Febrile Seizures in Toddlers

[daynan]

Does anyone here have any experience with febrile, or fever-induced, seizures in toddlers? Our daughter has had several in the past 6 months. While doctors assure us each time that it is not dangerous to her in the long term, it is a truly terrifying experience. She stops breathing for up to a minute when she is seizing and then has to go through all the trauma of an ambulance ride - at least sometimes- and the emergency room.

She gets very high fevers with any little infection, but tests have not revealed any type of problem with her immune system. I suppose she is just one of the 'lucky ones' that has a good immune response to illnesses. The last seizure happened with a urinary tract infection, and the one before that she had an ear infection.

I am just wondering if anyone has experienced this, and how often it happened to your child? We are told that she is likely to outgrow it by the age of three or four, and I don't know how on earth we are going to get through the next two years if it goes on that long!

[BLACKPEPPER]

There are some times we belive in so much of medications. I believe you should pray to the almighty who created us and he would help us to get rid of all pains and sufferings in our life.
All the best,

[Christoff]

It's understandable that parents are often terrified when their child suddenly keels over in convulsions; especially when it's the very first time! Febrile convulsions occur in about 1 in 30 young children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, and predominantly in toddlers. Most anyone can lapse into a convulsion from too high a body temperature; but small children are especially susceptible and convulsions can last anywhere from a few seconds up to 15 minutes or more. They can affect the entire body, or only a limb or other part.

Still, there are a few basic things parents should know, and actions they can take to both ease their minds, and protect their child:

Firstly, the vast majority of children suffer no ill effects from febrile convulsions, even though witnessing your child having one can be quite alarming. The main thing parents can do in such case is to remain calm and not panic; but instead, keep a clear mind and observe the child carefully. Do not attempt to restrain it, but loosen tight clothing and gently place him/her on the floor or ground so they cannot injure themselves in a fall. If they have anything in their mouth; i.e., food or other object, gently remove it, but don't force anything into their mouth or give them anything to eat or drink. Make a note of the time of onset and keep track of how long the seizure lasts: this information is very important and the doctor will ask you for it!

Move any surrounding objects away from the child to prevent injury and place the child on its tummy or side to prevent choking. If the episode lasts more 3-4 minutes or the child has a rectal temperature above 102F; or if the child turns blue, has complained of a stiff neck, excessive vomiting and/or extreme lethargy, call 911 immediately!

The main thing to do is to remain calm and not to panic: your child will need you to watch out for him/her, and to offer comfort and support after the seizure passes – it's also a frightening experience for them, too! Most often they will be sleepy afterward and might be sensitive to bright light or loud sounds. Your whole demeanour should be one of calm reassurance.

Although I was a former EMT with the ambulance service and encountered such patients many times, I am still not in a position to offer any actual medical advice, but I instead only allude to general, common sense principals. If your child suffers a convulsion, you should follow the medical advice of your doctor or other medical professional: but in all cases of doubt, call 911 at once!