Tuesday, November 13, 2012

How To Help A Seizure Victim


Being new to the epilepsy world, I don't know if the word victim, in reference to someone having a seizure, is politically correct.  But, it's really the only way I know how to word it at this point.  And, for those of you who know me, I'm not all that concerned with being politically correct anyway.

My last post gave lots of information about the different kinds of seizures and I promised to follow up with information on how to help somebody who is actually having a seizure.  So, I'm going to restate the ways a seizure can present itself and then give ways to help after each one.


1.  Loss of Awareness/Consciousness (focal seizure) - A person suddenly interrupts an activity and stares blankly.  This may or may not be accompanied with fidgeting, like playing with fingers or buttons or lip smacking or chewing.  This can also cause strange sensations like smells or tastes.

If you come across somebody who is having a focal seizure just stay with them until they regain consciousness.  Time the seizure for them so they know approximately how long it lasted.  Once they regain consciousness ask them basic questions regarding their name, the date, etc....   Ask them if there's anybody you can call to sit with them if they need time to recover.  Stay with them until you know they are fully recovered as these seizures can sometimes be followed by tonic clonic seizures.

2.  Partial Body Convulsions/Involuntary Movement - Only part or one side of the body convulses or jerks, often rhythmically.  Sometimes people may collapse due to the kind of movement caused by the seizure.

Again, stay with them.  Time the seizure.  They may or may not know what's going on.  If they are unable to respond to you and the seizure has lasted more than a few minutes, it may be necessary to call for an ambulance as emergency medication might be necessary.  (I'm not as familiar with this kind of seizure, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.)  Once the seizure ends, stay with them until you are reassured that they have received the help they need.

3. Full Body Convulsions/Involuntary Movment - The entire body is convulsing or jerking.  The most obvious kind being Tonic Clonic (Grand Mal), which is a constant convulsion of the entire body. 

If a person presents with a full body, constant convulsion type of seizure, they will be completely unconscious and unable to respond.  First, clear the area, where they are laying, of any objects that they could bump into and cause injury.  Then, if possible, turn them to their left side and tip their chin down just slightly (as in CPR) to open up the airway.  Keep a hand on them and speak calmly to them.  Reassure them that they will be okay. And, in the mean time, time the seizure and call for emergency assistance if it lasts more than a few minutes.  If these seizures last too long, they could cause brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.  Stay with them until somebody they know is there to help.  This kind of seizure will often cause muscle pain and weakness as well as extreme fatigue once it's finished, so they will need assistance.  One other thing that everybody should know about tonic clonic seizures or any seizure for that matter.  People CANNOT swallow their tongue if they're seizing.  DO NOT EVER put any object in their mouth to hold their tongue down.  It could seriously injure or even kill them.  Like everybody else, they need their mouth clear of objects so they can breathe.


So, there you have it - the basics to handling a seizure.  Please know that I am not a physician and that I am new to the world of epilepsy and seizures.  This is the basics as I understand it.  I'm sure that when it comes to describing the types of seizures I've given some inaccurate information.  But, like I said, we really just need to know how to respond and I just told you everything the hospital told me so I should be good on that side of things.  The important thing is to be there for the person, help keep them safe, time the seizure and call for medical help if necessary.  And again, don't put anything in their mouth.  EVER.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Seizures



Like I said in my last post, over two million Americans struggle with epilepsy.  The problem is that most people wouldn't know what to do if they came in contact with somebody having a full blown tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure.  It's a scary thing that I haven't personally experienced and I honestly hope I never do.  But, because of my sons condition, I have to be prepared for the worst case scenario and so should you.  And once you are prepared, not only could you help a person who is having a seizure, I can also add you to my babysitting list.  It's pretty short, at this point, for this very reason, and I wouldn't mind having a nice long date with my honey.

With that, I want to share with you what I know about seizures.  My seizure knowledge is actually pretty basic.  I watched a couple of videos about seizures before Levi was released from the hospital in July and other than a couple of questions to Dr.Q. that's all the training I got.  But, it's really all I needed.  So, I'm going to share that with you.

Seizure Basics

There are several kinds of seizures that each present differently.  I stole the following chart off of WebMD.

Generalized Seizures
(Produced by the entire brain)
Symptoms
1.Tonic-Clonic "Grand Mal"Unconsciousness, convulsions, muscle rigidity
2. AbsenceBrief loss of awareness, can include fidgeting
3. MyoclonicSporadic (isolated), jerking movements
4. ClonicRepetitive, jerking movements
5. TonicMuscle stiffness, rigidity
6. AtonicLoss of muscle tone


Partial Seizures
(Produced by a small area of the brain)
Symptoms
1. Simple(awareness is retained)
a. Simple Motor
b. Simple Sensory
c. Simple Psychological
a. Jerking, muscle rigidity, spasms, head-turning
b. Unusual sensations affecting either the vision, hearing, smell taste, or touch
c. Memory or emotional disturbances
2. Complex
(Impairment of awareness)
Automatisms such as lip smacking, chewing, fidgeting, walking and other repetitive, involuntary but coordinated movements
3. Partial seizure with secondary generalizationSymptoms that are initially associated with a preservation of consciousness that then evolves into a loss of consciousness and convulsions.


So, as you see, there are ALL KINDS of seizures.  I honestly don't completely understand how everything is categorized, but the way I understand it is that seizures can cause three basic categories of physical reactions and it's the reactions that we need to be aware of, not the fancy names or what exactly is happening in the brain.  So here they are, in my own words:

1.  Loss of Awareness/Consciousness - A person suddenly interrupts an activity and stares blankly.  This may or may not be accompanied with fidgeting, like playing with fingers or buttons or lip smacking or chewing.  This can also cause strange sensations like smells or tastes.

2.  Partial Body Convulsions/Involuntary Movement - Only part or one side of the body convulses or jerks, often rhythmically.  Sometimes they may collapse due to the kind of movement caused by the seizure.

3. Full Body Convulsions/Involuntary Movment - The entire body is convulsing or jerking.  The most obvious kind being Tonic Clonic (Grand Mal), which is a constant convulsion of the entire body. I'm pretty sure that Levi's seizures fit in this category. They were not tonic clonic as he was not constantly convulsing.  But, although it looked like only his head and arms were moving, when I held him I could actually feel his entire body jerking with each seizure.

A person's seizures can present in just one of these ways or in multiple ways.  For instance, it is not uncommon for a focal (staring) seizure to be followed by a tonic clonic seizure.

So, there you go.  That's everything I know about seizures and what happens if somebody is having one.  And, no, I didn't share what you should do if somebody is having a seizure.  This post is getting to be pretty long so I guess you'll just have to stay tuned!