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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Medical Emergencies

Seizure

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˈsiːʒər/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, seizure means: A sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause shaking, stiffness, staring or a short loss of consciousness.

In Turkish: nöbet, kriz, havale

How it is used

Clinicians prefer 'seizure' to the older word 'fit', which is still common in British speech. People have a seizure; crews ask how long it lasted and whether it was the first. A seizure that does not stop is status epilepticus, and afterwards the patient is often 'post-ictal': confused and drowsy.

Example sentences

  1. He had a seizure lasting about two minutes and is now very sleepy.

  2. Is this her first seizure, or does she have epilepsy?

Common collocations

  • have a seizure
  • first seizure
  • febrile seizure
  • seizure activity
  • post-ictal
  • unconsciousNot awake and not aware of what is happening, so that the person cannot respond normally to voices or touch.
  • hypoglycemiaA blood sugar level that is too low, most often in people with diabetes, causing shaking, sweating, confusion and sometimes seizures or unconsciousness.
  • strokeA sudden loss of brain function caused by a blocked blood vessel or bleeding in the brain, often showing as a drooping face, arm weakness or slurred speech.
  • GCSShort for Glasgow Coma Scale: a score from 3 to 15 for level of consciousness, based on how a patient opens their eyes, speaks and moves.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Medical Emergencies

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.