If the person isn't alone and you're told the person is known for having seizures and you don't have anything to do except wait, don't do anything.

Personally, I'm stressed when someone stays because I hear noises even if I can't understand or identify the sounds, but it depends on everyone.

Don't panic and don't let people come close.

If the person is alone and doesn't have a medical safety helmet, your priority should always be to protect the head first.

Put a pillow or clothes under their head without holding it. If you don't have anything, put your hand on the ground to limit the damages. Once again, don't hold any part of the body!

Check if nothing's making the person suffocate and secure the space around them.

Look at their wrists asap to see if they have a bracelet. If they're epileptic, there's a chance they have one with instructions to follow and a number to call.

Really important element: look at what time it is precisely as fast as you can after protecting the head if it's been needed.

If nothing's indicated and the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes or if the person is hurt, call the ER immediately.

The recovery position is often the first thing people think about, but way often it's better not to do it. Here's why.

In my case, moving me on the side compresses my rib cage, preventing me from breathing and making the seizure last longer.

Don't forget that a chronically ill person often has underlying conditions.

Avoid stimulus as much as possible, as it's triggering seizures to lots of person and could make it last longer or begin a second seizure.

You have to know that many people don't faint during a seizure. So a simple gesture could been seen as an aggression attempt. Don't do any useless move.

If you see a store sign or something close with really bright colors or flashing lights, find a position so that your body can hide it and the person doesn't see it anymore.

It can eventually help prevent another seizure or make this one shorter. It's the most effective thing to do in this case.

It's easy to do, but most people don't think about it, so please keep this in mind!

A person having a seizure CAN'T swallow their tongue.

Lots of people believe this, yet it's not true and really dangerous.

You should NEVER put your fingers or anything else in their mouth!

Stay with them until the end of the seizure, without any other contact.

I know it's different for everyone, but in my case I just want to say that hearing stuff like "breathe, it's gonne be ok" is more stressful than anything. It doesn't help, I can't control.

Of course other people can find it reassuring, it really depends!

Anyway, if someone you know is dealing with seizures, ask them what's appropriate to do in case one happens while you're around.

It's always better to know in advance, if that's possible!

Then, when the seizure is done, don't try to make them get up asap.

That could lead to a new seizure, so be careful. They need time.

You can ask if they need anything, you just have to follow and respect what they say.

After a seizure, I stay down for a while, then my fiancee helps me sit a bit longer and then she helps me get up. Don't do it in a hurry.

If they're confused, help them get their landmarks back slowly.

If you see them falling again after standing up, try to accompany the fall to make it softer. Avoid any unnecessary or gripping move.

The priority always remains the head safety.

If the person is unconscious after the seizure, check their pulse and breathing.

If everything's ok, wait for a bit. If they don't wake up within ten minutes, call the ER if nothing else is indicated.

Important thing to know: after a seizure, many folks just fall asleep. A seizure is really exhausting.

If someone is having a seizure on the road, try calling out passerby to block the area where the person is until they're able to move by themselves.

Moving a person during a seizure is extremely dangerous and raises the risk of hurting them.

Don't do it unless it's vital (around a fire for example)

If you have to do it, you must be very cautious and move without any rough movement.

In general, you most likely won't need to call the ER. If the person is known for being epileptic / having some different kind of seizure and nothing unusual happened during this one, it's not necessary.

However, if it's their first seizure, it would be safer to see a doctor soon to check it up and make sure it's not a symptom of something else.

It's very important to know what to do during a seizure, because it can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone.

Witnessing a generalized tonic-clonic eizure for the first time can be impressive.

That makes me think of one nurse at the sleep clinic.

She came into my room and put the lights on, which triggered 3 seizures. She's been crying a lot, holding my hand, telling me she didn't know what to do

and how sorry she was.

I understand that.

If I use this example, it's just to mention that at least since you read this thread, you won't make this kind of mistake.

So I'm mentioning it again: no physical contact and no stimulus in general during a seizure, don't hold any part of the body.

It wasn't her fault and I know she did her best, just saying in case she finds this thread!

To end this thread, I'm addressing those last post to my epileptic siblings, and other people having seizures.

In case you don't know about it, medical safety helmets exist and can be a relief. That's my case since I've started wearing mine a few weeks ago.

Lots of them exist, I'll write a thread about this specifically when I'll have the spoons. I bet you'll be surprised!

The only thing I can suggest otherwise is to get a bracelet with instructions and the phone number of the person you want people to call in case you're having a seizure.

Thanks for reading me, I hope it's been helpful!

@Cyborgneticz Thank you! It's always good for me when an epileptic person agrees on this.

Same I can't breathe I'm always in apnea and can't swallow either. Thankfully nobody tried to make me drink, but I'm always with my fiancee on the phone when she can't come with me, so I put her on speaker if I start feeling weird or feel like I'm gonna fall. So she can tell people no nd come asap

@Testoceratops aah I have Lennox gastaut so no auras :(
It'd be nice, although now I have VNS so my seizures thankfully are way easier to manage

I'm glad you have that system with your fiancee! It's so essential to have people who can advocate because lord people don't know

@Cyborgneticz Thank you! I'm way reassured!

I'm glad to read that it's easier to manage now. Wish you could get what's needed for you!

@Testoceratops I bet!

I'm much better now. I used to have 15-30 absence seizures a day, 1 tonic clonic a week. Now with my implant I have maybe one or two absence seizures a year, one tonic clonic every few years. Headaches still around, but medical tech is truly remarkable. Went from not supposed to graduate highschool to getting a PhD!

@Cyborgneticz Awesome progress! I'm really happy for you!

I have a generalized tonic-clonic one almost every day or sometimes up to 4 in a single day, so that's exhausting.

Also I suffer from nocturnal epilepsy (it's localized, not generalized thankfully), approximately 3 to 4 seizures per night in general so I can't sleep correctly

@Testoceratops ty ty

Ugh Im sorry tonic clonics are so exhausting and painful. 3-4 a night sounds awful
I hadnt heard of nocturnal epilepsy before, it amazed me just how many variations of epilepsy there are
Brains are magical, in their own pain in the ass way

I hope you and your neurologist team find a treatment program that works for you 🤞

@Cyborgneticz Thanks a lot! I'm meeting an epileptologist on Tuesday, hopefully they'll be able to help! 🍀

Yeah nocturnal epilepsy doesn't seem to be really known, I'm gonna ask if anyone would be interested if I wrote a thread about it!

@Testoceratops I'll be hoping for you 💜

I'm sure people would! There's a good disabled community, and brain shit is so interesting