Overview
- Castelli had a convulsive episode during a resistance challenge, received on-site care and hospital evaluation, briefly returned to the house, then had a second seizure, was admitted, and left the program.
- Experts urge calling SAMU at 192 when the active convulsion exceeds five minutes, when seizures repeat without recovery, or when there is breathing difficulty, significant head trauma, pregnancy, infancy, or diabetes.
- Recommended first aid includes protecting the head, placing the person on their side, clearing nearby hazards, timing the event, and avoiding restraint or placing objects in the mouth.
- Prolonged or clustered seizures can evolve into status epilepticus that requires injectable medication and hospital monitoring, with risks such as hypoxia, aspiration, rhabdomyolysis with kidney injury, and lasting neurological damage.
- Coverage notes triggers beyond epilepsy—such as hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, trauma, infections, intense exertion, and sleep deprivation—and stresses that a first-ever seizure warrants hospital evaluation, with the epilepsy league promoting the CALMA protocol and PACE action plans.