A seizure occurs when there is a release of electrical charge in the brain due to the complex chemical imbalance in the nerve cells. If you have never seen a seizure before, it shall be difficult for you to watch a patient undergoing it. When a person enters into a fit of seizure, the control over muscles movement, speech delivery capability, vision and awareness is interfered. Seizures can affect the whole body or a side making the person unconscious even. The brain cells fail to perform properly and the body loses its control.
How Do You Stop A Seizure?
Usually a seizure lasts for about 60 seconds to 90 seconds. Sometimes the person can be in a seizure for up to 5 minutes. It is necessary to note the duration of the seizure if possible. One must always call of immediate medical assistance if the person undergoing the seizure is the pregnant if the seizure time is more than 90 seconds. Within seconds, a seizure can develop therefore speed is very necessary to stop it from happening. It is possible that the person who will enter into a state of seizure can sense it coming following symptoms like flashing lights, meals resulting in low or high blood sugar, stress and over-heating. As the person can sense it, he or she will be able to adopt and apply the medical breathing exercise known as the Buteyko breathing method. This kind of breathing exercise is a special kind found by the Leading Soviet physiologist.
As you begin this breathing technique, the respiration comes under your control and controls the upcoming developments preventing or stopping the seizure to happen naturally. Over breathing which decrease oxygenation is often a part of entering into a seizure and this breathing technique asks you to do the opposite. You have to relax and start breathing normally through the nose using your diaphragm. Avoid rapid breathing using chest muscles. Due to this reduced breathing technique, air hunger will occur within 10 to 20 seconds. Maintain the air hunger filling your lungs with carbon dioxide. This excess unreleased carbon dioxide will help in calming down the excite nerves. The threshold of excitement will also come down to normal and blood supply to the brain will improve. It is to be kept in mind that this breathing exercise is not a substitute for medications to help you treat seizure.
People might have a seizure during sleep. In order to stop a seizure during sleep, you can adopt methods like:
- Avoiding or preventing sleeping on your back
- Not using too warm clothes or blankets during sleeping thus maintaining normal heat exchange.
- Having a high oxygen level when you get to sleep. This can be achieved by not eating just before sleeping. You can also choose to sleep in an armchair.
- Adapting to only nasal breathing during sleep. In case you wake up and find your mouth dry, you should go for mouth tapping techniques.
How to Help a Patient During Seizure?
You have to see that the person does not get injured. When you see a person undergoing a seizure, try to stop him or her from falling and hitting the ground. Remove all the furniture near him or her so that he or she does not end up getting hurt.
If you see a person already on the ground, turn him to her sideways making the fluid flow out of the mouth and during the positioning; do not apply too much pressure. Do not out anything including your fingers into the person’s mouth undergoing a seizure.
Do not hold down the affected person as it can result in injuries like dislocated shoulder joints.
- Epilepsy Foundation. (n.d.). Seizure Types. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-seizures
- Epilepsy Society. (n.d.). Seizures. https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/seizures#.YdXklLNR3aQ
- Epilepsy Action. (n.d.). First Aid for Seizures. https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/daily-life/first-aid-seizures
- Buteyko Clinic International. (n.d.). Buteyko Breathing Method. https://buteykoclinic.com/buteyko-method/
- Harvard Health Publishing. (2015). How to Stop Seizures without Medication. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-stop-seizures-without-medication
Also Read: