Febrile Seizures

Suzanne - posted on 02/28/2010

Amanda,
Your boy sounds like my 14 month old! Pete gets a fever w/a febrile seizure, once a month, the fever lasts about a week, and it's been happening for the last 7 months! All the tests and bloodwork come back negative, but we finally got an answer-Periodic Fever Syndrome. Those seizures are absolutely terrifying. Even though he's had them before, and I know what to do, I still cry. It's my baby, and he looks so pathetic and helpless. In the future, I would lay him on his side, time it, and just hold him when he comes out of it. Pete breathes really shallow afterwards..so scary. I'll pray for you! You are not alone. :-)

Samantha - posted on 12/18/2009

I am a teacher and had a four-year-old in my class who's parents said she had febrile seizures. But they would send her in tank tops in the winter and five layers of clothes in the summer. My son has never had one (knock on wood!) but I have dealt with them with the children in my classes. You can also put cold packs, wet wash clothes, or wet paper towels, on the back of their necks, their underarms, and on the bottom of their feet to cool them down. Once they have had one, they are more likely to have another but they usually grow out of them. Good luck and take care...

Amanda - posted on 12/16/2009

Quoting Kim:

our son had a seizure just before his 2nd birthday, we called an ambulance and it turned out he had an ear infection that caused his fever spike... our pediatrician told us that when the seizure is on both sides of the body, does not last more than a few minutes, then there was little for us to worry about... if it was localized on one side of the body, lasted more than 5 minutes, then we would have to find out more to know whether or not there was something other than a fever causing the seizure... also we were told that children will almost never have a seizure when they are sleeping, to keep the fever from climbing past 38 C with acetaminophen/ibuprofen rotations and keep track of how long the seizure lasts if there is another seizure... we were lucky, our son never had another seizure and neither did his little sister... it is genetic, so usually one parent or the other would have had febrile seizures when they were little, and will often grow out of them by the time they are 5 years of age...

I am relieved that you have been told that children will hardly ever have a seizure in their sleep.  I am so worried he will need me and I won't hear him since the seizure was quiet.  Interesting about seizures being genetic, my husband or I have never had one.  Hopefully, that means it was only due to the fever and we won't have to deal with it again.  Thanks for your help!

Amanda - posted on 12/16/2009

Quoting Shawna:

Hi Amanda,
I am a mom that is a teacher, but also a mom of an epileptic little man, so I thought it was interesting that I saw your post on this circle sight and not my other.... Like any seizure, I'm sure a Febrile is sooooooo scary. The first time my son had a seizure (at two-now almost 5 and on daily meds.), my hubby was trying to hold his tongue and got bit, we were horrified as he turned blue and so worried when we couldn't roust him from post-seizure sleep... we went into his pediatrician the next day demanding answers and horrified of the prospects....

I'm not a doctor, but the rescue breaths are unnecessary. When a child goes into seizures, there's nothing you can do but wait it out and call for support if you deam it necessary. Most important thing is to look at a clock...The first thing they will ask you is how long did it last? Absolutely the last thing on your mind, so it really takes training to do it. Making sure there are no immediate threats (bumped heads, falls, etc.) is really the only other thing. It sucks. Everything you are doing to keep the fever from spiking is all you can do...motrin/tylenol rotations, lukewarm bath, cool clothing, lukewarm compress... it just happens. I remember how scared I was to leave him sleeping alone...we looked into those "angel alerts," camera moniters, you name it. But, in most instances, seizures come and never come again. And those that have them come regulary, will come with or without the monitoring.

Everything will be fine. You know what the seizure was caused by- a fever. Scary, but relatively normal. If there's anything you have questions about, or if you just want to vent...you just post me :)

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences with me.  I also got bit becuase my husband kept saying "He's choking" so I tried doing a finger sweep.  As for how long it lasted,  I thought it was forever, although it was probably only 5 minutes.  Even after the climax of the seizure, it still looked like he was having trouble breathing and just lethargic and lifeless.  I also was thinking about a monitor, I hate that he is alone in his room and I am afraid he might need me.  Since the seisure is quiet, I can't hear him, he won't cry if it happens again.  Thanks again for taking the time to give me your experience.

