About 1 out of 10 people may have a seizure during their lifetime, which means seizures are common. It’s important to be able to recognize when a seizure is happening and know how to help.

A seizure is a short change in normal brain activity that can cause changes in awareness, behavior, or body movement. Seizures are the main sign of epilepsy, a brain disorder that causes repeated seizures. Seizures can also be caused by other medical problems such as a high fever, low blood sugar, or drug or alcohol withdrawal.

Recognizing Seizures

Seizures might look different from what you’d expect. In the movies and on TV, a person supposedly having a seizure is often shown falling to the ground, shaking, and becoming unaware of what’s going on around them. That’s one kind of seizure, but it’s not the most common.

More often, a person having a seizure may seem confused, stare into space, wander, make unusual movements, or be unable to answer questions or talk. Some people with seizures feel sensations such as a strange taste or smell or a “funny feeling” in their stomach.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if someone is having a seizure.  If you are concerned about your health or the health of a loved one, talk to a health care provider about any unusual symptoms.

It is very important to train school nurses and staff, child care workers, law enforcement, emergency responders, and older adult caregivers how to recognize seizures and provide first aid.

New Terminology for Seizures

There are many different types of seizures, and people with epilepsy may have more than one type. You may have heard words such as “grand mal,” “petit mal,” or “partial” to describe different types of seizures.

Those terms are now outdated. Doctors have changed the way they label seizures to provide better diagnoses and treatment. Seizures are now named by where they start in the brain, how they change awareness, and how they affect the body.

There are two main types of seizures:

• Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain.
• Focal seizures start on one side of the brain.²

Both types of seizures can affect a person’s awareness.

Both generalized and focal seizures can cause a person to have physical movements, which doctors call “motor symptoms.” These symptoms might include muscle stiffening, relaxing, or twitching, or movements such as lip smacking.  However, seizures can also cause non-motor symptoms, such as changes in thinking or sensation (without any visible effect on the body).

How to Help

Not all seizures are emergencies, and most will stop on their own within a few minutes. The first response is to remain calm and provide care and comfort. Time the seizure, and check for a medical identification bracelet or other emergency information.

First aid for seizure

There are many types of seizures. Most seizures end in a few minutes.

These are general steps to help someone who is having any type seizure:

• Stay with the person until the seizure ends and he or she is fully awake. After it ends, help the person sit in a safe place. Once they are alert and able to communicate, tell them what happened in very simple terms.
• Comfort the person and speak calmly.
• Check to see if the person is wearing a medical bracelet or other emergency information.
• Keep yourself and other people calm.
• Offer to call a taxi or another person to make sure the person gets home safely.

First aid for generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures

When most people think of a seizure, they think of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, also called a grand mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the person may cry out, fall, shake or jerk, and become unaware of what’s going on around them.

Here are things you can do to help someone who is having this type of seizure:

• Ease the person to the floor.
• Turn the person gently onto one side. This will help the person breathe.
• Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. This can prevent injury.
• Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under his or her head.
• Remove eyeglasses.
• Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make it hard to breathe.
• Time the seizure. Call 911 if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.

Things not to do as First Aid in seizure

Knowing what NOT to do is important for keeping a person safe during or after a seizure.

Never do any of the following things

• Do not hold the person down or try to stop his or her movements.
• Do not put anything in the person’s mouth. This can injure teeth or the jaw. A person having a seizure cannot swallow his or her tongue.
• Do not try to give mouth-to-mouth breaths (like CPR). People usually start breathing again on their own after a seizure.
• Do not offer the person water or food until he or she is fully alert.(Inputs from CDC)