Seizures

mom23RN · Jan 18, 2006

Call 911 and monitor the patient until they arrived. I'm not sure what you have on hand? Oxygen. There's really not too much to do except keep them safe until more help arrives.

tinyrita · Jan 18, 2006

Just wondering if oxygen is justified here.Thanks for your kind help.

TazziRN, RN · Jan 18, 2006

Oxygen is ALWAYS justified for a seizure. The brain needs to recover from the seizure activity and needs the extra oxygen.

alitory, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2006

YES I agree with the above poster! Apply Oxygen and call 911. I know as the day Charge Nurse in Assisted Living we were not able to have oxygen there on hand I was lucky enough to not have that as an issue, but maybe your facility is different. That was one issue i had there was I had no o2 or even sat monitors and that comes in handy when you have pt's with respiratory issues!

Alison

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Jan 18, 2006

Okay here is the reason O2 is needed...during seizure a patient is NOT breathing!!!!! So O2 is needed to compensate for that! Like my hubby, who is a paramedic, says..."in all but severely rare instances, O's never hurt!!!!!!!"

Do not attempt to hold a patient during a seizure, and for Goodness sakes do not hold a tongue or put anything in their mouth. Let the seizure happen, move items away from the patient, and be ready for when it stops!

The patient will be very confused in most cases, even ones use to seizures can be combative and upset because of hypoxia! Do your best to assess injury and do VS...and hopefully you have gotten 9-11 on the way (they have medications that work quickly for seizure activity, and the equipment to help with airway or other complications!).

When I witnessed a seizure, 9-11 was called as I assisted the patient and took vs and started the ABC's of CPR...assure airway, check breathing are the biggies! Got to get them breathing and oxygen in them fast! (I mean, if you aren't breathing and you are using your muscles like a runner on speed...your oxygen depletion is high!!! Just think of it that way!)....

And do NOT be afraid or panic! The first time you see one, yes...they aren't pretty at all and quite scary, but you have to maintain and help! Also remember...incontenence is common, but clean up only if time permits...that is the least of the concerns at this point. I tend to look for any bleeding and help that first and make sure a gurney can get to the patient by moving things...

MadisonsMomRN, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2006

You should maintain their safety. Just like the pp said, dont put anything in their mouth and roll them on their side and let them seize. You should keep an eye on the approximate length of the seizure too. My son has seizures and this is what we do. I was told that most people actually do breathe but it is very very shallow. Oxygen is a big plus in helping them!

Just keep calm and make sure they dont hurt themselves.

casi, ASN, RN · Jan 19, 2006

tinyrita, since your profile says your a student, I'm assuming your an aide too?

As an aide I would definately call 911 first, I don't know if you have a nurse within the facility or if you have on-call, but I would get ahold of them next. They will know more of the residents history and can walk you through the steps you need to take in this particular situation. Also get a co-worker to help you. They can be your runner, getting paper work copied for the medics and to help in playing phone tag with on-call nurses.