High school student having an epileptic fit…
Dispatcher Files
In our control room we receive many medical calls and working closely with @Netcare911 we get exposed to various scenarios. Myself being a trained and qualified paramedic I have never had to deal with a case such as the one we received recently.
We received a call from a high school who had a student that they thought was having an epileptic fit. We dispatched a Netcare911 response vehicle to assist and stabilize. Once we had received feedback from Netcare911, they informed us that it had not been an epileptic fit but it was a condition called “Syncope Seizure” which looks like an epileptic fit and is hard to differentiate. The patient was stabilized and decided not to be transported to hospital for further care.
An epileptic fit is caused by an irregularity or disturbance in the electrical activity in the brain resulting in convulsion and possible loss of consciousness as well as motor skill restriction. Duration and times of epileptic fits vary. Sees our previous post on “what to do is someone has an epileptic fit” – http://bpd.trackbox.world/2019/10/07/epilepsy/
A Syncope seizure is a lack of oxygen to the brain and causes confusion, muscle twitching, convulsion and physical collapsing.
In both, medics do not restrict or restrain the person in any way, do not try to stop the seizure. It is best to let them finish the seizure. Try best to supply support to the person having a seizure as they may collapse and hit their head or get other injuries. If the person has lost consciousness and collapsed, turn them into the recovery position. It is also best to keep an eye on the airway as the person may have lost motor skills and may vomit.
Symptoms are very similar and if the person is not a known epileptic, then there are means of trying to establish that it may be another medical cause and wise to seek GP advice.
Stephanie (SA38)
TrackBox ERPC National & International
08616-TRACK
08616-87225
https://trackbox.world/
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