Despite epilepsy impacting over 45,000 people in Ireland, less than half of people know what to do if they witness someone having a seizure.
It's among the findings from Amárach Research commissioned by Epilepsy Ireland, released to coincide with International Epilepsy Day and the launch of a new campaign.
The organisation is highlighting how seizure first aid is clear when you know what to do.
Speaking about the research findings and the new campaign, Epilepsy Ireland Advocacy and Communications Manager, Paddy McGeoghegan, said “The new findings show that the Irish public are still not clear on how to respond to a seizure – yet 85% agreed that it is important to know what to do.”
“Other findings within the research have found that 74% of the public have totally underestimated the prevalence of epilepsy, while nearly half of respondents stated that they have witnessed a seizure.”
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“Our message on International Epilepsy Day is clear – epilepsy is not a rare condition, affecting over 45,000 people across the country – and that is why everyone should be clear on how to correctly respond to a seizure through our key words of TIME, SAFE, STAY.
"The majority of the public clearly agree that it is important information to know, and we would appeal to everyone to visit www.epilepsy.ie to learn more about these three key words this International Epilepsy Day.”
What to do
TIME
The first thing you should do is TIME the seizure. This is because if a seizure goes over five minutes, an ambulance should be called.
Note that convulsive seizures typically last less than 2 minutes. The person’s body may go from jerking into what looks like sleep; this is normal and classed as the recovery period. If the person’s body is still seizing (jerking) at 5 minutes, an ambulance should be called as this is classed as an emergency.
SAFE
Keep the person SAFE during the seizure. If a person is having a convulsive seizure, cushion their head with something soft if possible and remove any harmful objects, e.g. furniture from their vicinity. NEVER put anything in a person's mouth or restrain them during a seizure.
Be aware that there are also types of seizures where the person does not experience convulsions. Instead, they may “zone out” or stare blankly, become confused or agitated, display behaviours like chewing, smacking their lips, tugging at their clothes, or wandering aimlessly. In this type of seizure, the person’s awareness of their surroundings is affected, and it is important to gently guide the person away from any danger. As with convulsive seizures, never restrict the person’s movements.
STAY
During the seizure and after it passes, STAY with the person. Often, after a seizure, a person with epilepsy will be confused and in many cases, exhausted. Stay with them until recovery is complete, explain what has happened and gently reassure them. The person may have experienced an injury if they have fallen, so, ensure normal first aid steps are taken.
TIME – SAFE – STAY makes it clear on how you should respond to a seizure!
- Call an ambulance if the seizure lasts for more than 5 minutes.
- Call an ambulance if a person having a seizure briefly comes out of it and goes into another one. This ties into point one. Both scenarios are potentially very dangerous for the person, so they need expert care.
- Call an ambulance if you know it’s a person’s first seizure or if you’re not sure whether the person has epilepsy or not (often a person with epilepsy will have a bracelet or card in their wallet/purse indicating they have epilepsy.)
- Call an ambulance if the person is physically injured e.g. if they have taken a heavy fall during their seizure.
- Call an ambulance if the person is pregnant as a precautionary measure in case any checks need to be carried out.
- Call an ambulance if you’re in any doubt – this is the most important point of all. No–one is going to be annoyed at you for calling an ambulance out of real concern; not the person who’s having the seizure and not the ambulance crew.
Further information on TIME, SAFE, STAY can be found on www.epilepsy.ie.
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