Febrile Seizures - Port Saint Lucie, FL

My older brother used to get them when he had a fever. It was scary for me to see. My mom would put something in his mouth to stop him from biting his tongue, and sometimes get him in a tub with cold water and some ice. Eventually he outgrew them when he was about 7 or 8.

Here is the wierd part, my daughter is T. and she had it about six months old. It is one of the most scary experiences I have ever gone through in my life. The good part, most kids outgrow it by 5-6 years old. I know that whenever she got even a slight fever, I would give her something to avoid the seizure. Don't be afraid to call your dr. with any fever.
It was explained to me that although her fever was not that high, it was how fast her body got to that temperature, her little body couldn't handle that.

She is 10 now and I still get nervous when she is sick, I believe that will never leave, but rest assure, you are not alone.

In a child susceptible to febrile seizures the only way to avoid them is to try to keep her healthy so she doesn't develop a fever. It is the fever that triggers the seizure, hence the name. If your child is sick make sure she gets Tylenol as soon as possible to keep fever at bay (with your pediatrician's approval of course). There is no specific temperature that causes the seizure.
Know that she may never have another one of these seizures but if she does she will almost certainly outgrow them by the age of five.
These seizures are considered benign (essentially harmless) and run in families.
Best of luck to you.
K. Ianacone, RN, MA, MSN, CCE, IBCLC

Hi....my youngest dd is an epileptic. She has suffered with seizuers since she was 23 hours old. She just had one this morning. Molly has had seizures relating to fevers and to every thing else. Of all the research that I have done, and trust me, I have done a lot....your dd should out grow them around the age of 5. She may never have another, then again, she could have 10 more. It is best to give her tylenol when she is feeling sick....this will help with keeping the fever down (if there is to be one) and this should keep her from having a seizure. Good luck with this and God bless.

T.,

My 6-year-old nephew used to have them when he was a baby. He was in the hospital frequently. My brother-in-law and his wife had their son tested and did whatever the doctor told them to do. He stopped having them after a while. It didn't last more than a year. I don't know if that means he out-grew it, but I do know that he's okay now. They said it was scary to watch, but it didn't do any permanent damage. He's a very smart, very healthy little boy now. So hang in there.

When my son was 9 months old he had a UTI. His temp was up to 103. He was sleeping at the time, but I heard him make a strange cry and when I checked on him he was shivering, but burning up. His eyes were rolling in his head and he made this moaning sound. His body went limp after a while. It was the most terrifying thing ever. I called 911 and they checked him out. Someone suggested that it could have been a seizure, but I didn't witness it, so we don't know. The high fever was caused by the UTI.

Every doctor I spoke to that night said that seizures of that nature don't cause permanent brain damage. It's just important to get the temp down. They gave him a dose of Tylenol and Motrin at the same time to bring his temp down quickly. I'm blessed that he's never had an experience like that again. You should just be prepared with medication for his temperature and an emergency contact number for your ped at all times. They told me to keep him in only a diaper while waiting for his temp to go down. The 30-second ear thermometer is helpful too. I checked my son's temp every time he felt warm after that experience. He doesn't even notice anymore!

Good luck.

-T.

Hello T.,

I found some information on www.WebMD.com, hopefully this will help some.

Febrile Seizures
Febrile seizures can occur when a child has an illness with a high temperature. A child who has a febrile seizure usually does not develop epilepsy. The chances of having another febrile seizure are 25-30 percent. There is a higher risk of seizure recurrence if the child has a family history of epilepsy, some damage to the nervous system before the seizure, or a long or complicated seizure.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/87/99667.htm

Or you can go to this Mayo clinic site, they seem to have a bit more information. I hope everything works outfor the best and i will keep your daughter in my prayers.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/febrile-seizure/DS00346

Hi Im a mother of soon to be 2 I have a wonderful 2 year old and Im about to have a little girl in the next couple of weeks. My boys first seizure was at 8mths and I tell you I still cant get use to them. He has had 3 so far only when he gets sick with a cold or throat infection. The weird thing is that he gets the seizure with a low temp..so Im still trying to get he hand of it. I never even thought he would have this, but both my brother and I had them till we were 5. Its such a bad experience, but all I can say is try for her not to get sick and if she does give her Tylenol & Motrin every 6 hours with low temp and every 4 if her fever is persistant. Keep her cool and watch her every second. My husbnad and I go on security watch, even though the older they get you begin to notice when that a seizure is on its way, they have petite seizures like staring spasms. Its hard, but its not damaging only to our souls..:) But be strong and hope it goes away sooner than later. :)

Hey there I just went through the same thing with my son who just turned 11 months. I know how you are feeling it was the scariest thing I have ever been through. My doctor told us just to watch him all the time, as soon as he feels the slightest bit warm (even just from teething) to start giving him a Tylenol/Motrin regimen, alternating them every 4 hours. If you get any more good advice please let me know, maybe we can share info because I know I never want to go through that again.

