Do not restrain them, and do not put anything in their mouth. Both are instinctive, both are wrong, and both cause injuries. You cannot swallow your tongue.
What to do while it is happening
- Stay with them and stay calm.
- Protect them from injury — move furniture and hard objects out of the way rather than moving the person.
- Put something soft under their head and loosen anything tight around the neck.
- Time it. Look at a clock the moment you realise what is happening. Five minutes is the threshold that changes what you do, and seizures feel far longer than they are.
- Reassure them until they have fully recovered.
Only move the person if they are in actual danger — at the top of stairs, in traffic, near water or a heater.
What not to do
- Do not put anything in their mouth — not fingers, not a spoon, not a wallet. It breaks teeth, blocks the airway and gets rescuers bitten.
- Do not restrain or hold them down. You cannot stop a seizure, and holding someone through one causes dislocations and fractures.
- Do not give food, drink or tablets until they are fully alert.
Once the seizure stops
Roll them onto their side — immediately, if there is any food or fluid in their mouth. Check breathing and keep checking. The recovery position page covers the detail.
People are often confused, exhausted or embarrassed afterwards, and may not know where they are for a while. Stay with them, keep bystanders back, and tell them what happened once they can take it in.
When to call 000
- The seizure lasts 5 minutes or more, or longer than is usual for that person
- A second seizure follows quickly
- They are not responding more than 5 minutes after it ends
- They have breathing difficulty after it stops
- It is their first known seizure
- It happened in water
- They are injured
- You are in any doubt
Someone with diagnosed epilepsy having their usual kind of seizure, which stops on its own, does not automatically need an ambulance. The list above is what moves it from usual to not.
Not every seizure is a convulsion
Some seizures involve no shaking at all — staring, confusion, lip-smacking, plucking at clothing, wandering. The person may look awake but not be aware of what they are doing. Do not grab them. Guide them gently away from danger, stay with them, and wait for it to pass.
This is a summary of what is taught in class, not a substitute for training. Skills like this are assessed practically for a reason — reading about them is not the same as having done them. In a real emergency, call 000.
Learn it properly
Seizure management is taught in HLTAID011 first aid including CPR and HLTAID012 childcare first aid. Best First Aid Training runs both at Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool.
Source: Better Health Channel (Victorian Department of Health), Epilepsy — first aid and safety. For guidance on other seizure types, Epilepsy Action Australia can be reached on 1300 37 45 37.
