Time - Safe - Stay: International Epilepsy Day on February 14th
International Epilepsy Day takes place on February 14th and in advance of the day, Epilepsy Ireland are appealing to the public to learn more about TIME – SAFE – STAY.
These are the key words to remember when it comes to responding to a person having a seizure and next week, Epilepsy Ireland will launch a new eye-catching campaign highlighting this with the Irish public.
There are 40,000 people living with epilepsy in Ireland. Epilepsy Ireland Advocacy & Communications Manager, Paddy McGeoghegan, said the rationale behind the campaign is to correct some of the ‘myths’ that exist, and make sure that when people respond and help, they do so in the correct way.
Epilepsy Ireland give the following advice, following the TIME – SAFE – STAY mantra.
“TIME - if you encounter a person having a seizure, the first thing you must do is time the seizure because if it goes over 5 minutes, it is a medical emergency, and an ambulance will need to be called.
“SAFE – keep the person having the seizure safe. If they are in danger of banging off something during the seizure, for example a chair, move the chair, not the person. Protect their head, if possible, by placing something soft underneath. It is important to note that a person can also be upright during a seizure and walking towards danger. If this is the case, guide them away from danger.
“Keeping the person safe also means NEVER putting anything in their mouth, pinning them down or restraining them. These are the myths associated with seizure first aid. A person cannot swallow their tongue and putting something in their mouth can cause huge damage to them. Equally, a person will likely have no control over their body during a seizure and pinning them down or restraining them will result in an injury for them or the person responding.
“STAY – after the seizure has ended, stay with the person. They will often feel dazed, confused and exhausted after a seizure, so stay with them and let them know everything will be ok.”