As a greater percentage of people are enjoying the open sea whether as a cruise passenger or as a crew member of a sailing vessel. We will be encountering the possibility of managing a possible seizure. Your best approach to on-board medical care is understanding what seizures are how they relate to epilepsy and how to best treat or care for such a patient under your care. Seizures are often very frightening to on-board medical personnel. The generalized convulsive seizure is the most common seizure seen.
Generalized seizures involve the whole brain.
Partial or localization-related seizures are seizures that arise from a specific part of the brain. The most common partial seizure involves the temporal lube seizure. Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by recurrent seizures which are not the result of a specific, immediate insult to the brain, such as alcohol withdrawal, drug intoxication or a low serum sodium. Such seizures are termed reactive seizures. As with all patients, the first step is dealing with patients with seizures is assessment and treatment of airway problems, breathing and circulation.