Remember that they are not dangerous to others. The movements produced by a seizure are almost always too vague, too unorganized, and too confused to threaten the safety of anyone else.
Handling partial seizures
Dealing with other people
Things to remember about seizures
Simple partial seizures don't require any special response except to recognize what's happening and be supportive until the seizure is over.
For complex partial seizures, the following steps may help:
 Reassure others. Explain that any unusual behavior is a temporary condition brought on by a seizure and that it will end in a few minutes.
Remove hazards or anything from the area that might injure someone who doesn't know where he is or what he's doing.
Don't restrain the person during a complex partial seizure, especially if he or she is already agitated and confused. Efforts to restrain may produce an unconscious aggressive response.
Guide gently away from anything that could be dangerous, like an open fire or a busy street.
Stay back until the episode has ended if the person appears obviously agitated or belligerent.
Be reassuring and helpful as awareness returns. Remember that people may get back their ability to hear and understand before they are able to speak again. Confusion, depression, agitation, irritability, belligerence, and drowsiness are all possible after effects of seizures.
Watch the time. Most partial seizures last a minute or two. But people may feel confused for up to half an hour afterward. Longer periods of confusion may mean that seizure activity is continuing and the person needs medical help.
Important: Do not leave the seizure victim alone. Anyone nearby should call 911 and the patient should be taken to an emergency room under the following circumstances:
If any seizure lasts beyond two or three minutes.
If the patient has been injured.
If the patient is pregnant.
If the patient is diabetic.
If parents or bystanders are at all uncertain.
"During a seizure I'm not aware of anything. Following the seizure I have a kind of anxious feeling. It's a sense that I know I'm there and I know things are all right but I can't quite put it together. It's a very disturbing feeling. It's very helpful if people, who are around are reassuring, tell me what happened, where I am. It makes me feel better."
Dealing with other people
Because someone having a complex partial seizure is unaware of what's going on around him, he won't be able to talk normally with other people during the seizure.
Nor will he be able to follow instructions, or obey police commands, or even recognize danger from heat, water, fire, heights, or other threatening situations.
However, some people may be able to follow simple requests made in a calm, friendly voice.
"When I have a seizure I stare and my speech is slurred. I also sit down. I've sat down in the middle of hallways at work, or sat down leaning against the wall. On one occasion I got up from the table and sat down in the middle of the floor in a restaurant."
Things to remember about seizures
Although partial seizures affect different physical, emotional, or sensory functions of the brain, they have some things in common:
They don't last long. Most last only a minute or two, although people may be confused and need a lot more time afterward to recover fully.
They end naturally. Except in rare cases, the brain has its own way of bringing the seizure safely to an end after a minute or two.
You can't stop them. In an emergency, Physicians may use drugs to bring a lengthy, non-stop seizure to an end. However, the average person can't do anything except wait for the seizure to run its course and try to protect the person from harm while consciousness is clouded.
They are not dangerous to others. The movements produced by a seizure are almost always too vague, too unorganized, and too confused to threaten the safety of anyone else.
"One time I had a seizure in the street and a police officer grabbed hold of me and I became combative. He lost his hold and noticed that I calmed down right away. He thought this was unusual so he realized I had a medical disorder and wasn't drunk or on drugs. So he sort of shepherded me away from the traffic by standing in front of me to get me to go where he wanted. And afterward he was really helpful."
Source - Epilepsy Foundation of America, adapted with permission.
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