How to help a friend with a seizure

Epilepsy South Africa (SA) is sharing tips on the do’s and don’ts when a person has a seizure.

Assistant Director of Epilepsy SA, Kandas Kandawire said should someone have a seizure in your presence, you should:

Time how long the seizure lasts for.

Place a cushion under the person’s head and protect their body from injury.

Loosen any tight clothing and remove their glasses if they wear any.

Turn the person onto his or her side into the recovery position and bend the head backwards to open their airways.

Stay with the person and reassure them until they have fully recovered.

Call an ambulance if the person experiences a lack of oxygen or severe physical injuries, and if the seizure lasts longer than six minutes.

There are however, things that one should never do in the event of a seizure and these include:

Never moving the person or picking them up unless they are in direct danger.

Never putting anything between the person’s teeth or burn anything in front of their nose.

Never giving them anything to eat or drink or any extra medication.

Following these steps could help you save a life.

Kandawire said: “Epilepsy is a physical condition that is characterised by unusual electrical activity in the brain which causes unprovoked seizures. This is a serious neurological condition that affects at least one in every 100 people in the country. It is not a psychological disorder, disease or illness and it is not contagious. An important thing for all individual to remember is that a single seizure does not qualify as epilepsy.”