{"id":1098,"date":"2021-04-26T13:46:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T18:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/?p=1098"},"modified":"2021-04-26T13:46:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T18:46:22","slug":"first-aid-for-seizures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/first-aid-for-seizures\/","title":{"rendered":"First Aid for Seizures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Seizures are sudden electrical disturbances in the brain that cause temporary changes in movement, behavior, and consciousness. While seizures can be a one-time occurrence\u2014often induced by strokes, head injuries, drug withdrawal, or high fever\u2014when a person has reoccurring seizures without an obvious cause, it\u2019s classified as epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p>Seizures are surprisingly common. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epilepsy.com\/learn\/about-epilepsy-basics\/who-gets-epilepsy#:~:text=Seizures%20and%20epilepsy%20are%20more,may%20be%20at%20greater%20risk.\">Epilepsy Foundatio<\/a>n, \u201cAbout 1 in 100 people in the U.S. has had a single unprovoked seizure or has been diagnosed with epilepsy.\u201d Seizures can be terrifying experiences, both for the victim and for the people around them, but knowing how to react will help you stay calm and keep further harm from coming to the victim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Recognize a Seizure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The signs of a seizure will depend on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/epilepsy\/about\/types-of-seizures.htm\">type of seizure<\/a>, but look for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Staring or \u201czoning out\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Confusion<\/li>\n<li>Loss of consciousness<\/li>\n<li>Collapsing<\/li>\n<li>Jerking movement of the limbs<\/li>\n<li>Trouble breathing or inability to breathe<\/li>\n<li>Loss of control of bodily functions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What to Do When Someone Has a Seizure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve identified that someone around you is having a seizure, stay calm, and do your best to keep others around you from crowding the victim. Note when the seizure started, or have another bystander keep track of the time. Not only is this important information for doctors and the victim to know, but it can also help you determine if the seizure is a medical emergency.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure the victim is laying down in a safe place and there\u2019s nothing around them that could hurt them\u2014protect them from heights, sharp objects, and corners. If they\u2019re not awake or aware of what\u2019s happening, lay the person on their side so saliva or vomit doesn\u2019t obstruct their breathing. Cushion their head with something soft, and stay with the victim throughout their seizure. Once they\u2019re fully awake, reassure them of their safety and explain to them what happened.<\/p>\n<p>During a seizure, don\u2019t hold the victim down, and don\u2019t put anything in their mouth\u2014despite popular myth, you can\u2019t actually swallow your tongue. Putting something in a seizure victim\u2019s mouth could cause them to break their teeth or choke on the foreign object.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When to Call 911<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Knowing when a seizure is abnormal is just as important. Call 911 if:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes<\/li>\n<li>The victim has repeated seizures<\/li>\n<li>The victim has trouble breathing even after the seizure has passed<\/li>\n<li>The victim is injured<\/li>\n<li>This is the victim\u2019s first seizure<\/li>\n<li>The seizure occurs in water<\/li>\n<li>The victim is pregnant, diabetic, or suffering from cardiovascular disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Want more information on first aid for medical emergencies? Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/blog\/\">Specialized Health and Safety blog<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/cpr-aed-course\/\">schedule a class<\/a> for some hands-on experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seizures are sudden electrical disturbances in the brain that cause temporary changes in movement, behavior, and consciousness. While seizures can be a one-time occurrence\u2014often induced by strokes, head injuries, drug withdrawal, or high fever\u2014when a person has reoccurring seizures without an obvious cause, it\u2019s classified as epilepsy. Seizures are surprisingly common. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, \u201cAbout 1 in 100 &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/first-aid-for-seizures\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specializedhealthandsafety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}