Amanda - posted on 12/16/2009

Quoting Sharon:

Check out this site on a local girl who we have known from a very early age who started suffering with seizures. Her's is a touching story. Good luck to both of you.
http://www.haleyismyhero.com/

Thank you!

Kim - posted on 12/15/2009

our son had a seizure just before his 2nd birthday, we called an ambulance and it turned out he had an ear infection that caused his fever spike... our pediatrician told us that when the seizure is on both sides of the body, does not last more than a few minutes, then there was little for us to worry about... if it was localized on one side of the body, lasted more than 5 minutes, then we would have to find out more to know whether or not there was something other than a fever causing the seizure... also we were told that children will almost never have a seizure when they are sleeping, to keep the fever from climbing past 38 C with acetaminophen/ibuprofen rotations and keep track of how long the seizure lasts if there is another seizure... we were lucky, our son never had another seizure and neither did his little sister... it is genetic, so usually one parent or the other would have had febrile seizures when they were little, and will often grow out of them by the time they are 5 years of age...

Shawna - posted on 12/15/2009

Hi Amanda,
I am a mom that is a teacher, but also a mom of an epileptic little man, so I thought it was interesting that I saw your post on this circle sight and not my other.... Like any seizure, I'm sure a Febrile is sooooooo scary. The first time my son had a seizure (at two-now almost 5 and on daily meds.), my hubby was trying to hold his tongue and got bit, we were horrified as he turned blue and so worried when we couldn't roust him from post-seizure sleep... we went into his pediatrician the next day demanding answers and horrified of the prospects....

I'm not a doctor, but the rescue breaths are unnecessary. When a child goes into seizures, there's nothing you can do but wait it out and call for support if you deam it necessary. Most important thing is to look at a clock...The first thing they will ask you is how long did it last? Absolutely the last thing on your mind, so it really takes training to do it. Making sure there are no immediate threats (bumped heads, falls, etc.) is really the only other thing. It sucks. Everything you are doing to keep the fever from spiking is all you can do...motrin/tylenol rotations, lukewarm bath, cool clothing, lukewarm compress... it just happens. I remember how scared I was to leave him sleeping alone...we looked into those "angel alerts," camera moniters, you name it. But, in most instances, seizures come and never come again. And those that have them come regulary, will come with or without the monitoring.

Everything will be fine. You know what the seizure was caused by- a fever. Scary, but relatively normal. If there's anything you have questions about, or if you just want to vent...you just post me :)

Amanda - posted on 12/14/2009

Thanks so much. It was terrifying. I had no idea what was happening, I thought he was choking. That is interesting about the bath, I heard that recently that it should be warm, not cool. It just looked like he was really struggling to breathe, so I thought he needed the breaths. No one has really given me a clear answer as to whether or not he stopped breathing. His lips turned purple and I couldn't see his chest rising. I am afraid to put him back in his own room in case he suddenly gets a fever and I'm not there. I'm a mess over this. Glad to hear from someone else who has experienced these.

Sharon - posted on 12/14/2009

Check out this site on a local girl who we have known from a very early age who started suffering with seizures. Her's is a touching story. Good luck to both of you.
http://www.haleyismyhero.com/

May - posted on 12/13/2009

We've been coping with febrile convulsions here for just over a year. The lad started at 19 months of age and has had 3 or 4 since. However, we've also had blocks of 2-3 days at a time where we couldn't get his temperature to come down so we've had to have the ambo's come out. It is absolutely terrifying, each time we've had to do the rescue breaths however, our pediatrician says its unnecessary. I figure we may as well do them! Better safe than sorry. To top the fever spiking we have panadol and ibuprofen. I give panadol first, if that doesn't work i give ibuprofen. Although usually I would have rung up the National Healthline for information before this point to let them know. If he gets bad they ring the ambo's themselves. Highest we've gotten to is about 41 degrees celsius. Dunno what it is in America :) Be careful with baths because Jonathan had a fit in one once. Make sure its not cool but is actually lukewarm, or they can be shocked into a seizure. Otherwise, get all the info you can from doctors. Kids tend to grow out of it by 2 or 3 years of age, because Jonathan was prem, they tell me he could be 4 or 5. I knew one kid who was 12! If you need any info or i've talked too much without being useful just let me know :) Cheers!