Hi T.. I'm so sorry you and your dtr are going through this scary experience. My eldest son suffered several febrile seizures when he was about 3 or 4 years old. It was very frightening to watch, even though I am familiar with seizures from my own childhood seizure disorder.

I would recommend taking him to see a neurology specialist to ensure that it is indeed only febrile-related. We saw Dr. Cimino (it's been about 5 years since the incidents), and he was extremely thorough. He checked for all possible causes for the seizures, always keeping in mind that he did not want to 'strap' a youngster with a diagnosis of 'seizure disorder' if indeed the child's seizures were only febrile-related. I would recommend him highly. He did tell us that most children outgrow febrile seizures, and indeed my son did. He had several occurrences within a couple of months, and then nothing (at all) since.

Good luck!

/D. (mom of 3)

I know how you feel, my son had the same thing happen when he was 9 months old and I was in the car on my way to the doctors office and I had to pull over and call 911 it was so scary! but it has never happended again Thank God! What I do is if he has even a slight fever I bathe him in cold water and use FererAll ( Suppositories )and you can even use Motrin along w/ this, if you baby goes thru this again lay her on her back with her face facing sideways so she doesn't choke if it lasts longer than 5 minutes call the doctor or 911. They are suppose to out grow it, but any sign of a fever and take her clothes off and leave her in a diaper so she doesn't heat up.

When my daughter was 2 she had one. My husband was home with her and he said she went into convulsion, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back in her head. Calle ems and they came and checked her-said it was probably a febrile seizure. She has never had one before so it was very scary. The E.R. said that at a certain temperture different for each child the bain can't take it and they go into a seizure-her's was 102 so they just said once she gets a fever to keep it down with alternating tylenol and motrin-and if it gets near that temp. to take her in. No way to prevent it-but it is a very scary thing. Just watch that her temp doesnt get near when she had it. Hope everything works out.

Hi, I know it's scary, hang in there. She may not have another one. Here's some information
http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic376.htm

http://www.virtualpediatrichospital.org/patients/cqqa/feb...

Google.com is a great source of information.

Best of luck!

Hi T. my name is T. and my son had a febrile seizure when he was the same age. he is three now. It was very scary,it happend when he was very sick. It is when their fever goes up too fast. He had been very sick and he woke up and just before i gave him his motrin his fever went from like 99 to 104 in about 2 minutes. Thats why the seizure's happen. Did your baby's temp go up very fast? I had to call 911 because i had no idea what was going on and the medics had to wrap him in a cold towel just to bring his fever down and then when he came out of it they gave him motrin and took us to the hospital. They ran all tests and concluded it was a febrile seizure. They always say if they had one they are more likely to have another. I luckily have never had to go through with it again but i take precaution. When he gets any kind of a fever even small i give him medicine right away which is what the doctor's told me to do. to prevent a fever from spiking. Also when he is sick i leave him with no one, not even family because im scared they wont monitor him or watch the fever. I still get nervous when he gets a fever so i know how you feel.

I know what you are going though it has almost been 6 mon seans lexi (my now 2 1/2yearold) had one her 1st one happend 5 days befor her b-day we spent 3 days at st. marys in wpb.at the time it happend she was in the bath trying to get her temp. down my husand was with her in there but had walk out so that he could awnser my ? he was only @ 3or4 steps form the door and my otherdauhter becce was playing with her but was not in the tub started to yell lexi is sleeping in the tub. my husband was only out of the room for @15 to 20 sec. she is alright now they did alot or test and they all came back fine
now any time she gets a feber I give her some tylon and call her Dr. right away b/c he wants to see her in that same day to make shour that she is ok.and no you can't aviod it in the last 6 mon. she has had @20 to 30 febers that have lasted 2 to 4 days at a time and there has been nothing wrong with her. so the only thing that i can tell you in give her the tylon, call the Dr. get some of the be kool (at wal-mart)and put one on her But NEVER EVER put her in the Tub

Hi T.
It is such a scary thing to watch.. my brother used to have them a lot when he was a baby and I'm not sure how i'd cope if it happened with my son... my advice to try to prevent further seizures, use tylenol or something equivalent, cool her with a fan and take her clothes off and if putting her in a bath, make it tepid, a rapid drop in temperature from a cold bath can be dangerous...if she fits again, move her to a place where she can't get hurt ie on the floor with nothing around her, don't put anything in her mouth and check her as soon as she stops and make sure she's breathing and then call the doctor... don't hestitate calling an ambulance if her lips are blue or she's unconscious... you are absolutely doing the right thing finding out as much information as you can and finding some support... it's such a hard thing to go through... take care...A.