OK, the lack of useful (and the true wealth of false) information is strange and annoying. This is the century of the fruitbat, after all.

But why the sudden interest? Did anyone have a seizure? And if so, who?

Hence my bemoaning the persistent floating around of false theories.

(And not as aware of what is happening to it as ppl’s fingers tend to be….)

No, the best thing to do is try to make sure the person doesn’t hurt him or herself by falling (if possible) and to keep any objects that may be harmful away. Depending on the cause of the seizure it should pass shortly, but the person may be disoriented for a while. If the seizure lasts for more than a few minutes then help should be called.

Apparently, given the mother’s reaction, this girl is not subject to seizures normally. If that’s the case, then she should be evaluated by a doctor to try to determine the cause.

It’s just that until now she never was fast enough to insert her finger before her daughter’s mouth clamped shut.

Concerning the tongue, well, some of the info sites stated that you should turn the person onto his/her side after the seizure, not just because vomiting might occur but also because the tongue could become lax and floppy in the aftermath and impede breathing.
But that’s after the seizure. During the seizure tongue swallowing is a myth and fingers and objects should stay out of the mouth, all sources, German and English, stated .

I didn’t hear all the mother was telling my colleague Ma., so I have to rely on her later saying that that was not the girl’s first seizure, but apparently the first one mom witnessed.

Luckily, the girl had already been sitting as she had said she was feeling sick (an “aura”, I now know), and when she suddenly twisted off the chair, her mother and Ma. caught her and laid her on the ground.
Over mom announcing “Oh my god” repeatedly, Ma. calmly stated that the girl was having a seizure, so while Ma. stripped off two of her sweaters to put under the girl’s head, I stepped over them and called an ambulance.

Later, the girl was indeed confused; not overly so, I’d say, but the paramedics would hear nothing of taking her to one of the closer hospitals and decreed she was going to the next bigger city with a university hospital.

Anyway, much as I tend to dislike a lot of my colleague Ma.’s ways, she was really great in that emergency. Not that she seemed to know everything (I read that it’s perfectly normal that ppl with seizures turn blue for a short while, which was a thing that worried her deeply while it occurred), but she stayed totally calm (at least outwardly) which was a real help.
She also had the sense to note how long the seizure took; well, I gotta say, two minutes rarely felt that long to me….

@ the Kitten: Tch, you evil person….

I knew a guy in college who told me he had experienced seizures, but he was taking some medication to prevent them. He didn’t have one for the year or so that I knew him.

I didn’t know about keeping objects out of the seizees mouth. I’ll remember that.

Just out of curiosity, who pays for the ambulance and paramedics in Germany? Does the patient get a bill? I was taken to the hospital by paramedics once about 11 years ago. I had to pay $300 for the trip to the hospital. For some reason, my health insurance didn’t cover it. They tried not to cover other stuff too! I hate America’s mess of a health care system!

Hah, when I went to that college for 2 years there was this epileptic woman during 2nd year.
Once we went on a shopping trip to Münster, her, another girl and me.
And while we were having a snack at some café she suddenly stared off into space and stated “Oh, I forgot my meds today.” We thanked her profusely, for the forgetting as well as for the sharing, but we got lucky and she didn’t get any seizures.
She did get one though during that year in the bus on her way to college. As the connection between the city with the college and hers was so crappy, she had to wait for almost 2 hours for the next bus back home, which she chose to spend at the college rather than the bus station.
That woman looked like death warmed over all the time she was waiting for her trip back home…

Well, if you call an ambulance for a skinned knee they make you pay for it.
But if you call it for a good reason they do not.
At the store, this was the second time we called one.

First time was some years ago for a woman with blood pressure problems. She was feeling bad enough to want medical attention, and she was looking pale enough for us to agree she was probably right. They treated her on the spot and didn’t even take her with them, and no one got billed. They only sent 2 paramedics for that call though.

For last week’s they sent 5 ppl, 2 of ‘em doctors.

I always wondered how well the whole belt/shirt thing would work in practice, but kept an “if it doesn’t help it can’t hurt either” attitude toward it (this obviously would not apply to harder materials, which would hurt). I feel cheated that whoever authored the high school textbook felt the need to hold on to an outdated piece of information just because they grew up with it (presumably). Oh well, now I know better.

i got all sorts of hand/powertools around the house, i.e. things that at least, maim, if not kill.

and i don’t have a single roll of crepe bandage. clean rolls anyway.
nor sufficient bandaids, or other assorted such wossnames.

I DEMAND MY LOST COMMENT IN WHICH I SPAKE OF SEKRIT KNOWLEDGE OF SHOVING WALLETS AND WOSSNAMES DOWN PEOPLE’S WINDPIPES INSTEAD OF FINGERS AND/OR OTHER BODY PARTS.

and yes, i am shouting at a blog engine. i should be off to bed.

sometimes Kismet treats me bad. I’m not a spambot, you know.

sheesh. maybe i should switch to wordpress. blogger is too.. common, and haloscan just shut down. sheesh.

point:

spammity spama spama spam..just trying them out

@ Caesar: Yeah, well, all the sites I read did also point out that the tongue-swallowing was nonsense.

http://pentra.blogspot.com/2010/02/hurt-locker-vs-avatar.html
Spamming is not good! M’kay?!

If you know that, why are you doing it then…?

@ 13: So did you get a first aid kit by now??

and yes, i am shouting at a blog engine. i should be off to bed.

