What Is a Seizure? How To Help Someone Having a Seizure?

Posted on: Nov 15, 2022 | | Written by:

What Is a Seizure? How To Help Someone Having a Seizure?

Published on November 15, 2022. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Seizure and How to Help Someone Having Seizure

Good health is a fundamental human right. We all strive to keep ourselves in the prime of health by exercising, following a healthy diet and avoiding vices like smoking and drinking. However, some conditions are unavoidable due to a number of factors like family history and genetic predisposition. According to a report, nearly 30 to 40 percent of patients diagnosed with epilepsy are due to genetic predisposition. Having a family member diagnosed with seizures can be emotionally and financially draining. A financial backup such as a Mediclaim policy or a critical illness insurance policy can give you peace of mind instead of worrying about the finances involved in the treatment.

1. What is Seizure?

A sudden uncontrolled electrical anomaly in the brain is called a seizure. The effects of this anomaly include changes in one’s behaviour, movements and feelings. Seizures can also cause changes in one’s level of consciousness. If a person has 2 or more seizure episodes in a span of 24 hours, which are not due to any identifiable causes, it is considered to be epileptic in nature.

2. Types of seizures

There are 2 main types of seizures:

Focal Seizures:

Focal seizures occur when there is abnormal or faulty electrical activity in one focal region of the brain. Such seizures are further classified into 2 sub-types: Focal Seizures with impaired awareness and Focal Seizures without loss of consciousness.

● Focal Seizures with impaired awareness:

These seizures alter one’s state of consciousness. One may also experience a loss of consciousness completely. To the onlooker, you may seem to be awake. However, there is a possibility that one is staring into space. In many cases, the sufferer cannot normally respond to your environment. These seizures may also be accompanied by repetitive movements such as rubbing of the hands, involuntary mouth movements, a repetition of garbled or clear words, etc.

● Focal Seizures without loss of consciousness:

These types of seizures can cause a change in behaviour and emotional awareness. The patient’s five senses of touch, smell, sight, taste and auditory stimuli can also be affected. The primary difference is that these types of seizures do not cause a loss of consciousness. This means that the patient will be conscious yet acting erratically for the duration of the episode.

Generalised Seizures:

When seizures occur due to abnormal electrical impulses centred in multiple brain quadrants, they’re termed Generalised Seizures. The following are the types of generalised seizures.

● Absence Seizures:

Also known as petit mal seizures, these usually occur in infants and children. A child may be seen staring into space or suffering from involuntary bodily movements. This could include smacking of the lips and rapid eye movements. They can occur multiple times in a day, and last between 5 to 10 seconds.

● Tonic Seizures:

Stiffening of the muscles in the back, arms, and legs are the main symptoms of Tonic Seizures. In some instances,Tonic Seizures can cause a lack of balance and loss of consciousness.

● Atonic Seizures:

Atonic Seizures can cause loss of motor movement, spasms and loss of balance. This kind of seizure may or may not cause a lack of consciousness.

● Clonic Seizures:

Involuntary facial twitches and repetitive muscle jerking are two hallmarks of Clonic Seizures. They can affect the face, neck and arms, irrespective of the side of the body.

● Myoclonic Seizures:

Schseizures are characterised by involuntary, sudden, brief twitches in the arms and legs. These seizures do not cause a lack of consciousness.

● Tonic-Clonic Seizures:

Tonic-Clonic seizures can last several minutes and include stiffening of multiple joints and uncontrollable shaking.Patients can also lose bladder control and bite their tongues in severe cases. Tonic-Clonic Seizures almost always cause a lack of consciousness.

3. First aid for any type of seizure

First aid is one of the most important medical actions performed within minutes of an episode. These are the general Do’s in case you are faced with a person having a seizure episode.

1. Gently lay the person on the floor.

2. Turn the person gently over to one side. This will ease their breathing.

3. Clear the area around the person giving him/her space to breathe.

4. Clear the area around the person of any sharp or hard object to avoid injury.

5. Cushion the person’s head with something soft like a rolled-up jacket or towel.

6. Remove eyeglasses, if any.

7. Remove, or at the very least, loosen any ties around the person’s neck and unbutton the top buttons of their clothing.

8. Time the seizure. If the episode isn’t resolved within 5 minutes, seek medical attention.

9. Ensure that you (the caregiver) are with the patient throughout the episode.

10. Use a kind, comforting tone of voice while talking to the individual.

Here’s what NOT to do in the event of a seizure

1. Do not hold a person down or try to restrain his/her movements.

2. Putting anything in the person’s mouth is a strict NO. Remember that a person suffering a seizure CANNOT swallow their tongue.

3. Do not attempt CPR. People suffering from a seizure can start breathing normally once the episode passes.

4. Do not offer the person food or water until they are fully mentally alert. This could be about 15 minutes to half an hour after the episode has subsided completely.

Conclusion

Epilepsy, in general, and seizures, in particular, can be a traumatic experience for a patient. As a caregiver, it is up to you to be in control of a seizure situation. Following these simple Do’s and Don’ts in case of a seizure will certainly help. Also, keeping the patient’s individual health insurance policy up-to-date is necessary to meet any medical emergency.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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