Epilepsy: First Aid For Seizures

[Music] thank you people with epilepsy you may never know who they are because millions of people live with some form of this disorder and still lead normal lives most epileptic seizures can be controlled or prevented with medication most but not all for some people with epilepsy the control is not complete and an occasional seizure may still occur any time any place without warning then it's important to the person with epilepsy that someone there on the scene recognizes what is happening and knows what to do what happened I don't know help me get him down to the floor you're hunting my jacket what's that silver I think maybe we better call an ambulance has he had seizures before if he has I never knew about it you wanna move that chair back folks can you move back just a little bit we'll have to clear this area just keep him keeping some air there don't you think no no if we do that he might break his teeth on whatever we put in there there I think he's going to be all right now if you want to if you want to grab his arm and his knee there and help roll him up on his side here we'll make sure that he's breathing okay there we go keep his hair passage clear I think it's just about over now NCS yes he does have a tag on a medical alert yeah says he has epilepsy he never knew well he'll be all right we did what we should have we got him down on the floor we won't fall and hurt himself we're making sure that he's breathing okay that's the main thing a seizure like this just has to run its course the immediate first aid for a tonic clonic seizure protect the person from injury by getting them down on the floor play something soft under the head don't put anything in their mouth and turn the person on their side to make sure they can breathe properly [Music] usually the seizure is over by the time an ambulance arrives it's still important to call for help unless someone with the person has had experience with their seizures the emergency medical team will evaluate the person's condition tend any injuries and check for any after effects that might be a problem we helped him out did he get his head no device yeah Tony you know what it looked like do you know his address 1644 South 11th Street have you taken your medications I don't know okay how well do you know it's medic Grant no you know it's medical history at all any diabetic problems seizures anything you're aware of nothing that I know of no tell me what you saw what happened here well we were eating and he just started to stiffen Up and Shake did he start shaking on any particular side anywhere is more than another or described a little bit well I guess on his on his left side 130 over 50 on blood pressure and pulses 120 and regular he hurt himself at all you know he replies what's his name Tony how you doing can you hear me yeah you okay yeah yeah I'm okay now okay you know what happened to you I guess I guess I had a seizure yeah we had seizures before you were do you hurt anywhere you know what type of medication you're on yeah dilant how's your mouth you you're did you bite your tongue yeah he's dying for ready know your doctor's name Tony Dr Munson still any better toy yeah you know what happened I had a seizure this has happened to me before yeah never have them edit them once a seizure if the person has already been diagnosed as having epilepsy and is under treatment taking them to a hospital may not be necessary following the seizure there is often a period of time known as the post ictal State when the person is confused or disoriented 132 over 60. regular yeah I'm okay now no weakness but after a while if they seem to have recovered and someone is there to be responsible for them the person can usually be released at the location the medical team may require them to sign a release to take responsibility for the decision not to go to a hospital we're gonna have to have you sign this report it's all it states is that we offer you treatment and transportation at your refusing sure foreign [Music] state a what post ictal state which could mean he's confused and disoriented in that case they probably would insist on taking him to the hospital but if the sure that he's functioning normally again they might decide it's not necessary how do you know so much about this about a year ago we found out that Kathy has epilepsy Kathy Kathy is epilepsy she has seizures like these not like these but she was having seizures we don't know how long it had been going on her third grade teacher discovered it in school Erin would you read the next paragraph please feels like to eat fishes are cheaper it's explained and sometimes he can get them to do tricks Tigers don't have to do tricks they just sit and eat the raw meat notice boys and girls the quote marks around the sentence where someone's talking all right Kathy would you go on reading please you're in the wrong place would you try to pay better attention next time [Applause] absence or Petty Mall seizures are subtle and may go unnoticed a young child may only be aware that something has been missed and may be unable to recognize or explain that he or she is having one or more blackouts for small periods of time for the child having an absence or Petty Mall seizure this is how it may appear Aaron would you read the next paragraph please explain [Music] taggers don't have to do any tricks they just eat the raw meat very good boys and girls noticed the quote much where someone's talking Kathy would you go on the next paragraph please epileptic seizures occur because of excessive electrical discharges in the brain an electroencephalogram the process of recording brain waves is one of the major tools The Physician can use for diagnosis once epilepsy has been diagnosed medication can be prescribed to control a majority of seizures we're going through that experience how's she doing now she's on daily medication so in the last few months she's only had a few seizures and the school has been a lot of help too well everyone there knows that she has epilepsy and a seizure may occur so they make sure that she keeps up with the rest of the class then if Kathy feels like she might have missed something she has a friend next to her can show her where they are in the work and help her catch up it's a lot different for everyone when you know what's happening sometimes no one can know what's happening because everyone with epilepsy has a first seizure and the first is likely to be an unsettling experience for everyone foreign [Applause] Mary what's wrong with her I haven't any idea you better go back and get an ambulance there's an emergency number corn Mary people feel that they know what a seizure looks like but there are over 20 different types of seizures many of them with unfamiliar characteristics complex partial seizure like this could be mistaken at first for some other condition such as a mental breakdown or a drug problem most seizures have to run their course and the main thing to do until it's over or until medical help arrives is to protect the person from injury foreign did she fall or hit her head or anything like that no no not as far as I know the women you know instead they kind of looked up from their work and saw her stumbling around and kind of picking at her clothes and uh you know mumbling and that's when they came to get me Mary we call me this can you call that you're standing around they say you're real confused no anything like this ever happened before oh there's nothing in here to indicate any kind of a special medical problem see what day it is today December 20th do you know where you are you denying an accident lately or at your head or anything like that to take any medications for anything [Music] I don't want to go to the hospital really think it's important that you go down and get exam on this has never happened to you before we should find out what it caused why don't you go down when you go down with this okay okay why don't we go leading a normal life means having the chance to work for the person with epilepsy holding a job requires the acceptance and support of both the employer and others in the person's working environment okay you know Mary's coming back to work next week she's been gone for a medical leave for testing and I guess they found she has epilepsy epilepsy I remember that seizure she had here a couple weeks ago yeah all right now they have that kind of thing under control she's on medication and we don't really expect that thing to happen again what are we going to do if it does happen again okay it could happen again now if if it does then this is a kind of a thing I'd like to talk to you about I think the most important thing is that we don't panic so stay right at your jobs and one of you go over to her and kind of just be with her you know talk to her very quietly and stay with her then one of you come down and get me and if I'm not in the office get Mrs Taylor now you know we all know Mary is a good worker and we've just run into a problem here and I really think that we work on it together we can solve it okay okay [Music] epilepsy millions of people have it and living with this disorder will become a little easier as more people learn what epilepsy is all about and are able to provide the acceptance and support that people with epilepsy need to lead normal lives [Music] foreign [Music]