What to do when ‘nobody’s home’

COMPLEX partial seizures – also known as focal onset impaired awareness seizures – can have a devastating effect on someone’s life.

It’s described as a seizure that starts in one area or side of the brain.

This is most often in the temporal lobe or frontal lobe of the brain but they can also start in other areas.

During a seizure the person is not aware of their surroundings.

Focal impaired awareness seizures typically last one to two minutes.

These seizures may have an aura or warning, which are in themselves a type of focal aware seizure.

Symptoms include automatisms such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling, becoming unaware of surroundings, and wandering.

When they involve the frontal lobes, you may see bicycling movements of the legs or pelvic thrusting or other complex movements.

The person loses awareness and stares blankly.

So even though their eyes are open and they may make movements that seem to have a purpose, in reality “nobody’s home”.

If the symptoms are subtle, other people may think the person is just daydreaming.

A person’s ability to respond may be impaired.

Some seizures make the person unable to move yet still aware of what is happening around them.

Advice for if you witness someone having a seizure includes not to use restraint, remove dangerous objects from the person’s path, calmly direct the person to sit down and guide him or her from dangerous situations.

Use force only in an emergency to protect the person from immediate harm and remain with the person.