Seizure First Aid: What to Do and What Not to Do

By Jointra Editorial Team, Certified EMT

What Is a Seizure?

A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. It can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings, and levels of consciousness. Seizures can look very different depending on what part of the brain is affected.

Types of Seizures

Generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal): The most dramatic type. The person loses consciousness, the body stiffens (tonic phase), then shakes rhythmically (clonic phase). Lasts 1–3 minutes typically.

Absence: Brief episodes of staring, sometimes with eye blinking or lip smacking. Common in children. May be mistaken for daydreaming.

Focal (partial): Affects one area of the brain. Person may remain conscious but have unusual sensations, movements, or confusion.

Febrile: Triggered by fever in young children (6 months–5 years). Usually benign but frightening.

What to Do

1. Stay calm and stay with the person 2. Ease them to the ground if they are standing 3. Protect the head — place something soft underneath 4. Turn them on their side if there is vomiting or foam at the mouth 5. Clear the area of anything hard or sharp 6. Time the seizure — this matters for EMS 7. Stay until fully conscious

What NOT to Do

• Never restrain the person — you cannot stop a seizure and restraint causes injury
• Never put anything in their mouth — people cannot swallow their tongues; this is a myth
• Do not give water, food, or medications until fully alert

When to Call 911

Call 911 if:

• The seizure lasts more than 5 minutes
• The person does not regain consciousness after the seizure stops
• A second seizure follows shortly after the first
• The person is injured during the seizure
• The person is pregnant
• The person has no history of seizures (first-time seizure)
• The seizure occurs in water
• The person has diabetes or another serious condition

After the Seizure

Most people experience a postictal phase — a period of confusion, fatigue, or sleep lasting minutes to hours. This is normal. Reassure them. Do not leave them alone until they are fully oriented.

Status Epilepticus

A seizure lasting more than 5 minutes, or two or more seizures without regaining consciousness in between, is status epilepticus — a medical emergency requiring immediate EMS response and IV medication to stop the seizure.