Resident having seizure

[branbran77]

Ok so the other night at work one of my residents had a seizure........i grabbed the nurse and she told me to get her a cold towel......so i brought her a towel.....then she started wiping the residents face with it and slapping his face .......then she had me roll up the head of his bed........after the face slapping she droped the side rails and told me we needed to sit him up......im like....he is sitting up....." no we need to sit him all the way up so he doesnt swallow his tounge"......after that i asked her if she was crazy..........the resident had stoped convulsing but he was still breathing funny and his eyes were rolled back in his head.......this resident can not support any of his body weight and i asked her what we were supposed to do if he started convulsing again and we dropped him.........she was like "what do u think we should do?"......I said put him back in bed roll the head down and turn him on his side........oh and lets not forget ...keep the side rails up.........but what do i know im just a cna.......i refused to sit him on the edge of the bed though but im not sure if im in the right.......what should i do if this happens again????? Has anyone ever heard of a pt swallowing there tounge??

[dedream]

I was always told if a person/pt is having a seizure to clear the area of anything that may cause injury, if the pt is in a chair to lower them to the ground and do not try to hold the person down, cushion the head and above everything else do not put anything in the persons mouth. I do not understand why the nurse would try to get the pt to sit up:uhoh3:. Timing a seizure is also important with pt having seizures, if it last more than 5 mins the ambulance should be called and after a seizure the person is put in the recovery position to aid in breathing. Ive never heard of anyone "swallowing their tongue" I beleive that was something folks believed back in the day along with putting butter on a burn:nono:

[morte, LPN, LVN]

OMG, no, they dont swallow their tongue! it may fall back and obstruct the airway, that is why you put them on their side...what i think is called the "rescue" position.....if there had been a lot of flailing about the patient may have been safer on the floor.....but no, sitting up was not the way to go! the side rails should be padded, pads are made for this purpose, if you dont have them other things can be used.....i dont know if you know someone with a sz disorder, or just have common sense...but good for you!

[k.morris]

WOW......Yeah you were def right......Clear area....biggest priority is safety, which she either forgot or thought the objective was to put the patient in the most danger possible...Protect head! WOW I don't want that lady caring for me...Good job! I cant't even think of what sitting the patient up would do...you should protect and assess type, time and specifics about the seizure. Do not restrain or touch a person like that during seizure could cause injury. All i can think is of I want the CNA caring for me!!!!!!!!

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

Wow she sounds like a rocket scientist! First aid courses teach you that it is anatomically impossible to swallow the tongue. You make the area safe, wait for the seizure to pass and place them in the recovery position. You can speak to them during and after by telling them that you are there with them and they are going to be OK. Client can be very confused post seizure.

If the client had never had a seizure before or the seizure went on for longer than 5 minutes it really requires immediate assessment.

[nursel56]

Ok so the other night at work one of my residents had a seizure........i grabbed the nurse and she told me to get her a cold towel......so i brought her a towel.....then she started wiping the residents face with it and slapping his face .......then she had me roll up the head of his bed........after the face slapping she droped the side rails and told me we needed to sit him up.....

:grn: what the h*ll???

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I work with seizure pts all the time....I'm a ortho/neuro nurse. If I have a patient with a seizure disorder my first action is to PAD those siderails, have some oxygen in the room hooked up and ready to turn on in case, and make sure I can get to suction quickly. If someone is having a seizure, I stay with them, lay them FLAT!!!, put them on their side, and keep talking to them....I immeidately call the doc, usually get orders for some ativan or some other quick acting medication, and just keep them safe. you NEVER force something into a mouth, or try to sit them up...suction is there in case they vomit....this lady needs some education...good for you for listening to your gut...it will serve you will.

[KirriG]

So true - we were told in the first First Aid course I ever did that the ambulance the teacher worked in had been called out to a home for someone who had a seizure. They arrived to find ... and please be aware this is pretty awful before you read on ... that one of the men there had got a safety pin and punched through the victim's tongue and attached it to his lip. (As an aside I gotta admit to being really burned that the guy who did it didn't get his fingers bitten off which is a real possibility if you put your hand in the mouth of someone having a seizure!)

So, no as others have said, clear the area, pad the area, protect the head as much as you can. NO restraining the patient! Afterwards put him/her in the recovery position, and as others have said, time the seizure and assess the patient for O2 needs. Then they'll want to sleep!

Kirri