When to Seek Medical Care

A first seizure is a reason to visit your doctor or a hospital's emergency department. For a person with a seizure disorder, a change in seizure patterns or more frequent seizures are reasons to see your doctor.

Many people with recurrent seizures may have a seizure and awaken fully. Immediate medical attention is not often needed if the person is fully awake and has not suffered injury.

Other conditions, however, call for immediate medical attention.

• A seizure that continues more than 5 minutes or a series of seizures without full recovery between them
  
  
• Persistent breathing difficulty (Often the person may appear to stop breathing briefly during the seizure, but breathing should resume quickly.)
  
  
• Injuries sustained during a seizure
  
  
• Persistent confusion or unconsciousness
  
  
• A first seizure
  
  
• A significant change from that person's usual seizure pattern in terms of seizure type, seizure length, or associated symptoms