Medical matters and adviceEvery now and then the question "What should I do if someone collapses next to me at a rave?" arises. This is something I'm sure many of us have asked ourselves or, worse still, have had to face and have felt helpless. When one asks the Red Cross or St. Johns Ambulance about this they, quite rightly, say "If you don't know, don't waste time, go and get someone who does" and won't be drawn into giving advice. Clearly this is absolutely correct but I'm sure we'd all like a little bit of working knowledge so here are some guidelines. Epileptic fits:Get expert assistance immediately.
Clear anything out of the way that they might hit themselves on.
Don't hold them still. Don't try and put something in their mouth.
Don't give them anything (e.g. water) during or after the fit.
When the fit is over, put them in the recovery position i.e. on their
front, head turned to the side, one arm and one leg up, the others down.
After the fit check that they are still breathing (hold your hand near
their mouth) and that their airway is not blocked - esp. by their
tongue.
Exhaustion/Dehydration/General collapsing:
Exactly as above, and especially don't give them
anything (e.g. water) as you don't know what they've already had
and they may have already drunk too much water.
The main thing is to get an expert on the scene
ASAP as it is dangerous for a novice to try to diagnose what's
actually wrong.
Thanks to for collecting this information and to Rebecca, his source, who works as a medic at raves.
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