Person who has a seizure

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Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.

I'm curious as to how you would answer this. I was in disagreement with The Red Cross when they taught this. I really had no business taking a CPR course from them since I was a nurse and my reactions would be different....but consider this scenerio and tell me what you would do....

You're walking through the mall. Everyone's rushing around you trying to get their Holiday shopping done and you hear someone calling for help. In the middle of the floor is a 54 year old man who is having what appears to be a grand mal seizure. What first aid would you render? After rendering this first aid, would you call 9-1-1? Why or why not?

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call 911 then give aid or have someone else call....if you start cpr b4 you call that just means you will have to stop call then start again. If person needs cpr

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First, place the man in a side-lying position. Cradle his head so he doesn't bang it against the floor. Then you, or someone nearby time the duration of his seizure. If it lasts for more than 3 minutes, yes call 911. Less than 3 minutes is considered not significant for persons prone to seizures.

I take care of seizure-prone individuals, and these are the baseline parameters we go by to determine whether or not to call 911.

I could imagine the seizure times may vary according to policy.............

Mark

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Specializes in LTC.

I think it would always be appropriate to call 911 if it was a person you didn't know from Adam, regardless of the duration of the seizure...after all, you don't know if the person is a "seasoned" seizure victim or if it's the first time he'd had one. However, your question was whether to call 911 AFTER aid was rendered, correct? Hmmm...

Personally, I would have another party call 911 and then place/try to hold the victim in rescue position until the medics arrived.

What was the RC instructor's take on the question?

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As a person who has seizures . . . . . I would say place the person in a side lying position and attempt to protect their body parts from injury. Point out someone in the crowd and say "You, call 911".

Since you don't have a history on this person, 911 should be called.

steph

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As a person who has seizures . . . . . I would say place the person in a side lying position and attempt to protect their body parts from injury. Point out someone in the crowd and say "You, call 911".

Since you don't have a history on this person, 911 should be called.

steph

I agree with Steph. You have no idea if the person is apt to have seizures or not.

I learned something years ago from a neurologist and I have never met anyone that was familiar with this. I have had need to use it rarely, but it has worked for me the few times I have used it.

If the person is also not breathing and turning blue, pinch their nostrils together. It signals the brain to breathe and it works. They gasp for air about 10 seconds after you do it.

Besides, think about it. On the rare time that they do quit breathing, you aren't going to hurt them but pinching their nostrils together.

First time I ever used this was with a care home employee. I was called to the kitchen where he was in an active seizure. He was blue as blue could be. Someone else was calling 911 and I remembered what old Doc Heines told me and I did it. Worked like a charm. While he continued to seize, he was finally breathing.

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I agree with Steph. You have no idea if the person is apt to have seizures or not.

I learned something years ago from a neurologist and I have never met anyone that was familiar with this. I have had need to use it rarely, but it has worked for me the few times I have used it.

If the person is also not breathing and turning blue, pinch their nostrils together. It signals the brain to breathe and it works. They gasp for air about 10 seconds after you do it.

Besides, think about it. On the rare time that they do quit breathing, you aren't going to hurt them but pinching their nostrils together.

First time I ever used this was with a care home employee. I was called to the kitchen where he was in an active seizure. He was blue as blue could be. Someone else was calling 911 and I remembered what old Doc Heines told me and I did it. Worked like a charm. While he continued to seize, he was finally breathing.

Of course I'm determined to never have another seizure . .. but I'll ask my neurologist about this. :chuckle

steph

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Of course I'm determined to never have another seizure . .. but I'll ask my neurologist about this. :chuckle

steph

Keep in mind, I have yet to meet anyone who has ever heard of this technique. However... the neuro-dude that told me this was one of the neuro-dudes they called when Prez Kennedy was shot.

Of course, they called him to come from the midwest when the prez was in Tx. :uhoh3: Does that mean they were looking for someone good or not? LOL

Regardless, once you have had the need to use it, you'll swear by it. But you have to use it before you are convinced it will do anything.

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Specializes in Assisted Living Nurse Manager.

What I have been learning in school is that you or someone else should call 911 and then you want to protect the person from injury such as protecting their head. You want to observe the seizure and time how long it lasts, so you can give this information to the paramedics when they arrive.

Makes since to me so this is what I would do if I came across someone who was having a seizure. Oh yeah it does say to put them in a side-lying position if able. I wonder though, if you would be able to do this with someone having a grand-mal siezure?

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What I have been learning in school is that you or someone else should call 911 and then you want to protect the person from injury such as protecting their head. You want to observe the seizure and time how long it lasts, so you can give this information to the paramedics when they arrive.

Makes since to me so this is what I would do if I came across someone who was having a seizure. Oh yeah it does say to put them in a side-lying position if able. I wonder though, if you would be able to do this with someone having a grand-mal siezure?

Yeah, they did it to me twice. :)

steph

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.
First, place the man in a side-lying position. Cradle his head so he doesn't bang it against the floor. Then you, or someone nearby time the duration of his seizure. If it lasts for more than 3 minutes, yes call 911. Less than 3 minutes is considered not significant for persons prone to seizures.

I take care of seizure-prone individuals, and these are the baseline parameters we go by to determine whether or not to call 911.

I could imagine the seizure times may vary according to policy.............

Mark

I agree with the majority of this post. Place person in side lying position and protect them from injury. Then I would yell for someone nearby to call 911 while *I* timed the seizure and observed the duration of each phase. If CPR was needed, then I would be able to begin while the ambulance was on the way. And if this particular person was prone to seizing and they came to before or while the EMTs were there then they could refuse tx...but one can never be too careful and I am not a person that could just pretend that I didn't know what to do. So this is how I would handle it presuming I had my wits about me!:p

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This happened to me in a store. The store yelled if any medical people were in the store, of course I had to go over. They called for an ambulance, I turned her on her side. She came too in a few minutes and she said it happened all the time that she didn't want an ambulance that she wanted to finish her shopping although she had wet herself, but she didn't care. She did too and went home on the bus. She wouldn't go in the ambulance or accept any care. Lol, it was something else.

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