First aid for seizures
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 for people who use a wheelchair
- 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, or
- The seizure continues for more than five minutes, or
- One tonic-clonic seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness between seizures, or
- The person is injured during the seizure, or
- You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
Focal (partial) seizures
Sometimes the person may not be 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 for people who use a wheelchair
If you use a wheelchair, or you have other mobility problems, speak to your GP or epilepsy specialist. They should give you a care plan, which includes advice on how people should help you if you have a seizure.
Here are some general first aid guidelines for people who have a seizure in a wheelchair.
Do...
- Put the brakes on, to stop the chair from moving
- Allow the person to remain seated in the chair during the seizure (unless they have a care plan which says to move them). Moving the person could possibly lead to injuries for the person having the seizure and the carer
- If the person has a seatbelt or harness on, leave it fastened
- if the person doesn’t have a seatbelt or harness, support them gently, so they don’t fall out of the chair
- Cushion the person’s head and support it gently. A head rest, cushion or rolled up coat can be helpful
The person’s care plan should give advice on what to do after the seizure has finished. For example, whether it is safe to move the person from the chair to put them in the recovery position.
Don't...
- Restrain the person’s movements
- Put anything in the person’s mouth
- Give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
- Attempt to bring them round
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.
Pay it forward
This resource is freely available as part of Epilepsy Action’s commitment to improving life for all those affected by epilepsy.
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We can provide references and information on the source material we use to write our epilepsy advice and information pages. Please contact our Epilepsy Helpline by email at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk.
This information has been produced under the terms of The Information Standard.
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Updated August 2013To be reviewed August 2016
Comments: read the 2 comments or add yours
Comments
Hi, one of my close friends at school recently had a seizure in one of my classes and it was a terrifying experience, she's been to the docotors and they don't know if she'll have another one or not. This has really got to me as I'm one of her good friends and sit next to her in a lot of my lessons. It makes me nervous and worried when I'm around her and I don't know what to do about it. What do I do if she has one and I'm sat next to her in a lesson?
Hi Nina
Thanks for asking us. It’s great that you want to support your friend.
It can be very scary to see someone having a seizure, especially when it’s someone you care about.
Here is our information about first aid. There are different types of seizures so make sure you are looking at the information for the right kind. Definitely ask your friend what you can do to help. She may have been given some particular information by her doctor.
You could help her by making sure she is safe and not banging into anything. And make sure that a teacher knows as quickly as possible that she is having a seizure.
And the best thing you can do is to be supportive to her. So talking together about what it feels like and what her concerns are, helping her to talk to other people in the class would be brilliant. And if she is having any problems that you can’t work out together, maybe encourage her to go to a member of staff who she feels comfortable with.
And if you have worries that you don’t feel it would be a good idea to share with your friend, maybe you could find an adult either at school or in your family to talk to about them.
As well as our main site, you might also want to look at our website for young people.
Also you or your friend are very welcome to ring our freephone epilepsy helpline if you still have worries or questions.
Cherry
Advice and Information Team