seizure / blackout????

[sunnyweatherplease]

Can anyone offer advice please?
DS (10) witnessed someone collapse and go into a fit or seizure or something. I don't want to give too much info about the details of where or when etc, but can anyone shed any light on what he may have witnessed? Or what it's like to witness such a thing? I'm not sure how big a deal it is. He is obviously shaken by it, but can only listen to him, without really knowing what he saw?
Please don't take this post in the wrong way, I'm just trying to help my boy.
Thank you.

[YDdraigGoch]

Would it have been an epileptic fit?

[sunnyweatherplease]

Not sure. Fell down, hit head, shook, "stuff" (dribble? sick?) coming out of mouth.
Boys went for help and ambulance came.

[YDdraigGoch]

That sounds like epilepsy. The boys did the right thing.

[sunnyweatherplease]

Thanks. People are usually ok afterwards aren't they?

[gingangoolie]

If it was a short fit with just a bit of twitching for a short period not v traumatic to witness but if a full blown grand mal fit with stiffness of the whole body in spasm followed by rhythmical violent jerking, clenched mouth and going blue can be quite frightening to watch if its more prolonged.
If you explain to him that people do have seizures and then come out of them and get better, that should help.

[gingangoolie]

Can be other causes of apparent fits... from faints with a bit of twitching to heart rhythm problems to head injury with fit afterwards

[YDdraigGoch]

The person will be fine. He will probably be used to it.

[starfishmummy]

It may reassure him to know that a lot people who have a seizure will have absolutely no recollection of it happening. And many are fine afterwards - perhaps just a little sleepy.

[sunnyweatherplease]

ok. This is helpful actually. He has asked if the person will be ok, so I can pass that info on. A grand mal sounds awful.

I think it is a real eye opener for him that humans are not perfect and many people suffer from all kinds of problems all the time.
He is due to see this person again next week, so it sounds possible that they may be ok by then and will be able to talk to the boys about it.

[Cailleach]

My dad has grand mal epilepsy so I have seen this on more than one occasion.

Reassure your son that the person is almost always OK afterwards: it's just the electrical activity in the person's brain going haywire for a time and this "short circuits" the brain, causing a blackout.

My dad is sleepy afterwards but can't usually remember anything. However he hasn't had a fit for years as the medication he's on controls it pretty well.

You could make your son feel more confident about this by teaching him what to do if a person has a fit: move all furniture away from them if possible so that they don't hit themselves on it, watch them to make sure their breathing is ok, cushion their head by putting a folded jumper or something beneath it, and when the convulsions stop, roll the person onto their side.

This will make him feel more in charge of the situation and will reassure him that he can do something to help the fitting person.