My name is Andrew and I was born with Epilepsy. I had my first seizure and was diagnosed at two years old. In college, I had to wear a helmet for eight months, and have been on over 16 different medications throughout my lifetime. I also have spoken to many classes about my Epilepsy and what to do if I have a seizure in class and I have found that there are many misconceptions about the proper response to a seizure.

Three years ago, I created an acronym to help my classmates remember the procedure and have encouraged other Epilepsy patients to get it tattooed on the back of their neck like I will. The acronym spells “CARE.”

C. C stands for “call 9-1-1.” A lot of people believe that you only need to call 9-1-1 if a seizure lasts over five minutes. However, that five-minute marker actually represents something completely different. A safe time period to wait before calling 9-1-1 is two minutes, this is the average length of a seizure that someone will come out of without medication. After two minutes the chance of them recovering from the seizure without medical attention lessens. If a person is in a seizure for five minutes or more, they are in Status Epilepticus. Status Epilepticus increases the risk of brain damage and not coming out of the seizure naturally. Post-Status Epilepticus (a seizure longer than 30 minutes) increases the chance of permanent damage and even death.

A. A stands for “ask elementary questions.” These questions can be anything that the person would know the answer without thinking. The person cannot respond while having the seizure so when they respond you will know when the seizure has ended. I am a Star Trek fan so people have asked me, “What color is Spock’s blood?” I have also been asked “What is 2+2?”. Notice that the answers (green and four) are one-syllable words. A person coming out of a seizure will most likely not be able to give you extended answers, so keep the questions and answers simple.

R. R stands for “recovery position.” Recovery position, also known as ‘rescue position’, is the best way to adjust the body of someone coming out of a seizure because it reduces the chance of them being able to hurt themselves. Recovery position is having the person on their side, their knees bent, and both arms laying out perpendicular to the rest of their body (away from their face and mouth). Never adjust or hold down someone WHILE they are seizing. No matter how scary it may be, let the seizure happen. Not only do you endanger them, but also yourself. The only time that you should move someone WHILE they are seizing is if they are in immediate danger by staying where they are.

E. E stands for ‘emergency contacts.’ Most Epilepsy patients have an alert bracelet or other way of keeping emergency contact phone numbers close by in case they have an unexpected seizure. Look for a piece of jewelry with a medical symbol on it, a keychain, or in their wallet for a list. During my time wearing a helmet, I kept my phone lock screen with a list of my medications, dosages, diagnoses, and ICE contacts.

There you have it, the four basic steps of responding to a seizure. I hope this helps! Pass this on to help educate others.