First Aid

The reason is that all of these situations change your brain’s excitability. Your brain is very sensitive to these changes, and if there is a big enough change from normal, you may begin to have a seizure. Emotional stress also can lead to seizures.

Place something soft under their head and loosen any tight clothing. Reassure the person until they recover. Time the seizure, if you can. Gently roll the person onto their side after the jerking stops.

1. Keep other people out of the way.
2. Clear hard or sharp objects away from the person.
3. Don’t try to hold them down or stop the movements.
4. Place them on their side, to help keep their airway clear.
5. Look at your watch at the start of the seizure, to time its length.
6. Don’t put anything in their mouth.

For someone having a generalized tonic-clonic seizure:

1. Give them room. Keep other people back.
2. Clear hard or sharp objects, like glasses and furniture, away.
3. Cushion their head.
4. Loosen clothing around their neck, if you can safely.
5. Don’t try to hold them down or stop their movements.

Medicines used to treat epilepsy Carbamazepine, clobazam, clonazepam, eslicarbazepine, ethosuximide, gabapentin, lacosamide, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, perampanel, phenobarbital, phenytoin, pregabalin, primidone, rufinamide, sodium valproate, tiagabine, topiramate, vigabatrin and zonisamide.

Loss of memory and postictal state and even brain injury may result, as well as aspiration pneumonia, and if prolonged, rhabdomyolysis. If a seizure does not stop, it can lead to status epilepticus. There may be an increased risk of Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).