CPD – The Seizure Recovery Position

In the UK, there are around 630,000 people who have to live with epilepsy, a serious brain disorder that causes brief episodes of uncontrolled body movement. It means around one in every 100 people suffer from this disorder. With this, there are chances that you might find someone with a seizure caused by this illness. Therefore, you should have the ability to put that person in a seizure recovery position.

If you don’t have the experience, this event might terrify you because it may appear dramatic and frightening. However, that person needs your help because a convulsion can take their life. This is where knowledge of the seizure recovery position can help you to stop it from getting worse.

What is the seizure recovery position?

The seizure recovery position is about placing someone who has just had a convulsion in the standard first aid position. It helps to clear the airway and prevent choking on saliva or vomit. In doing so, the person who had a seizure will have a safe posture for restoration to health. Even though this technique seems simple, it can save someone’s life. Here are some key points of this method:

Airway protection

After someone has a convulsion, it can impair the body’s ability to control breathing and protect the airway. During a seizure, you cannot control your muscle movements. It means it can cause jaw clenching, which results in biting of your tongue or blocking the airway. Moreover, there are risks of choking because of saliva, vomit, or other fluids in their lungs. It leads to aspiration pneumonia, a lung infection caused by inhaling fluids.

A seizure recovery position supports you being positioned safely to maintain an open airway. You can achieve it by turning the body on the side to help fluids drain. In addition, you have to check your breathing and the airway is clear from any blockage to prevent complications.

Post-seizure confusion

After you go into a convulsion, you will have postictal confusion. It refers to a state of disorientation and cognitive impairment that can happen after the seizure. Typically, it happens after the brain recovers from the episode, where they might feel confusion, memory loss, difficulty speaking, or trouble knowing their surroundings or people.

The severity and duration vary for each person. However, it usually gets better within minutes to hours, depending on the type of the convulsion and the individual. The seizure recovery position helps the brain to reset and recover after the electrical activity from the episode. Some individuals might experience fatigue, headache, or difficulty focusing during this time.

Safer recovery

A seizure recovery position aids the person to reduce the risk of complications after an episode. Meanwhile, the goal is to keep the airway clear and prevent choking, but it also provides comfort while the person recovers. Also, lying on their side can reduce the risk of injury because it prevents them from falling or hitting the head.

Furthermore, when you are in this position, your chest will be more open, and the diaphragm will have more room to function. Therefore, it helps them breathe more easily once they wake up fully. In conclusion, you will have a safe environment for the recovery and lowering the risk of serious complications.

Course Introduction

The CPD – The Seizure Recovery Position course provides the participants with the knowledge of first aid when someone is having a convulsion. There are skills they need to learn and master before they can extend aid to other people. In doing so, the learners will achieve these results by the end of the course:

1. Understanding seizure and their effects
2. Importance of the recovery position
3. Performing the technique safely
4. Managing post-seizure care
5. Special considerations and adaptations

Therefore, the participants will have the ability to recognise seizures, place a person in the recovery position properly, and support the person in recovering properly until medical help arrives if needed. Also, they will have the confidence to act fast to do the seizure recovery position because they already have the training they need for this kind of situation.

Course Content Overview

Throughout this training, the participants will learn what causes convulsion and how it affects a person. Therefore, they can understand the importance of the seizure recovery position and use the technique correctly and safely. Also, with this programme, they can take care of the person after the episode until they are completely recovered or medical help arrives. From this course, they will be discovering about:

• Introduction to seizures
• First aid basic during an episode
• The recovery phase
• Post-convulsion monitoring and aftercare
• Special cases

With all the knowledge they have learnt, the participants can perform a seizure recovery position correctly on someone in need. To improve the experience, this training will provide demonstrations, real-life scenarios, and interactive questions. Moreover, learners will receive materials that have been created by experts in this field.

Enrolment Criteria

Hence, there are no requirements needed, and everyone can join the CPD – The Seizure Recovery Position course. In particular, the episode can happen at any time and anywhere, so you should be prepared for this emergency situation. Also, this will help you to learn about basic life support or achieve first aid certification if you need it.

What is the best position for someone having a seizure?

The best seizure recovery position is lying on the left side. The reason for this is that naturally, our heart is positioned toward the left side of the body. In doing so, lying on the left side will reduce pressure on a large vein that carries blood to the heart. It can improve blood circulation and potentially keep blood pressure steady after an episode.

Other than that, our stomach is also on the left side. Consequently, it reduces the chance of stomach acid flowing into the throat compared to lying on the right side or back. Also, a stable left lateral position in the seizure recovery position can be supported with proper breathing, which helps faster brain recovery in the postictal phase.

In conclusion, the left lateral position is the safest recovery position because it keeps breathing passages clear, lowers the chance of choking on fluids, and supports circulation and breathing circulation and breathing. However, if the condition is not possible for them to be placed on the left side, the right lateral position is still better than lying on their back.

Understand more about the seizure recovery position with the CCM 

There are hundreds of thousands of people in the UK affected by a serious neurological condition. It puts them at risk of having seizures. Therefore, learning the seizure recovery position will be beneficial for you because this simple technique can save people in need from life-threatening conditions. It gives them airway protection, reduces the risk of choking, and supports a safer recovery.

Furthermore, postictal confusion is one of the most common effects after having a convulsion. It leaves people confused and at risk. This method helps them to recover safely and provides comfort as they regain awareness. This is the reason why the College of Contract Management created the CPD – The Seizure Recovery Position course.

The training will provide you with the knowledge and hands-on training to recognise seizures, apply for the seizure recovery position correctly, and take care of them properly after an episode. Learning this information enables you to prevent mistakes while using the method. For example, there are many reasons why they have to lie on the left side after a convulsion. What are you waiting for? Go grab this course immediately and help other people in need!

The CPD – The Seizure Recovery Position course is not ready yet for you to grab. However, we can offer you other interesting courses that are available on this site. If there are any updates about this course, they will be shared on this page. Moreover, you can always contact the CCM team through email if you need more information about the courses or anything else. We are glad to help you out!