What to do if you have a seizure for the first time?

The type of seizure depends on the cause. If you have a seizure for the first time, get medical attention as soon as possible. A healthcare professional can help determine the underlying cause and provide a treatment plan, if needed.

What do you do after a first seizure?

“If someone around you has a seizure, first focus on making sure he is safe,” she says. “Put a pillow behind his head so he doesn't hurt himself. Don't hold him down and never put anything in his mouth. Once it's over, the person may be very disoriented.”

Should you go to the hospital if you have a seizure?

Most seizures last between 30 seconds and two minutes and will not require any emergency medical attention. However, if someone is experiencing a seizure that lasts longer than two minutes, or they lose consciousness and it does not come back right after the seizure, you should call 911 right away.

What can cause a seizure out of nowhere?

Seizures in adults with no seizure history can be caused by a number of factors ranging from high blood pressure, drug abuse and toxic exposures to brain injury, brain infection (encephalitis) and heart disease.

What is the first step if someone is having a seizure?

If they are at risk of falling or having a convulsive seizure or tonic-clonic seizure: Lay them down on the floor. Put something small and soft under the head. Turn them on their side with their mouth pointing toward the ground.

What To Do If Someone Has A Seizure - First Aid Training - St John Ambulance

Is it OK to sleep after a seizure?

After the seizure: they may feel tired and want to sleep. It might be helpful to remind them where they are. stay with them until they recover and can safely return to what they had been doing before.

How long does it take to recover after a seizure?

Some people feel better after an hour or 2, but for some people it can take several days to feel 'back to normal'. Some people find they have temporary weakness or can't move part of their body after they've had a seizure.

Can anxiety cause seizures?

If you have already been diagnosed with epilepsy then yes, anxiety can cause seizures. Severe stress is a very common seizure trigger, and those with severe anxiety often experience severe stress. However, it should be noted that this is far more common with those who already have epilepsy.

What happens to your body after a seizure?

As the seizure ends, the postictal phase occurs - this is the recovery period after the seizure. Some people recover immediately while others may take minutes to hours to feel like their usual self.

Are seizures painful?

In general, the actual experience of having a seizure does not hurt. Pain during seizures is rare . Some types of seizures make you lose consciousness.

Are seizures an emergency?

A seizure is considered an emergency when it lasts a long time or when seizures occur close together and the person doesn't recover between seizures. Just like there are different types of seizures, there are also different types of emergencies.

Should I call 911 for a seizure?

Seizures do not usually require emergency medical attention. Only call 911 if one or more of these are true: The person has never had a seizure before. The person has difficulty breathing or waking after the seizure.

Did I just have a seizure?

Seizure signs and symptoms may include: Temporary confusion. A staring spell. Uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs.

Can a seizure be a one off?

Anyone can have a one-off seizure, but epilepsy is a tendency to have seizures. So you probably wouldn't be told you have epilepsy unless you have more than one seizure. When someone first says they think you have had a seizure, you might feel lots of different things.

Can a doctor tell if you've had a seizure?

Electroencephalogram (EEG) – Using electrodes attached to your head, your doctors can measure the electrical activity in your brain. This helps to look for patterns to determine if and when another seizure might occur, and it can also help them rule out other possibilities.

What are the chances of having a second seizure?

The chance of another seizure can range from 16% to 61%, depending on the circumstances surrounding the seizure and results of a neurological exam or other tests.

Can stress cause a seizure?

Emotional stress also can lead to seizures. Emotional stress is usually related to a situation or event that has personal meaning to you. It may be a situation in which you feel a loss of control. In particular, the kind of emotional stress that leads to most seizures is worry or fear.

Can dehydration cause a seizure?

If left untreated, severe dehydration can be serious and cause fits (seizures), brain damage and death.

How does a seizure feel?

Some seizures cause the body to jerk and shake (a "fit"), while others cause problems like loss of awareness or unusual sensations. They typically pass in a few seconds or minutes. Seizures can occur when you're awake or asleep. Sometimes they can be triggered by something, such as feeling very tired.

What do mini seizures look like?

Absence seizures involve brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. They're more common in children than in adults. Someone having an absence seizure may look like he or she is staring blankly into space for a few seconds. Then, there is a quick return to a normal level of alertness.

How can seizures be prevented?

Do people remember seizures?

In focal aware seizures (FAS), previously called simple partial seizures, the person is conscious (aware and alert) and will usually know that something is happening and will remember the seizure afterwards. Some people find their focal aware seizures hard to put into words.

Will I ever get memory back after seizure?

You may have difficulty remembering information straight after a seizure. This is sometimes called post-ictal confusion and it usually goes away once you have recovered. The length of time it takes for memory to return to normal can vary from person to person.

Can you get brain damage from seizures?

Most types of seizures do not cause damage to the brain. However, having a prolonged, uncontrolled seizure can cause harm. Because of this, treat any seizure lasting over 5 minutes as a medical emergency.

Do you need to call an ambulance if someone has a seizure?

Call for an ambulance if any of these things apply:

The seizure lasts for more than 5 minutes. They have one tonic-clonic seizure after another without regaining consciousness between seizures. They are seriously injured during the seizure. They have trouble breathing after the seizure has stopped.