History UsefulNotes / Epilepsy

* When the person regains consciousness, they will be in a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postictal_state postictal]] state, and despite being conscious will probably be confused. They may even try to continue with whatever they were doing before the seizure. Tell them they've had a seizure - you may have to do so repeatedly.

Anyone who has a brain may have a seizure. Animals can have seizures. In most cases the exact cause is unknown, although most people can detect one coming on.

As can be seen with trope names such as EpilepticFlashingLights and EpilepticTrees, the Hollywood depiction of epilepsy tends for the dramatic: Flashing lights cause loss of consciousness and seizures with intense muscle convulsions.

* Be friendly and reassuring as consciousness returns. Do not yell at the person, but tell them they had a seizure. When the person regains consciousness, they will be in a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postictal_state postictal]] state, so although they may seem alert, they are likely unaware of what's going on.
* Offer to call a taxi, friend, or relative, to help the person get home.

* The person is not known to have epilepsy (e.g. does not have epilepsy listed on a medical ID necklace/bracelet or In Case of Emergency (ICE) information on their cell phone).

In reality, epilepsy is much more variable. For starters, only a minority of those with epilepsy have seizures triggered by flashing lights or any other environmental input. Usually seizures occur at random purely due to internal workings of the brain, simple as that.

One in 26 Americans have epilepsy, so you almost certainly know someone with this disorder whether you know it or not. ''[[ParanoiaFuel You]]'' may even have it ''without knowing it'' until your first seizure event. This is one of the reasons that the inaccurate portrayal of ConvulsiveSeizures and inaccurate [[WorstAid seizure first aid]] is so dangerous. More people die in the United States from epilepsy than breast cancer.

First aid for epilepsy is not too difficult. The goal is to keep the person safe until the seizure stops naturally by itself. Holding someone down or restraining a person who is having a seizure is dangerous and can lead to combative behaviors. It is known for them to get parts of their body trapped in furniture while becoming so tense that they cannot be moved, in which case, you will simply have to wait. Someone having a seizure cannot swallow their tongue, although they may bite it. Never, ever put any foreign object in their mouth, since they may choke, break their teeth, and in the case of your fingers, it has been known for them to bite down ''to the bone.''

* Be friendly and reassuring as consciousness returns. Do not yell at the person, but tell them they had a seizure.
* Offer to call a taxi, friend, or relative, to help the person get home.

One in 26 Americans have epilepsy, so you almost certainly know someone with this disorder whether you know it or not. [[ParanoiaFuel ''You'']] may even have it ''without knowing it'' until your first seizure event. This is one of the reasons that the inaccurate portrayal of ConvulsiveSeizures and inaccurate [[WorstAid seizure first aid]] is so dangerous. More people die in the United States from epilepsy than breast cancer.

One in 26 Americans have epilepsy, so you almost certainly know someone with this disorder whether you know it or not. This is one of the reasons that the inaccurate portrayal of ConvulsiveSeizures and inaccurate [[WorstAid seizure first aid]] is so dangerous. More people die in the United States from epilepsy than breast cancer.

There is also ''temporal lobe'' epilepsy, where seizures can present as dissociative episodes and/or hallucinations/seeing visions/ HearingVoices or music or sound, and which is notorious both for misdiagnosis (as a dissociative disorder such as fugue, Borderline Personality Disorder, or Multiple Personality Disorder due to dissociation, as schizoaffective or schizophrenic due to hallucinations/visions/voices/music/sounds), creating compulsive artistic behavior specifically around writing/painting/drawing/composing music/all of the above, and for violence (as the seizures are far less dramatic/obvious, and yet someone in one is just as unresponsive to commands - including those from authorities or law enforcement or parents or whomever - as someone having a grand mal seizure - yet their behavior is often misread as threatening or willfully disobedient, and you can see where that can go with AbusiveParents or with police, for example)

Use of alcohol, cocaine/amphetamines/related drugs, or PCP (or alternately GoingColdTurkey from alcohol or from the benzodiazipines such as Xanax or Klonopin or Valium) can precipitate a seizure, make medications less effective in diagnosed epileptics, and/or lead to a "worse" form of seizure (e.g. a normally "petit mal" epileptic has a temporal lobe seizure or ConvulsiveSeizures.)

Anyone who has a brain may have a seizure. Animals can have seizures. In most cases the exact cause is unknown, although most people can detect one coming on. A genetic tendency or suffering brain injury may play a factor in developing seizures. Many people with epilepsy are able to control their seizures with medication. Brain surgery is considered a last resort, and only for the few people who have epilepsy concentrated in one part of their brain.

