Board Report August 2025

Epilepsy Epilepsy is a chronic disease, usually characterized by repeated convulsions. The student may be able to lie down quickly as he/she may feel the convulsion "coming on". "Petit mal" seizures are a milder form of epilepsy and occur without convulsions. There may be a momentary loss of contact with the surroundings. The student may stare at an object or off into the distance.

Steps to Take: 1. The same for convulsions if he/she is having a "grand mal" seizure. 2. Push away nearby objects. 3. Protect the student from causing injury to himself/herself. 4. Do not attempt to force a blunt object between his/her teeth. 5. Be sure the clothing around the neck is loose so the airway is open. 6. If the breathing stops, artificial respiration may need to be started. 7. After the seizure, allow the student to sleep or rest.

8. Send for help to the student health center or the administration. 9. If the seizures continue, have a responsible student call the ambulance.

Universal Precautions The term "universal precautions" refers to a system of infectious disease control which assumes that every direct contact with body fluids is infectious and requires every employee exposed to direct contact with body fluids to be protected as though such body fluids were Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected. Therefore, universal precautions are intended to prevent any worker from parenteral, mucous membrane, and non-intact skin exposure to blood-borne pathogens.

The risk of transmission of HBV and HIV and other blood-borne pathogens can be minimized with the following guidelines.

1. Use protective barriers (gloves) to prevent exposure to blood, body fluids containing visible blood, and other fluids to which universal precautions apply. 2. Hands and other skin surfaces should be washed immediately and thoroughly if contaminated with blood or other body fluids. Hands should be washed immediately after gloves are removed. 3. Approved chemical germicides or household bleach prepared 1:10 can be used to decontaminate spills of blood and other body fluids.