Have you ever witnessed someone having a seizure? What did you do? The first time I saw a convulsion, I was very young. It was very terrifying, and I vividly recall every minute of the event. A man who was a distant relative would come to our home sometimes very early in the morning. One particular morning, as my mum served him some tea, he fell without warning and his whole body was moving violently and without coordination. I was extremely terrified as my mother remained calm and handled the situation. After the fit, the man woke up, sat, and asked for his tea.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew that he had epilepsy, but it was my first time to witness it. Now that I am a medical student it surprises me how much misinformation and myths there are regarding convulsions and epilepsy. We all somehow believed that this man was cursed. Many people would not want him to visit their home because they didn’t want him to have one of his episodes in their home. I realize now that just like mental illnesses, epilepsy has a lot of stigma and misinformation attached to it.
Today we’ll share on how to help someone when they are having a seizure or what to do when you witness someone having a convulsion.
What to do:
The first and the most important thing you should do is to remain calm. Do not panic. You will only be able to help the victim if you remain calm and take charge of the situation. When you are calm, you will not miss out on important details. Also do not run away. It is a privilege to help a victim at this time since they can’t really help themselves. You are their hero at that moment so don’t run; be a hero. If you are all alone when this happens and you are not sure what to do, you can shout for help.
Don’t panic, because everything is probably alright, and if it’s not, panicking will make it worse.Emily Barr
It is also important to note that once a convulsion begins it is very hard to stop it. There is not much you can do to stop the convulsion from happening once it begins. The best you can do is to prevent the person from getting hurt during the convulsion. Most of the decisions you make during this time should be aimed at keeping that person safe.
- Make sure that the environment is safe for them
Keep people out of the way. People tend to crowd when something like this happens. It is important to make sure that you don’t attract too much attention to the victim. Take charge and assign people roles so that they are not just staring but helping. If the person is on the road, you can ask some of them to help to signal the vehicles to slow down. Other people can help move away any hard or sharp objects like stones that could harm the victim. Someone else can help keep their belongings safe and look for anything that could help identify who the victim is. Some patients usually have medical bracelets or identifications that tell you what they are suffering from, what to do in case of an emergency and whom to call. Finding this information can save their life. Ensuring their belongings are safe is important because people tend to take advantage of the situation to rob victims off their belongings.
It is also important to make sure that the victim does not have any tight clothing around the neck as this can easily occlude their airway and prevent them from breathing. As you assign roles, take note of the events, the progression and duration of convulsion.
2. Positioning the victim
Sometimes you may notice that someone is about to fall, you should catch them to prevent them from falling and lay them on the ground gently. Once the convulsion begins you should only move the victim if they are in danger e.g. they are near a fire or a hot stove or in the middle of a very busy road. You can cushion their head using clothing or something soft to avoid injury to the head. If their head is not moving, turn it to the side to prevent aspiration. When the convulsion stops, place the victim in the recovery position. The image below shows how to do that.
What NOT to do:
- Do not try and hold them down
Never try to stop the jerking movements when someone is having a convulsion. Do not also try to make them come round. Don’t restrain them in any way. Allow them to have the convulsion.
2. Do not put anything in their mouth
This is the most common thing people do when someone gets a convulsion. Avoid doing this because you could damage the victim’s teeth, or they could bite you. Do not also try to force their mouth open.
3. Do not give them mouth to mouth breaths or CPR
The victim will usually start breathing on their own after the convulsion. If the victim has trouble breathing after the convulsion you can gently try to clear any secretions from their mouth.
4. Do not give them anything to eat or drink
Doing this while they are having the convulsion can cause the food or the drink to go into their airway instead of the food pipe. This aspiration of food contents into their airway is very dangerous. Therefore, wait until they have completely recovered from the convulsion to give them something to eat or drink.
5. Do not leave them alone
As I said earlier, at that moment you are the victim’s hero. Stay with them until they have completely recovered. Some of the victims will not recall any of the events so it is important to explain it to them calmly and slowly until they understand. Reassure them that they are now safe. You can help them get home or ask them if there is anyone you can call for them. Do not run away from them. Epilepsy and convulsions are usually not contagious.
