Emergency Care: Seizures and Strokes
This page provides an overview of seizures and their emergency care procedures.
Seizures are abnormal patterns of electricity in the brain that can cause convulsions and involuntary muscle movements. They can be caused by various factors including brain damage, epilepsy, high fever, or consuming drugs or poison.
Signs and symptoms of seizures may include:
- Pre-seizure symptoms: anxiety, nausea, dizziness, seeing bright lights or spots
- During seizure: uncontrolled eye movements, metallic taste in mouth, loss of consciousness, drooling, uncontrolled body movements, and loss of bladder or bowel control
Emergency care for seizures involves:
- Assessing the scene for safety
- Noting the time the seizure started
- Carefully placing the person on the floor
- Removing sharp objects from the area
- Loosening clothing around the neck
- Cushioning the person's head
- Turning the person on their side after convulsions stop
- Remaining with the person
- Calling 911 if necessary
Highlight: It's crucial to call 911 if the seizure lasts longer than five minutes, the person has never had a seizure before, or if they have two or more seizures in a row.
Definition: Stroke, also known as a brain attack or cerebrovascular accident, occurs when the brain doesn't receive an adequate supply of blood, potentially causing severe brain damage.
There are two types of strokes:
- Ischemic stroke: caused by blocked arteries
- Hemorrhagic stroke: caused by a broken artery
Vocabulary: Cardiovascular disease is a type of heart disease characterized by narrowing arteries and is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.