- Remain calm and stay with your child during a seizure to reduce distress and provide comfort.
- Time the attack and note any unusual behavior to understand the episode better.
- Place your child in a safe position to ensure their safety and prevent choking while they convulse.
- Move away any objects that may cause injury to your child during a seizure episode to ensure their safety.
When your child has a seizure, it can be one of the most frightening and disorienting experiences for you and your child. Seizures can range from mild to severe, but no matter what type of seizure your child is experiencing, it’s essential to know how to respond.
Parents must be aware of the signs and symptoms of seizures in children to recognize their seizures and take appropriate action. Knowing what steps to take when your child has a seizure will help ensure they receive the proper care and treatment as quickly as possible.
Contact reliable pediatric care services.
When your child has seizures, prompt and reliable care is necessary to ensure the best possible outcome. Contacting a reputable pediatric care service should be your first action if you suspect your child has seizures. Knowing which services to call for help can be confusing and intimidating. Still, it’s essential to carefully research different options to make sure you are connecting with an experienced provider who can respond quickly and competently.
Evaluating credentials and reviews from past patients can give you more information about each service before contacting them, helping you decide on the best option for your child’s needs. Doing your due diligence with these essential steps helps reduce any feeling of uncertainty or doubt as well as increase the likelihood of receiving acceptable medical treatment.
Keep them safe
Here are some tips on how to keep your child safe when they’re having seizures:
Remain calm and stay with your child.
When a child is having a seizure, it can be an incredibly stressful and disorienting experience for both them and the parent. Yet despite any fear or anxiety that may be present, it is essential to remain calm to provide optimal support for the child during this difficult time. Not only can remaining calm help alleviate distressful emotions on both sides, but it also allows the parent to stay focused on assisting in any way needed.
This may include ensuring your child’s safety or providing comfort during or after seizures by talking calmly and offering physical contact. Additionally, staying with your child until their seizure is over will ensure they are not feeling lonely and isolated during this challenging experience.
Time the seizure and note any unusual behavior
When your child has a seizure, it is essential to take note of any unusual behaviors before, during, and after the episode. By correctly timing the seizure, you can keep track of the duration of the attack and record any subtle changes between episodes.
Recognizing specific triggers or warning signs of an impending seizure can help you plan and identify emerging patterns. Some parents even keep logs to assist in tracking and identifying problem areas. All these efforts will provide more insight into what causes seizures and how to mitigate their presence.
Put them in a safe place.
Placing a child in the correct recovery position when experiencing a seizure is essential for ensuring their safety. Lying on their side, or if several seizures occur on the same day, placing them in recovery has proven beneficial.
This is because it helps keep their airways open, which allows them to breathe correctly and improves blood flow to their brain while they convulse. Additionally, keeping them on their side during a seizure ensures that they do not choke and that any secretions from salivary or gastric involvement are collected away from the mouth.
Clear away nearby objects that could cause injury
When a child experiences a seizure, it is essential to ensure that all possible objects and distractions in the area have been cleared away. Objects such as sharp objects, furniture edges with hard corners, and toys that could cause injury should all be removed from the immediate vicinity.
Allowing your child to experience a seizure in an environment that lacks external stimuli can reduce the likelihood of additional harm during this time of distress. Furthermore, child-proofing any environment where a seizure occurs will enable caregivers to provide comfort and support without worrying about injuries or distractions.
Do not restrain your child.
It is essential to remember not to restrain or put anything in the mouth of your child during a seizure, as this can pose potential dangers. This is because when a person is having a seizure, activating certain brain cells causes the body and muscles to become rigid and contract involuntarily.
Restraining or putting something into their mouth will further restrict and suffocate their movement. Additionally, as these seizures usually last only minutes, there is no medical need to restrain your child in any way–as it is usually an instinctual parental protective reaction based on anxiety and fear.
These are just some steps you can take when your child has a seizure. Knowing how to respond and provide proper support is vital in ensuring their safety and well-being and providing peace of mind for both parent and child.
