Choking position?

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Concerned_30

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Hi everyone, I need advise what to do when I see someone having seizure, facing up and foaming at the mouth.

Can the person choke?

Should I position him sideways? I know this is the best position for an unconscious person but if a person is having seizure and I move him sideways wouldn't the tongue fall between the teeth and get bitten?

Also is it harmful to move a person sideways if his limbs and muscles are all tensed up?

Thanks in advance for any help/opinions.
 
Good that you should ask

Yes, moving someone on their side as well as putting something soft under their head if possible is the thing to do. It will make it less likely for anything to go down the wrong tube since the reflexes to properly swallow are not likely to be working properly.

They would be very unlikely to bit their tongue because they are on their side, the tongue would have to be relaxed to fall & that is unlikely. They are likely to bite their tongue anyway regardless of how they're lying.

It their arms or legs are moving in a way that prevents you from putting them on their side, I would not force them though I would try rolling them on their other side. Do make sure NOT to hold them down though or fight against any movement they're making as that can seriously injure them.
 
It's very tempting to try and intervene when you see some having a seizure, but for the most part the person will be fine (if a little sore). I've had the majority of my tonic-clonic seizures when I've been alone, and I haven't suffered any worse in those situations then when folks have been around to help. (And it costs me more when folks are around since they tend to call for ambulances).

But if someone is about to roll off a cliff or is having a seizure in a dangerous context, then yes, intervene, and follow the guidelines that Eric mentions above.
 
I agree that if you can get them on their side without too much difficulty or enduring bodily harm during the seizure, it's preferable. I've had aspiration pneumonias which are terrible, but they may have occurred on account of throwing up shortly after the seizure ends, which i tend to do (before regaining consciousness). So I would say that if not during, definitely try to get them onto their sides once it's over.
 
I had a pretty bad seizure today and froze standing up. My dad had to kick my leg out of me and get me down on the ground.

He said I was choking on my siliva and turned me onto my side. I can sort of remember tossing and turning on the ground but I know he was trying to keep me on my side till I came out of it.
 
If someone doesn't fall during a seizure I really don't think their legs should be kicked out from under them.

That's more likely to cause injury than the seizure itself.
 
I don't know if I actually described that right. He really didn't KICK me down to the ground. He just pushed my one leg out from under me and help me down to the ground. He was afarid I was going to fall and hurt myself.
 
valeriedl said:
I don't know if I actually described that right. He really didn't KICK me down to the ground. He just pushed my one leg out from under me and help me down to the ground. He was afarid I was going to fall and hurt myself.
Click to expand...

Whew....

That sounds much better.
 
Hello. I would like to ask if a person who has a seizure and falls unconscious and chokes either on saliva/his tongue/vomits or food if he was eating at the moment, does he feel the painful experience of choking or is he unaware of it?
 
It depends on what type of seizure the person is having. If they are having a tonic clonic/grand mal then they are going to be unconcious and no they arent going to feel themselves choke on anything. Ive only had one thing in my mouth while having a t.c. and it was a dip of smokeless tobacco. I "woke up" from the seizure and it was still in the same spot in my lip and I didnt swallow any of the tobacco or my saliva so like epileric said the swallowing reflexes do not work while you are having a seizure.
 
Thanks, I am really grateful for the reply. I would be interested to hear other experiences about this issue too, I have a relative who receives anti-epilepsy medication due to a brain tumor and I would like to be informed on the amount of pain a seizure would cause. Well I was discussing this issue with a nurse and she was telling me that if you have a grand mal seizure, if you are as unlucky as to be alone with no-one to save you if the tongue blocks the airway, you will die being unconscious but I don't know if this is really the case.
 
I don't know what the odds are of blocking the airway during a grand mal seizure, but I can tell you I've had over 20 grand mals without intervention from bystanders, and never had that happen to me.
 
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