First aid for seizures

This information is aimed at prisoners with epilepsy. More on first aid.

First aid for seizures (fits) with full loss of consciousness

This is what you should do

• Call for help
• Protect the person from injury
• Remove harmful objects from nearby
• Cushion their head with something like a pillow, or your hands
• Turn them on their side once the seizure has finished
• Stay with them until they have fully recovered

And this is what you should not do

• Don’t try to stop the seizure or hold the person down
• Don’t put anything in their mouth
• Don’t try to move them unless they are in danger
• Don’t give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
• Don’t try to bring them round

First aid for seizures (fits) without full loss of consciousness

This is what you should do

• Stay calm
• Guide the person from danger
• Remember that they might not know what’s going on
• Stay with them until they have fully recovered

And this is what you should not do

• Don’t try to stop the seizure or hold the person down
• Don’t act in a way that could frighten them
• Don’t give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
• Don’t try to bring them round

When you should call for emergency medical care

• If one seizure follows another without the person gaining awareness between seizures, or
• If the person is injured during the seizure

Information checked and approved for accuracy by the Primary and Social Care review board, Department of Health.