First aiders- what should we have done?

At my first aid training we were told to loosen anything tight round the person's neck then get them onto the floor and clear the area so they can't hurt themselves, then call an ambulance.

As far as I'm aware, in the case of someone fiiting, you need to make sure they're safe and can't hurt themselves and that they can't swallow their tongue, you do this by putting them on their side if you can. The advice may have changed since I last did a course though, it was some time ago.

How scary for you all, I hope the woman is ok!

Your friend with epilepsy is right - clear a space, try and stop her banging her head, and stand back - don't force limbs straight or anything like that (surely putting both patient and first aider at risk of injury).

Call an ambulance.

When the seizure stops, if person is unconscious place into recovery position, check breathing ok....

If they're conscious, speak to them.

It's really quite scary watching someone have a seizure - a friend of mine had a one-off seizure at school and it's horrible to watch. ?

WKS.

Also if they are fitting with "force", you can kneel behind them and gently support their head or put something under their head and shoulders to stop the hurting their neck or head.

? it must have been quite scary.

ETA from a first aid site:

• If a person is having a small fit — for example, where the person seems to ‘tune out’ but doesn’t fall to the ground or appear to lose consciousness — talk calmly and reassure the person, and repeat any information they have missed during the seizure. Lead them somewhere safe, if necessary.
• If they are having a big fit — for example, falling to the ground with loss of consciousness and jerking body movements — don’t restrain them. Make sure there is nothing they can hurt themselves on, put something soft under their head and shoulders and loosen their clothing if it’s constricting their breathing.
• If they have vomited, lie them on their side so that any fluid can easily flow out of their mouth and not obstruct breathing.
• Do NOT put anything in their mouth or force their mouth open: this may damage the area. They will not swallow their tongue.
• Do NOT move them unless they are in a dangerous position.
• When the fit is over, turn them on their side, reassure them, tell them where they are and that they have had a fit.
• Do NOT disturb the person if they fall asleep after a seizure, but keep checking for signs of life.
• Call an ambulance if a person is having their first seizure, if the jerking doesn’t stop within 5 minutes (or if another seizure happens soon after the first), if they have trouble breathing after the jerking stops, if they have diabetes, if they have been injured, or if you are in doubt for any reason.
• Watching someone have an epileptic fit is very frightening — it can seem to go on forever; stay very calm and try not to panic.

Make then safe - move them away from immediate hazards (i.e. risk of falling etc) , loosen restrictive clothing - call an ambulance, stay with them. That's it I think.

WZS. Trying to straighten limbs etc can be harmful to person having the fit and those trying to help.

How scary though. ?

Thank you all. We weren't all that bad then. It just seemed like forever, as I suppose it does in such scenrios, and once we had her down it seemed like we should be doing something more.

To be honest, you can't really do anything for a person having an epileptic fit. My sister has epilepsy and suffers from Grande Mal seizures which are the worst kind. She sometimes has what they call an "aura" before the fit, hers is a metallic taste in her mouth and if she realises, she'll call someone or go lie down in a safe area in anticipation of the inevitable. As for what you could do if you witnessed your friend having a fit is to clear the area around her, as she says, so that any thrashing about doesn't cause her to injure herself and try to get her into the recovery position, however, that will depend on the type of fits she has as if it is Grande Mal, you are more than likely going to end up getting kicked or smacked really hard. Try to get them some privacy if possible as sometimes they can wet themselves which can be quite embarrasing if you have a crowd of people watching. You could find out from your friend if she knows how long her fits last for on average and if you think the fit has gone on for longer than hr normal fits, then you could call an ambulance.

Other things that can happen is that they bite their tounge or lips (Do not try to stop them from doing this, my mother had to have her finger sewn back on after trying to unclench my sisters jaw). All that you can do is clean them up after. Also, not everyone, but some people (my sister and two other people I've assisted in town with fits) are very very disorientated when they come around. You might think they are awake and with it but they sometimes take up to an hour to really "snap out of it" so just sit with them and talk to them, ask questions, etc. but don't push as they will all of a sudden wake up properley and you will know the difference immediately. Only other thing I can say is do not, under any circumstances, try to hold them down whilst they fit, as bad as it look or as dangerous as it seems to let them get on with it, you could cause some serious damage to them.

Hope you never have to use the above but HTH. xx

WEES.

It can feels like you're not helping at all but less is more in first aid with someone fitting.

(It does sound like a fit to me - not all epileptics have tonic-clonic seizures)

Youngest Brother is epileptic and it really is awful to watch. The colour he goes and the sounds he makes are really upsetting.

Thanks again all, thats really helpful. I suppose the desire to do "something" overtakes a bit.

My friend has also just emailed to say her Ex boyfriend once dislocated her shoulder trying to get her into the recovery position, which can delay her recovery time, But I can totally see why people feel the need to do it.

We were in London bridge, on the far side of borough market, so on the river with no proper road access. Mind you on the positive side very close to St Thomas' so the ambulance must have been there quite quickly.

Hi there, I work for the ambulance service and the instructions we give for anyone fitting is:

Dont do resusitation, dont hold them down or force anything into their mouth.

Try and move dangerous objects away from them, when the fitting stops make sure they are breathing and turn them gently on there side.

When they wake up, reassure them and tell them not to get up or walk around.

The scale of a fit can range from someone going into a trance like phase to full blown convulsions, alot of people when they are fitting can become aggressive, hold their breath (giving the illusion they are not breathing, bite their tongue (resulting in blood coming from the mouth) and/or wet themselves.

Having a fit is like running a marathon and is very exhausting on the body so they will be very tired when they come out of it, they may also be confused and upset.

A fit is a very frightening thing to watch, all you can do while the person is fitting is just stand back and let them have the fit and try to ensure they dont hurt themself on anything.

On the aircraft we are also told to time the fit. This can be useful information for someone who knows that the expereince epileptic fits but also very useful information to give to medics. Do it using a watch because it feels like an age when you are just watching.

I agree with everything so far, you just make them safe (Move objects they could injur themselves on not the patient) and try not to panic as it does seem to go on forever.

I have a couple of epileptic friends who have asked people not to call an ambulance if they have a fit unless they are unconscious after. I find that hardest to comply with, especially when one had a fit after a night out although I another friend stayed with her overnight and packed her off to the doctors the next morning.

I can understand that if you know the person has epilepsy and that they usually recover ok, but I'd always call for an ambulance for someone I don't know.

Zeb, i agree I'd always call an ambulance for a stranger. With a friend it's tough not to, yes they usualy recover etc but what if this is the one time it's different? I can't tell what's a "normal" seisure for them, especially when it's someone who doesn't have a lot of them plus it's not like they know exactly what happened themsleves.

I guess it's like any ongoing condition, you have to trust the patient to manage it.

I think I'd ask them how long their seizures usually last and go on that. And always call an ambulance if they don't regain consciousness after the seizure has ended. I think that would be a fairly safe strategy and stop them being whipped off to hospital again.

I agree that's it's always safer to call an ambulance.

Youngest Brother has a written plan at school where if his fits last over 5 minutes he gets medication (buccal midazolam) and call an ambulance. We tend to do this at home too, but I would always err on the side of caution.

If your friends live over here Lobster, I can't blame them for asking for no ambulance - they are expensive if not really needed.

Sounds like you did the right thing Hyacinth.