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What you need to do when someone is having a seizure

712 views · Published 18 December 2018 · 2:45 · Indexed 20 October 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A local woman says a passenger who helped a woman having seizures on a flight to Cincinnati is a true hero. Now, in the aftermath, her Facebook video is also raising some important medical questions.

It's estimated that one in 26 people will suffer a seizure, according to specialists at the University of Cincinnati. So, just like we are trained for CPR or other emergencies, it raises the question: Should we also know what to do when someone is having a seizure?

Amy Hammond says she was on a flight from Houston to Cincinnati when another passenger began having seizures. Hammond says the male passenger who assisted the woman is a hero. According to Hammond, he helped her throughout the entire flight.

Which raises some questions: Would any of us know what to do if we were close by a person having a seizure?

Dr. Michael Privitera is the head of the Epilepsy Center at UC. He did not treat this patient but did answer a few questions about seizure first aid.

Can anyone have a seizure?
"You have to have a predisposition to seizures, so being afraid to fly might lower your seizure threshold. If you were really worried and almost in a panic attack and had a high level of anxiety, that might lower the threshold, make it easier for you to have a seizure, but it would be extremely rare to see somebody just get so nervous that they would then have a seizure," Dr. Privitera said.

What should you do if you see someone who appears to be having a seizure?
"So the main thing to do when somebody has a seizure is to keep them safe. So you want to roll them on their side, usually, because you don't want them to aspirate, to swallow or inhale their saliva or things in their mouth. You want to keep them on their side so that the airway is clear. You want to make sure they're not hurting themselves, so, for example, if somebody is having a seizure and moving around, bouncing around on a sidewalk, put something under their head so they're not banging their head. A seizure usually ends in about two minutes, and so the most important thing is to wait and watch and let that person recuperate," said Dr. Privitera.

Now when seizures don't stop, Dr. Privitera says that's when other medical treatment may be necessary to avoid further complications.

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