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Epilepsy is an incurable disease and belongs to the category of chronic. Therefore, although there are many ways to help sick people, nevertheless, an attack can happen at any time.
In the past, an epileptic seizure led people astray and confusion, causing sacred fear. Now this disease is well studied, because according to WHO, more than 40 million people suffer from it. Therefore, even if there are no relatives with epilepsy in the immediate environment, it is still necessary to know the rules of first aid. After all, at any time it may be required even by a stranger.
Rules for first aid for epilepsy
How do you know if a person is having an epileptic seizure?
In order to suspect that a person will have an attack in the next few minutes and competently prepare for it, one should focus on such signs as:
Significant pupillary enlargement.
Untimely hyperactivity, or, conversely, drowsiness.
Unreasonable increase in the level of anxiety.
Increased irritability.
Lack of response to external stimuli.
How to properly prepare for an impending attack?
If there is a suspicion that a person is about to have a seizure, you need to prepare for it as quickly as possible.
For this you need:
Clear the surrounding area, remove or move potentially dangerous objects (with sharp corners, electrical appliances).
Ask the person if they have had seizures before (if there is no such information).
Free your neck from all things: take off your scarf, tie, unbutton your shirt.
Prepare a pillow, or any other soft object under the head.
Open windows in the room to allow maximum airflow.
Algorithm of actions during an attack
In order to competently provide first aid, it is important not to get confused and not start to panic.
To help maintain self-control, a clear understanding of what needs to be done during an attack will help:
Do not be afraid of the appearance of foam from the mouth and severe convulsions. This is normal in an epileptic seizure.
Make breathing as easy as possible for a person, you may need to take off your jacket, unfasten your pants belt.
You need to try to turn your head to one side, in any direction. But don’t push her too hard. In this case, it is necessary to hold the patient’s head on a raised platform so that saliva and tongue do not block the airways.
You can not keep a person in one position by force. Thus, it is possible to harm him in the form of a dislocation or a fracture of the bone.
If a person tightly clenched his jaw, then you should not open them. This action is absolutely meaningless, besides, it will not work to unclench your teeth during an attack.
You can’t drink a person.
There should always be something soft under his head.
If the jaws are not reduced, then it is advisable to place some not very hard object between the teeth. A tourniquet of any fabric will do. These actions are aimed at preventing tongue biting.
A person may experience short-term respiratory arrest during a seizure. To resume it, no action should be taken, after a few seconds it will return. All you need to do is check your pulse.
If involuntary urination occurs, then until the end of the attack, it is necessary to cover the bottom of the body with a cloth. This will save you from an additional irritant in the form of a smell and from an increase in the attack.
When there is no threat to the life of a person with whom a seizure has occurred, then there is no need to endure or move him until the moment the attack ends. If there is a danger (for example, the patient is in the water or on the roadway), then it is necessary to lift him by the armpits and drag him to another place, holding him by the torso.
Do not perform emergency resuscitation. There is no need for cardiac massage and artificial respiration. The exception is the case when water has entered the lungs of the patient.
It is inappropriate to offer the patient medicines. In any case, their action will begin when the attack is over.
All actions must be clear. In such a situation, there is no place for panic and turmoil.
When the epileptic seizure ended
When the attack is over, you can not leave a person alone with him.
In this case, you need to take the following actions:
The patient’s body will be in a relaxed state, so it will not be difficult to shift it to its side.
If everything happened on the street, and a crowd of curious people gathered around, then you need to ask them to disperse. This is done in order to ensure the psychological comfort of the epileptic. Only those from whom you can really get help should stay.
If the patient tries to get up and walk, then you need to give him support, because residual convulsions can last for about 15 minutes.
It may take up to 15 minutes for a person’s condition to return to normal.
You can’t force someone to take medicine. As a rule, such patients know very well what they need and, at the end of the attack, they will take the necessary pills on their own.
In order not to provoke a new attack, you can not drink coffee to the patient, offer him spicy or salty dishes.
If a person is in suitable conditions for this, then he needs to provide rest. Drowsiness is a completely normal reaction of the body to an attack that has occurred.
But sometimes it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance.
This is needed in the following cases:
The attack is long (more than 3 minutes).
The attack occurred with a child, an old man or a pregnant woman.
The man was seriously injured.
Breathing is not restored after a seizure.
The convulsions have stopped, and consciousness does not return to the person.
The attack occurred in the water, and she hit the patient in the lungs.
This is the first attack.
In other cases, you can manage on your own. Moreover, when consciousness returns to a person, he most often knows what needs to be done next.
Rules for first aid for epilepsy in infographics:
