How to record a seizure on your phone for your neurologist

Safety comes first

Filming always comes second to safety. Make sure the person is safe and give first aid before you start filming.

First aid for a seizure

1. Stay with the person and stay calm.
2. Time the seizure with a clock or your phone.
3. Protect their head and move things away from them, to stop injury.
4. Watch their breathing.
5. When the seizure stops, roll them onto their side, into the recovery position. This makes it easier to breathe.

Don't

• put anything in their mouth
• hold them down
• move them unless they're in danger

Call an ambulance (000 in Australia) if

• the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, or they don't wake up
• another seizure starts straight away
• they're hurt, or the seizure happened in water
• they have trouble breathing
• it's their first known seizure
• you're not sure what to do

Why a recording helps

Few doctors see their patients having a seizure, and the person having one may not remember it afterwards. A video, together with a good description from someone who saw it, can help your neurologist work out what kind of seizure it was. It helps alongside what you tell them, not instead of it.

How to film a seizure

• Make sure they're safe first. Give first aid, then start filming as soon as you can. The start of a seizure is the hardest part to catch, so every second counts.
• Hold the phone sideways and film the whole body, not just their head.
• Zoom in on any part of the body that's moving or changing, if you can.
• Record the sound too, such as their breathing or anything they say.
• Say out loud what you see, such as how their eyes look, or changes in their breathing or colour.
• Ask simple questions, such as "What's your name?" or "Can you squeeze my hand?", so the video shows whether they can respond.
• Keep filming until they've recovered and can talk to you normally again. How someone comes out of a seizure matters too.

The video is private. Share it only with their doctor, only with their agreement, and never on social media.

What to write down afterwards

Write it down while it's fresh, even if it's only a few words. Useful details include:

• what they were doing just before
• any warning signs they mentioned
• what you noticed first
• any movements of their head, eyes, arms, legs or body
• whether their face changed colour
• whether they could respond to you
• how long it lasted
• how they were afterwards, and how long until they responded to you
• whether they could remember anything about it
• any injury, blood from their mouth, or loss of bladder control
• any medicine given, and when

Sharing it with your neurologist

Videos are often too big to email. Before your appointment, ask the clinic how they'd like to receive yours, or show it to your neurologist on your phone.

Bring your notes as well. Kind Witness's report lists each entry with its date, time and length, so your neurologist can match each video to what was happening.