How to help a patient with an epileptic seizure

Epilepsy is a psychoneurological disorder with a tendency to seizure. Chronic pathology is not completely cured, but is amenable to medical control. About 40 million people are affected by this disease. And if in the environment there are no relatives suffering from this disease, you still need to know what to do with epileptic brain damage. Help can be required by any person.

Detect seizure and prepare for it

Epileptic seizures occur suddenly, and after harbingers for several hours or days. The patient may feel a change in smells, feel an intensified heartbeat, nausea.

But people around him can not see such changes, so they should focus on enlarged pupils in daylight, and the irritability of the patient. Dementia in epilepsy will indicate hyperactivity or, conversely, severe drowsiness. There may be short-term muscle twitchings.

You also need to know how to act with epilepsy if there is a suspicion that a person will soon have an attack. The main task is to protect the patient from possible head trauma: the surrounding space is cleared, potentially dangerous items are removed.

Important! If the attack starts indoors, then you need to open the windows. When a patient falls on the street, the patient, if possible, is moved to a deserted place, if there is a threat to life: a carriageway, a pedestrian crossing, a pond.

Assisting

From a type of seizure and gliosis in epilepsy, assistance with an attack may not be required. Often there are absences( small seizure), characterized by short-term obscuration of consciousness. In this case, the attack is almost invisible, the patient is conscious, he has no convulsions. During such a "fit", no assistance is required, but some time you need to stay with the victim.

But if a person began to fall to the ground, convulsions began, unnatural head turns, a loss of consciousness occurred, then - this is a strong attack of epilepsy. The first help is to wait for the seizure. A tie is removed from the person, the collar is opened on clothes, glasses are removed. Any soft object is placed under the head.

Important: you can not forcibly restrain muscle convulsive contractions. This can lead to fractures in the patient.

The main thing is not to panic while helping. The person standing next to the patient needs to know what to do with epilepsy:

1. The head of the victim turns sideways( without effort) and is supported on the elevation: saliva, possible vomit will not enter the respiratory tract.
2. Patient's breathing is eased: unfasten the collar, remove the belt of trousers.
3. In the open mouth inserted between the teeth of a soft object, for example, a handkerchief to prevent biting of the tongue, cheeks.
4. The time of onset of seizure is detected to monitor its duration.

During involuntary convulsions, involuntary urination may occur. The bottom of the body is covered with a jacket, package or blanket to relieve the patient of the irritating smell of urine.

Convulsions last for several minutes, so the main action when providing care is to make sure that the patient is not injured. The person himself does not experience pain in an epileptic fit.

What can not be done during an attack

Before helping in an attack of epilepsy, it's important to remember the rule - do no harm. During the spasms, heart massage, artificial respiration is not done. You can not try to water a patient.

Important: it is impossible for a patient to unclasp the mouth by force. This will lead to fracture of the jaw and traumatism of the teeth. Also, solid objects are not inserted into the mouth.

It is meaningless to give and medicines, because during convulsions they are useless. Do not panic if there is a stop of breathing. In this case, you can not take resuscitative measures, you can check the pulse. Breathing will resume in a few seconds.

Actions after an attack of epilepsy

The patient should recover after an attack of epilepsy. What to do in this case:

1. It is recommended to turn the person to one side to prevent the root of the tongue from falling.
2. Before the full return of consciousness, the head adheres.
3. Provide a full rest if the fit occurs in the room. When attacking in the street, you need to ask others to disperse to provide psychological comfort to the patient.
4. Provide support if a person tries to get up and walk.
5. At the request of the patient to stay close to him for a while.

The recovery period after seizures takes up to 30 minutes. Usually people suffering from epilepsy know the details of their disease thoroughly and decide for themselves what to do next. Do not offer medication to a patient.

Calling up medical personnel is necessary in case:

• first seizure;
• lacks consciousness after seizures;
• trauma patient;
• attack lasting from 3 minutes;
• occurred in a child, a pregnant woman, or an elderly person;The
• fit occurred in the water.

Is prevention possible?

Epilepsy is a disease with individual characteristics. Some people have several severe attacks per day, others - once a year or life. In some patients, seizures occur only in a dream.

Treatment of epilepsy, as well as treatment of cerebral vessels, is the use of anticonvulsant, anti-epileptic, neurotropic drugs. Often patients are interested in a doctor, how to prevent an attack of epilepsy? It will not work.

It is possible to reduce the likelihood of seizures by medications and preventive measures. It is necessary to visit the doctor on a regular basis and follow his recommendations. Do not change self-prescribed drugs or change the dosage.

Try not to drink alcohol, coffee, spicy foods: foods irritate the nervous system. It is necessary to avoid a rapid transition from darkness to light. Try not to look at the bright shimmering light, water reflections or photo effects in the disco.

Complete sleep helps with epilepsy. Lack of sleep, nighttime awakening, changing the time of falling asleep provoke seizures.

Highlights of

Epileptic seizures are almost always a surprise for the patient and shock for others. It is from the actions of the person who happened to be around that the safety of the person during the attack depends.

First aid is to prevent injury to the patient. The main thing is not to panic and adequately help the victim: to release one's breath, hold your head, do not unclench your teeth and insert hard objects into your mouth.