Epileptic friend had a bad fit today, I'm an epilepsy ignoramus. Educate me please.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Right, a woman I know from my (ex-)bf group is epileptic. I knew this but didn't really think about it.
Anyway this morning at the group she apparently had a 20 minute fit & is now in hospital
It made me realise that i know next to nothing about epilepsy (bar what i may have seen on Casualty/ER!) so thought the MN pool of knowledge could help educate me.

What brings on fits? or is it random? Is she normally likely to be on some sort of meds?

Her DH apparently said (on the phone) she would come out of it in 2mins and to leave her alone (this i have heard on tv too) but she didn't.
The paramedics gave her something, she came round a bit, then fitted again. So she went in and is being kept in overnight. If she doesn't fit again she can go home tomorrow.

I wasn't there this morning but it got me thinking...
What should i know in case i was with her in the future?
What does she need now? just rest or something more?

Thanks

If she has fits regularly, she is likely to be on medication. Basically, the best thing you can do for someone having a fit is nothing. Make sure they are as safe as possible, ie clear the area around them. If possible put something soft under their head. Remove glasses if they wear them. Do NOT put anything in their mouth. They won't swallow their tongue, it's a myth. You can loosen collar to make them a bit more comfortable and basically sit back and wait till the fit finishes. They may be confused for a while afterwards so just reassure and keep them comfortable.

If they are a known epileptic you don't need to take them to A&E unless the fit lasts for more than a few minutes (20 is certainly too long) or unless they have more than one fit in close succession. However, if you're in any doubt, better be safe than sorry and call an ambulance. Hope that helps!

in the future if she has a fit.
make sure she is safe, remove danger from her(i move tea cups from dh) don't attempt to move her. if it is a short fit, she will be (ok might be) very disoreted when she comes to.
for bigger fits, I would speak to her and ask her how it is dealt with, (but always ring 999 if you are worried)

My friend is epileptic. I've never seen her having a fit, but she's told me that if she does then not to touch her but to move anything out of the way that she could hurt herself on and to try to stop people gathering round to stare if she's in a public place .

Otherwise she'll come out of it on her own and afterwards will be very tired so will need help to either get home or go to rest somewhere.

She takes medication which cuts down on the fits but they can happen sometimes. Her epilepsy isn't life threatening but obv very inconvenient. She gets a little bit of a warning usually that she's going to have a fit.

20 minutes is a long time to be fitting. The paramedics probably gave her a uscle relaxant to try to stop her seizure.

My Dad started to have seizures at the age of 55 for no apparent reason. His meds controls it well and he is allowed to drive.

FFS I type slow! There was only one answer when I started.
Hope your friend gets out soon.

Thank you thank you everyone.

I don't know what type she has, but i think it's more like Shona's friend. more of an inconvenience. up until today that is.
One person says it was 15mins, another says 20. still a long time to be sitting and watching and waiting. the friends who were there are quite upset.
they said she looked 'funny' then started fitting. she had her little DD with her who was put into the nursery (same building) until the dad could get there from work (all nice ladies who know the mum there so that's kinder than it sounds).

Selfishly, i'm glad i wasn't there. i can learn more about it and hopefully be helpful next time.

I work in a Special School, we're lucky that we have a Nurse on site, but we would phone 999 at 5 minutes as well.

anything after 5 mins is too long, i had an ambulance called for me when i had one a few years ago and wasnt coming out of it ( i actually vomited and choked and stopped breathing for a bit as well before they arrived)

i remember when i was coming round on hte way to hospital them radioing ahead saying they thought i was status epilepticus, which is another way of saying i had an over long and prolonged seizure

20 mins is definitely a 999 call

I work in a special school too and we call 999 after 5 minutes, this is on the basis that damage can occur after 30 minutes. It's better to call 999 and send them away than it is to wait and have damage occur. Most of our pupils who are known to have prolonged fits have an emergency medication called Buccal Midazolam that we can administer if their seizure goes over 5 (sometimes 10) minutes or if they are going in and out of seizures without recovering.

If she has a seizure while you're around make sure she is safe, remove any objects she's likely to hurt herself on if possible, keep an eye on her and time the seizure. If it goes beyond five minutes, make that call. The ambulance service have told us they'd rather come out and be sent away because the person has recovered than they would deal with Status Epilepticus.

Thanks again everyone, she's been sent home from hospital today so that's good news and a relief.

Hope to speak to her in the next few days and see how she is.