Category Archives: seizure first aid

07Feb / 2023

10 Practical Skills to Learn Before an Emergency

A close-up of hands performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a person lying on the ground.

Personal health preparedness isn’t only about collecting supplies. Level up your emergency preparedness. Learn practical skills you can use to help yourself and others. Here are 10 skills you can learn to prepare for an emergency, in no particular order.

  1. How to wash your hands the right way. Washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can help stop the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from one person to another. Follow these five steps to wash your hands the right way every day, including during an emergency.
  2. How to administer CPR. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can help save a person’s life if their breathing or heart stops. You don’t need a special certification or formal training to perform CPR, but you do need education. Hands-only CPR is simple to learn and easy to remember.
  3. How to work an automated external defibrillator (AED). AEDs give step-by-step voice instructions, but training is still recommended. Classes can teach you how to recognize the signs of a sudden cardiac arrest, when to call emergency medical services, how to administer CPR, and how to use an AED.
  4. How to use a portable generator. Portable generators produce a poison gas called carbon monoxide (CO). The risk of CO poisoning increases after an emergency. Sixteen of the 129 Hurricane Irma-related deaths in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina were because of CO poisoning.(1) If using a generator during a power outage, remember to always
    • place it outdoors at least 20 feet away from any window, door, or vent.
    • operate it in a dry area.
    • use a battery-powered or battery back-up CO detector.
  5. How to perform first aid. The risk for injury during and after an emergency like a natural disaster is high. Prompt first aid can help heal small wounds and prevent infection. It is important to know how to care for cuts, burns, and other kinds of injuries. Keep a well-stocked and maintained first-aid kit that includes an emergency first-aid reference guide.
  6. How to stop severe bleeding. Serious injuries can cause heavy bleeding. A person who is bleeding can die from blood loss within five minutes. If you are a bystander to a medical emergency, you are the help until professional help arrives. Learning what to do in a bleeding emergency, including how to apply a tourniquet, can save a person’s life. A tourniquet is a last resort if applying pressure does not stop the bleeding.
  7. How to help someone who is choking. Fast action can save the life of someone who is choking. Young children are at especially high risk of choking. They can choke on foods like hot dogs and grapes, and small objects like toy pieces and coins. Learn when and how to do back blows and perform abdominal thrusts.
  8. How to turn off utilities. Household utilities can pose potential health and safety threats after an emergency. Know where and how to turn them off in the aftermath of a natural disaster like an earthquake. Contact your utility providers with questions.
  9. How to use a fire extinguisher. Use fire extinguishers on small fires only. When operating a fire extinguisher, remember the acronym PASS:
    • Pull the pin.
    • Aim low at the base of the fire.
    • Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
    • Sweep the nozzle from side to side.(2)
  10. How to call 9-1-1. While making the call is easy, you may not know what to expect when you call. Prepare to answer questions about yourself and the emergency. Your answers help the call-taker get the right kind of help to you. Also, don’t hang up until the call-taker instructs you to do so. Many 911 centers can tell you how to help until professional help arrives.(3)

Honorable mentions include learning how to keep food safe after an emergency, how to make water safe, how to administer naloxone, and how to perform seizure first aid.

Resources

References

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6730a5.htm
  2. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/extinguishers.html
  3. https://www.911.gov/calling-911/

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (https://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.

Posted by in automated external defibrillator, carbon monoxide, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, choking, drowning, fire extinguisher, first aid, General, Handwashing, naloxone, personal health, practical skills, Preparedness, Response, seizure first aid, severe bleeding, tourniquet

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01Nov / 2017

Loving Someone With Epilepsy

MRI brain scan

When Zayan first told me that he has epilepsy, I didn’t believe him.  “You mean seizures, right?”  I was embarrassed at how much I didn’t know.

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain that triggers recurrent seizures. It can be caused by different conditions that affect a person’s brain. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy when they have had two or more seizures that are not caused by another medical condition such as a high fever or low blood sugar.

Zayan was thirteen years old when he had his first seizure in his school computer lab in Dhaka, Bangladesh. “The moments leading up to my seizure are hazy, but when I woke up in the hospital, my mind was wiped clean.  I didn’t recognize my own father, whose tear-strewn face was fixated on mine.  I couldn’t even remember how to talk.”

Photo of Zayan Shamayeen
Zayan Shamayeen, 22, encourages others to not let an illness prevent them from reaching their full potential. Photo credit: Dear World

Following the incident, Zayan took a long break from school to seek medical care.  He was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, which is caused by an unknown factor that may be genetic. Epilepsy can be caused by different conditions, including stroke, brain tumor, brain infection, or traumatic brain injury. Zayan is one of the 60% of people where the cause of epilepsy is unknown.

Caring for someone during a seizure

As my friendship with Zayan grew, I became passionate about understanding how epilepsy impacted his daily life. One morning I witnessed a seizure suddenly take over his body and it was one of the most frightening moments we shared together. That experience made learning seizure first aid a priority for me so that I could take care of Zayan if and when he had another seizure.

If you know someone living with epilepsy, you might have to care for them during or after a seizure. The goal of seizure first aid is to keep the person safe until the seizure stops on its own. 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.

You can take action to help someone during a seizure:

  • Ease the person to the floor.
  • Turn the person gently onto one side.  Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make it hard to breathe.
  • Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp to prevent injury.
  • Put something soft and flat, like a folded jacket, under his or her head.
  • Remove eyeglasses.
  • Time the seizure.
  • Check to see if the person is wearing a medical bracelet or other emergency information.
  • Keep yourself and other people calm.

    In 2015, 1.2% of the U.S. population had, active epilepsy. This is about 3.4 million people with epilepsy nationwide: 3 million adults and 470,000 children.
    Data Source: National and State Estimates of the Numbers of Adults and Children with Active Epilepsy — United States, 2015, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Call 911 if…

  • The person has never had a seizure before.
  • The person has difficulty breathing or waking after the seizure.
  • The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.
  • The person has another seizure soon after the first one.
  • The person is hurt during the seizure.
  • The seizure happens in water.
  • The person has a health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or is pregnant.

Knowing what NOT to do is also very 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.

Supporting someone with epilepsy

Zayan and Eshita in Chatanooga, Tennessee
Zayan and me enjoying our visit to Chattanooga, Tennessee

After his first seizure, Zayan struggled to understand how epilepsy would affect his life – Can I still play soccer?  Will my friends still like me? Will my friends and family look down on me or look at me differently?  Will the cost of my medicines be a burden to my family?  Will I be a burden to my family?

The first medicine Zayan was prescribed helped his seizures, but caused a lot of side effects, including rapid weight gain. After finding a medicine that worked for him, Zayan spent years learning to overcome the medicine’s effect on his mood and relationships. He is grateful for the support he received and that those close to him were able to come to terms with his condition.

With the support of his family and friends, Zayan has learned to keep his seizures in check and lead a normal life.  Today he has aspirations to become a pharmaceutical researcher who finds effective treatment methods for coping with epilepsy.

Resources for family, friends, and caregivers

If you have a loved one with epilepsy you can:

  • Learn about epilepsy.
  • Learn seizure first aid.
  • Listen. Sometimes this is the best form of support.
  • Ask what you can do to help.

People who take care of someone with epilepsy should learn everything they can about the disorder, and the specific type of seizures their loved one has.  Caregivers can work with their loved one’s healthcare provider to learn about treatment options, manage medicine side effects, and address other medical conditions the person may have. Caregivers may also benefit from connecting to others in their community who also deal with epilepsy.

Learn more

Posted by in chronic disease, epilepsy, first aid, injury, public health, seizure first aid, seizures

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