I rather think you were shouting at good old Akismet, not that this really makes any difference.
Yes, bed sounds like a good idea.

THERE it is!

sometimes Kismet treats me bad. I’m not a spambot, you know.

Not?

@ David: Well, it’s supposed to be spring, and some of the spring flowers are growing already, but it’s still cold, and there are some patches of snow left in places that don’t get much sun.

@ Pan: You know, if you hadn’t been spamming so horribly, I’d have helped you with the crooked smiley, but, nah….

“Hmmmm, this IP has been posting four comments within four minutes…. better put the next comment from there into my spam folder right away.”

You do not have to have a seizure illness to actually experience one, ANYONE can have a seizure for a number of reasons. I should know.

I’m speaking from my own personal experience. Jan 2009 I had a Grand Mal Seizure. For days prior to it, I could almost ‘FEEL” something in the air, something bad was gonna happen, just FELT IT. I was under extreme stress, and also suffer from bouts of insomnia, at the time, I was roughly going on 5 days of no sleep.

The only people in the apt at the time were my son, and his best friend, my “adopted” son. I scared the holy crap out of them. Last thing I remember was replying to a text, then, this is what happened (as told to me by my son and “son”) I had been sitting on the couch, and let out a blood curdling scream,-they both said they never heard ANYTHING like it, and hope to NEVER hear it again, EVER- and my body threw itself backwards on the couch. Whole body went rigid, then the seizure went into full swing, I was frothing at the mouth, my arms and legs, well, whole body was doing that shaking thing, cannot think of a better way to state it. Hands were drawn up, legs kicking, back arching badly, was throwing my head around, I quit breathing for a few seconds….The whole time they were on the phone with 911 and panicking more by the minute esp when I stopped breathing. They turned me on my side, moved coffee table far away in case I threw myself towards it and made sure that my airway was clear of anything ie: pillows, etc., this done before calling 911 and turned out to be the right thing to do….Paramedics and 2 police cars arrived….apparently I was like a rabid animal…they said once the seizure started to subside I was talking, and actually struck a policeman, I have NO memory on any of it. I was packed into ambulance and taken to ER….I have no clue how long anything lasted, My brain(or realization) finally caught up and I found myself on a gurney being held down by 4 grown men…and remember telling them to “let me go!” and this “wasn’t Russia!” I was fighting to get up,get away, because I couldn’t understand WHY I was being held “against my will” that was my thought at the time, and I thought I was in danger, so yeah, I was fighting like crazy! Apparently, you have extreme strength, probably the Adrenaline, I think it’s also referred to the “The Fight or Flight Response”

When my brain started to “calm” down, and I realized what was going on-that I was in an ER, I demanded to know why I was there, and what the h*ll was going on.

DR and paramedics explained to me, told me everything, and I was mortified!! I hit a cop and apparently was extremely rude to all.

When you come out of the seizure, and your brain realizes what happened–in reference to talking and not remembering anything-you are most def. in a haze. I had NO memory of anything, and probably for the best. I had brain scans, brain wave tests, flashing light tests, pretty much every test they could do. All came back normal.

The seizure was brought on by…..extreme stress and lack of sleep. My body just sent out the signal “I’ve had enough!!” Another thing..esp. for people that have never had seizures before, and I guess it depends on how severe it is….. after wards, you will HURT!! Massive pain!! My body was so sore, and my back was just brutal…..due to the thrashing about and arching back with such force, it was about a month before I could get up without assistance, and 2 months before the pain in walking started to ease up.

I have seen seizures before, and again, this was my first, and hopefully MY LAST Grand Mal Seizure…..and stick with the advice above, nothing in the mouth..turn person on side, make sure nothing blocks airway, clear things away from head, and try to prevent banging head in person is laying on a hard surface and if seizure lasts more then a few seconds or is a first for someone, OR if in ANY doubt, Call for an Ambulance and get the person to a Hospital, Esp if person having seizure has hit their head. (remember, Actor John Travolta’s son died from hitting his head whilst suffering a Grand Mal)

Hope this is read but more importantly, hope this helps.

Take care.

But that girl got her silly mom’s finger stuffed between her teeth which could have done more potential damage (not to mention the damage to mom’s finger….) than the soft belt I sillily inserted once my colleague had coaxed mom’s finger out of the girl’s mouth, I suppose.
Now I know better of course.
And it seems the girl suffered no damage from it.

One thing I also read is that seizures announce themselves, which for some reason is called “aura”, although usually that doesn’t seem to be over days but mere minutes.
And the girl said she was feeling whoozy/sick which seems to be a common aura.

She didn’t scream though, she just uttered a strange noise, somewhere between an actual word and a moan when her seizure started. While making that noise, she twisted off the chair we had sat her on for her whooziness in a curious sideways motion.

Thankfully she didn’t attack anyone. She didn’t say anything either.
She “merely” suffered the seizure (the bucking and shaking) and then lay senseless.
When coming to - while the ambulance ppl were already there - she was very disoriented, poor child.

I can imagine you hurting all over. I mean, even if you do not hurt yourself falling or thrashing about, you tense all of your muscles for a few minutes. That alone will hurt later on.

Wanted to share an actual seizure experience, from the horses mouth, so to speak, and I think to just “get the experience off my chest” I have never really described to anyone before. I’m also glad the girl was ok after, if only a little dazed.

Read some of the other blogs, quite interesting.