Seizure Guidelines & Procedures

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About Epilepsy

Recurring seizures are the main symptom of epilepsy, a common disorder of the brain. Sometimes seizures look like a blank stare, a sudden fall without apparent reason or sometimes it involves convulsions and loss of consciousness.

Seizures Types include:

Motor Symptoms

  • Clonic: Jerking movements
  • Tonic: Tense or Rigid Muscles
  • Combined Tonic-Clonic (Previously known as Grand Mal).
  • Myoclonus: Brief muscle spasms, including eyelid spasms/repetitive blinking
  • Epileptic Spasms: Bloody flexes and extends repeatedly
  • Atonic: Muscles become weak

Non-Motor Symptoms

  • Absence Seizure: Activity or movement stops, eyelids may flutter or they may stare off into space, loss of awareness and these last less than one minute.
  • Loss of sensation, emotion or cognition
  • Behavior Arrest: Lack of movement

Most seizures last 1-3 minutes. Absence Seizures may last as little as 10 seconds. Awareness returns slowly and the person may be sleepy, confused, embarrassed or irritable. 

Seizure Action Plan

Epilepsy Foundation's Stay - Safe - Side Guide  external link icon

  1. Stay calm. Begin timing seizure. If you need assistance, call campus security at 425-388-9990 or Extension 9990 from a campus phone.
  2. Keep the person safe.
    • If necessary, ease the person to the floor.
    • Do not try to restrain the person.
    • Push nearby objects out of the way to avoid injury.
    • Do not try to force anything between their teeth.
    • Protect their head. Place something soft like a coat under their head.
    • Loosen anything tight around the neck.
  3. As the seizure subsides, turn them onto their side if not awake. Keep the airway clear.
  4. Stay with them until they’ve recovered.
    • Reassure and comfort them if they seem confused.
    • Offer to help them to the restroom if they lost control of their bladder or bowels.

When the person is becoming conscious again, allow a few minutes for resting.  Seizures can be exhausting and very disorienting, so introduce yourself and talk with the person until they become oriented.  If possible, place a jacket or towel under their head.  In some cases, it may take hours or a few days to recover normal neurological functions.

When to call 911

Campus Policy is to always call 911 in the event of an emergency.

This is especially important if...

  • If this is the person’s first seizure. If you’re not sure, call 911.
  • A seizure with loss of consciousness that lasts longer than 5 minutes.
  • The person has a second seizure quickly after the first.
  • An injury happens during the seizure.
  • The person has difficulty breathing or regaining consciousness or has a blue or gray color to their skin.
  • The person is under the age of 18.
  • The person has requested 911 to be called in the event of a seizure.

If 911 is called from a campus phone, EvCC security will be automatically notified.

Common Seizure Triggers

While seizure triggers are uncommon in adults with epilepsy, some activities can trigger seizures in some individuals. These are called reflex epilepsies. It may be helpful to notify students in advance if an seizure-triggering activity may be taking place in the classroom.

  • Flickering Lights or strobe lights.
  • Startling, loud and unexpected noises.
  • Specific moving patterns like dark stripes or other geometric patterns.
  • Experiencing high stress or sleep deprivation.

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