First aid for epilepsy is not too difficult. The goal is to keep the person safe until the seizure stops naturally by itself. Someone having a seizure can not swallow his tongue, and you should never put anything in his mouth. In addition, holding someone down or restraining a person who is having a seizure is dangerous and can lead to combative behaviors.

* Offer to call a taxi, friend, or relative, to help the person get home if he seems confused or unable to get home by himself.

Anyone who has a brain may have a seizure, and in most cases the cause is unknown. A genetic tendency or suffering brain injury may play a factor in developing seizures. Many people with epilepsy are able to control their seizures with medication, brain surgery and other methods.

Second, there are many types of seizure and a wide variety in seizure frequency. Some people just "blank out" for a few seconds without anyone else even realizing he or she had just been through a seizure. Involuntary muscle movements in seizures have a great deal of variance. Muscle spasms in a seizure might be limited to slight shakiness in one hand. It might also not be simply random spasms, but instead for instance repeatedly lowering and raising an arm. The most dramatic seizures with a person falling down on the ground and thrashing around do occur, but rarely.

!! Response to potential temporal lobe and/or petit mal seizure events:

Anyone who has a brain may have a seizure, and in most cases the cause is unknown. A genetic tendency or suffering brain injury may play a factor in developing seizures. Many people with epilepsy are able to control their seizures with medication, brain surgery and other methods.

* Time the seizure with your watch.

** The person becomes or became combative or violent, but to potentially save their life from less trained police officers, try your best to wait to make the call as one for an epileptic seizure after any combativeness or violence has ended and not to mention the combativeness or violence until you are speaking to medical professionals rather than law enforcement officers.

More information about epilepsy can be found through the [[http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/index.cfm Epilepsy Foundation]] and [[http://www.ilae.org/ International League Against Epielpsy.]]

Second, there are many types of seizure and a wide variety in seizure frequency. Some people just "blank out" for a few seconds without anyone else even realizing he or she had just been through a seizure. Involuntary muscle movements in seizures have a great deal of variance. Muscle spasms in a seizure might be limited to slight shakiness in one hand. It might also not be simply random spasms, but instead for instance repeatedly lowering and raising an arm. The most dramatic seizures with a person falling down on the ground and thrashing around do occur, but rarely.

Anyone who has a brain may have a seizure, and in most cases the cause is unknown. A genetic tendency or suffering brain injury may play a factor in developing seizures. Many with people epilepsy are able to control their seizures with medication, brain surgery and other methods.

* Offer to call a taxi, friend or relative to help the person get home if he seems confused or unable to get home by himself.

* The convulsions lasts longer then 5 minutes.

One in 26 Americans have epilepsy, so you almost certainly know someone with this disorder whether you know it or not. This is one of the reasons that the inaccurate portrayal of ConvulsiveSeizures and inaccurate [[WorstAid seizure first aid]] is so dangerous. More people die in the United States from epilepsy then breast cancer.

In reality, epilepsy is much more variable. For starters, only a minority of epileptics have seizures triggered by flashing lights or any other environmental input. Usually seizures occur at random purely due to internal workings of the brain, simple as that.

Second, there is great variance in the effects of epileptic seizures. Mildest cases might cause the epileptic to just "blank out" for a few seconds without anyone else even realizing he or she had just been through a seizure. Involuntary muscle movements in seizures have a great deal of variance. Muscle spasms in a seizure might be limited to slight shakiness in one hand. It might also not be simply random spasms, but instead for instance repeatedly lowering and raising an arm. The most dramatic seizures with a person falling down on the ground and thrashing around do occur, but rarely.

!When providing seizure first aid for convulsions or generalized tonic-clonic seizures, these are key things to remember:

! You should call an ambulance if:

In reality, epilepsy is much more variable. For starters, only a minority of epileptics have seizures triggered by flashing lights or any other environmental input. Usually epileptic seizures occur at random purely due to internal workings of the brain, simple as that.

Second, there is great variance in the effects of epileptic seizures. Mildest cases might cause the epileptic to just "blank out" for a few seconds without anyone else even realizing he or she had just been through a seizure. Involuntary muscle movements in seizures have a great deal of variance. Muscle spasms in a seizure might be limited to slight shakiness in one hand. It might also not be simply random spasms, but instead for instance repeatedly lowering and raising an arm. The most dramatic seizures with the epileptic falling down on the ground and trashing around do occur, but rarely.

Most people with epilepsy are born with it, though suffering brain injury may also cause it. There is no full cure for epilepsy, but the seizures may be made more manageable with medication, brain surgery and other methods.

As can be seen with trope names such as EpilepticFlashingLights and EpilepticTrees, the Hollywood depiction of epilepsy tends for the dramatic: Flashing lights cause loss of consciousness and seizures with intense muscle spasms.