PSA... · 7:36am Sep 17th, 2019
Most of you probably don't know this, but I am epileptic. You might be asking yourself, what does that mean? It means that I am prone to having seizures without warning. Well, last Friday night, it happened at work. When it was all said and done, none of my co-workers or supervisor knew what to do. So I figured I'll give a quick overview and some first aid tips in case any of my fellow bronies or pegasisters happen to be in a situation where they need to help someone having a seizure.
Most times when someone has a seizure, they lose consciousness, collapse, and begin convulsing (shaking uncontrollably) for usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes. During that time, their mouth usually clamps shut like a vice. If their tongue happens to move in between their teeth it's possible for the person having a seizure to literally bite their tongue off. I haven't bitten my tongue off but I have bitten it hard enough that I needed stitches (not this last time thankfully).
First, - after calling an ambulance - if you can, try to stuff (for lack of a better word) either some paper towels or some type of cloth, whether it's a shirt, washcloth, pillow case, etc. in between their teeth. This will help reduce the chance of the person seizing doing damage to their tongue or even their teeth. Second, once the seizure is over, the person will most likely be disoriented and confused. The best thing to do for them is to get them into - and keep them - a sitting position while you wait for the paramedics to arrive. Ask them simple questions like what their name is, if they know where they are at, how old they are, what day it is, etc. As they come to, they will be able to answer the questions more easily.
The best thing to do is keep the person calm. If they get stressed out - especially if they happen to lose control of their bowels or bladder (which can happen) - it can cause them to go into another seizure. Don't give them anything to drink, as it can throw off tests that the ER will perform.
Also, (this is an extension of keeping them in a seated position) sometimes the person seizing will try walking off. Me personally, I've tried driving to work on my day off after one seizure a few years back. Needless to say, my wife had her hands full keeping me in the house.
I hope this information will help if you ever come across this situation. Just remember keep the person calm and seated until help arrives.
On a side note, those who may be wondering how I'm holding up after Friday night, aside from a sprained wrist and some chipped teeth (from landing face first on a concrete floor), I'm fine. I'm planning to put out a story in the next week or so, so stay tuned.
-pabrony
Well i hope you get better soon.
Man, I'm sorry you have to deal with that. My old Stepdad had epilepsy and I remember one morning my mother woke me up at the crack of dawn to help him recover from a seizure, and I had no idea what was going on at the time.
It's good that you're giving this information out to us, you can never know when you might need it
Firstly, I'm glad you're doing okay. That sounds like it's pretty stressful to deal with overall.
Secondly, this reminds me of something that happened to someone at work a few years ago. I used to work Main Entrance at Universal Studios, and there was a girl who worked in the office area of the parks that apparently had frequent seizures. I was working the exit at that point with my Security partner, and she and one of her coworkers walked in. Suddenly, she was just... going down. I managed to swing the gate open fast enough that she didn't slam her head on it on her way down while her coworker and the security guard managed to guide her down slow enough that she didn't hurt herself.
But then it got weird.
As she convulsed on her back, her coworker just... straddled her and told us we didn't need to call for help at all and that this was just normal for her. Obviously, the Security guard called anyway. When her coworker got upset, he had to point out that she wasn't responding, so he has to call because it's protocol. Besides, there's camera's everywhere anyway, so someone would see it and would call no matter what. When the paramedics got there, she was kinda coming around again. They managed to move her out of the walkway, tried to talk to her, and then she just... slowly laid down and started having a second seizure.
I have never forgotten this moment because honestly, it scared the ever loving daylights out of me simply because I didn't know what to do and I didn't feel like the coworker was actually handling the situation properly.
So I suppose my whole point in sharing this story is that: This information is very important and thank you for sharing it. People never know when they're going to experience a situation like this. So having the knowledge of how to help can make all the difference in the world.
Get well soon! ^_^
Thanks for the info. This is good to know.
Stay safe.
Hope you feel better soon
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Thanks everypony for the well wishes.
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YW