Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR EPILEPTIC SEIZURES OR CONVULSIONS 1. Stay with patient. 2. Place a padded tongue depressor between the patient's back teeth to prevent him biting his tongue. Never place your finger in the patient's mouth. If a depressor is not available, substitute something clean a handkerchief, folded several times so that it will form a thick, soft cushion. 3. Do not move patient; make surroundings safe for him. 4. Loosen any tight clothing, especially around the patient's neck. 5. Protect patient from becoming a spectacle. 6. Observe, report and record the following information: a. Where the convulsion started. (In Jacksonian seizures, the part of the body first affected often gives the doctor a clue about the location of the lesion.) b. The parts of the body involved. (It may be just one extremity, one side of the body, or the entire body.) c. Whether the patient lost consciousness during the seizure. d. Skin color, diaphoresis. e. Respirations (character and rate). f. The type of muscle response (clonic, tonic). g. Whether he was incontinent of urine or feces. h. Appearance of pupils (usually dilated). i. How long the convulsion lasted. (Time the length of the seizure with your watch; most people greatly overestimate the duration of a convulsion). j. Any injury that occurred during the convulsion, such as a bitten tongue. k. The symptoms of the patient after the attack (for example, somnolence, headache, orientation to surroundings). 7. Notify physician immediately. Home Health Agency Nursing Care & Procedures K-22