glad to know now about the recovery position, one thing I didn't know. I hope this never happens again, but if it does I will be better prepared now that I've done my research, and I hope I'm always with him to help him through it.
I see a lot of comments about putting something in a persons mouth during a seizure. This is something you should deffinately NOT do. My daughter suffers from epilepsy and has tonic clonic seizures, drop episodes and absence periods along with temporary vision loss and one of the first things a consultant will teach you is to NEVER place any object or fingers in their mouth. It is an old wives tale that this will prevent swallowing of the tongue, however as any medical proffessional will tell you it is actually IMPOSSIBLE for a person to swallow their tongue. The only way a person could swallow their tongue would be to bite the tongue with enough force to sever it and this is also unheard of during a seizure. The term swallowing their tongue is actually better related to someone who is choking on vomit which is where the term comes from.
Hope this helps I know it is a frightening thing to witness.
It is interesting to hear that the seizures are at such a time, my daughter also suffers from seizures which generally tend to occur between 7 - 9am and then between 4-7pm. I totally understand how hard it is seeing your child go though such a thing especially as there isnt much you can do to help during a seizure. My daughter has a form of epilepsy which is said to be hereditary however, as far as I am aware there is no one on either mine or my husbands side of the family who suffer with it.
If you are looking for help, try contacting social services as Im sure they can assign a carer occasionally so that you can go about your day to day business. Also contact Disability Living Allowance, my daugher has recently starting receiving this and though them they have given me information on who to contact for help should it be needed. My daughter is also assigned a community epilepsy nurse consultant who regularly checks on her and offers support to the family and guidance on what help is available. She has also been into my daughters school and trained a few of the teachers on what to do in the event of a seizure, and all these little things help her lead a normal life. Your daughters consultant should be able to give you information about a community epilepsy nurse.
Hope this helps and hope she is doing well.
Hi,
Not sure if this is epilepsy or not...
My cousin was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and I have witnessed several of her fits. She is the only person I know with epilepsy and her grand mal seizures are the only kind I've witnessed first hand.
My boyfriend and I have started having sex recently and he regularly 'faints' if he gets too worked up. At least he thinks it's fainting from holding his breath unconsciously. He told me before we started and I was expecting him to maybe fall asleep or something. But they are more like my cousin's seizures. He stops breathing for a few minutes and 'shivers' or jerks about. Then after a while he will gasp for breath a couple of times and sort of move his mouth, but he can't talk properly. It doesn't last for more than a minute or so and he is very dizzy and sleepy for a while when he wakes up and his face is very cold. He was in a train accident a few years ago and banged his head pretty hard which he thinks may be the cause. He doesn't seem bothered by it, but I'm not sure whether to treat it as fainting or a seizure and whether he should get a medical check up?
I thought I should add that this is NOT an orgasm (I re-read it and thought it may confuse some people). This is just when we start messing about or even if I just tickle him for a while. It's also happened during the night when he's been asleep and it has woken me up.
some people have a vagal nerve stimulator i.e VNS , so you may find a magnet on their wrist to use to swip the vns in the chest wall helping to shorten the seizure and bring them round quicker. for more information go to.
http://www.vnstherapy.com -
My friend just started having seizures and is now being treated. If she is having a seizure while lying down her boyfriend puts her on her side during the seizure (he says so she doesn't choke on her saliva/tongue). Is this the correct thing to do or do you always wait til the person is done seizing? I have a sister that has epilepsy and we were never told to do this while she is having a seizure but then hers are more mild. Also during her seizure she bites her tongue really bad is there any way to prevent that? I think she bites on it cuz she gets put on her side while having the seizure.
As I was reading all of the posts about seizures on this website, yours stuck out to me the most. I just witnessed my boyfriend having a seizure today and I was so scared out of my mind. I just would like to ask you what are the exact steps you took, did you hold his hand? I was really not sure what to do, luckily his mom and family were around to help him. I know he is suppose to be on his side and have pillows all around. I feel bad because I am a little scared that he is going to do it again and it freaks me out. I want to no the exact steps to take so I can feel more compfortable with the situation. Anything you can add on this matter will really help me a lot. Thanks so much.
They say you can't restrain a person wile they are having a seizure, but what about if they are in an enclosed space, like a bus. When I was in mammoth a teenage boy had a seizure on the bus and the seats were made of hard plastic and he was sitting in the window seat and they restrained him. Was that ok?
I have 2 questions that I would love to have answered if possible!
1. Can drinking or smoking weed increase the chance of having an epileptic fit?
2. Is it possible for an epileptic person to lose the condition completely?
Hi Tim,
For most people epilepsy is a long term condition. There are some types of childhood epilepsy that can be outgrown. But for the majority of adults the condition is treated for life.
Some people who have been seizure free for a number of years may wish to try withdraw their anti-epileptic medication. But there can’t be any guarantees about whether or not someones seizures would return. It is important not to attempt to withdraw medication without specialist advice. A number of factors have to be considered, including whether there is a physical cause for the persons epilepsy and how long it took for the seizures to be controlled.
We have information on a drinking and smoking weed on our website, here are the links for you http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/sportsandleisure/alcohol
Diane
My mom has had epilepsy for a while and I myself have only seen the attacks a couple of times. She's reduced the medication (anti-epileptic) she was on because it stopped happening. A couple of nights ago though, she was very stressed out and it happened again. During the process, I saw her clenching her jaw a lot. I was afraid of her biting her tongue and - using what I had read before - placed a spoon between her teeth. I thought that was correct. According to what I read above, that is untrue. Although someone said it is an 'old wives tale,' isn't it still true that one can bite their tongue off?
Please answer, I really want to be ready next time it happens.
Additionally, I restrained my mom because by the way she was thrashing about, I was scared she would hurt herself. It seems like both things I have been doing are wrong...
And for all those others who have loved ones that have epilepsy - I understand what you are going through. Its so frightening to see a loved one go through this over and over again....Plain scared of what will happen.
Thank you so much for this article! I was drinking coffee with my husband and kids in a cafe one day when one of the patrons beside us had a sudden seizure. We were totally taken aback and didn't know what to do. The staff at the cafe were totally clueless too until one guy popped over and called the ambulance. There are a lot of people like me who are ill informed regarding such situations and your article really helped us a lot. Grateful, Patty
Hi Kira
It can be really frightening seeing someone you love have a seizure. If it’s a tonic-clonic seizure, although it looks painful to you, your mom won’t in fact be in any pain. She might be afterwards though, when her muscles could be stiff and sore.
It’s not a good idea to put anything in your mom’s mouth when she is having a tonic-clonic seizure. This is because you could break her teeth, damage her jaw, or even block her airway. Your mom’s tongue might be sore after a seizure, but we have never heard of anyone biting theirs off.
It’s not a good idea to restrain her in any way. Just make sure she is safe, and when the seizure us over, follow our first aid instructions.
Kathy
Advice and Information Team