Parent Info Febrile Seizures

Dear parents, your child had a febrile seizure.

In the years that I have worked in the practice, I have often advised parents of children who are prone to febrile seizures, sometimes even witnessed children with seizures and know about the fears and worries that are triggered by this...

If you need more information about your own child than what is on this notepad, please call me for a free information session.

 

A febrile seizure is a seizure originating in the brain that occurs between the ages of 6 months and 5 years in association with fever.

Febrile seizures are common. About 2 to 6 percent of all children under the age of 4 experience a febrile seizure.

They are particularly common between the ages of 1 and 3 years.

Seizures can recur in about 30 percent of children. Parents often experience a febrile seizure as if the child were about to die. However, most seizures stop on their own after a few minutes.

Brain damage is unlikely.

Children with febrile seizures are usually normally developed and healthy. You don't have brain disease.

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How does a febrile seizure manifest itself?

In the majority of cases, it is a so-called simple febrile seizure that stops by itself within a few minutes.

It is accompanied by loss of consciousness, blue discoloration of the lips and muscle tightness or twitching or weakness. As bad as this event seems, your child usually recovers quickly.

In rare cases, the seizure does not stop on its own, but lasts longer than 5 minutes and must be stopped with medication or other abnormalities occur. Then it is a so-called complicated febrile seizure.

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What is the reason?

Febrile seizures are based on the predisposition of the brain to respond to fever with seizures at a certain developmental stage.

It is not yet clear whether the fever alone or the infection causing the fever causes the seizure.

Any illness that is accompanied by a fever can trigger a febrile seizure. The cause of fever is usually a harmless infection, for example of the upper respiratory tract, and only very rarely is the febrile convulsion caused by serious infections.

Febrile seizures usually occur when the fever rises rapidly to temperatures above 39°. It is important that the body temperature can sometimes rise so quickly that it is not registered until the febrile seizure that the child has a fever at all. It is known that febrile convulsions occur in several members in some families. The actual cause has not yet been clarified.

 

What do you have to do?

• Please call the ambulance immediately.

• In the meantime, try to stay calm.

• If your child is unconscious, put it on its side without using force so that it does not choke on it if it vomits.

• If necessary, the child's clothing is loosened so that the child can breathe freely.

• Try looking at the clock to determine the duration of the seizure.

• Measure body temperature after the attack and give a fever suppository if the temperature is over 38°.

 

You shouldn't do this!

• Do not try to stop the spasms by holding on, as this may result in injury.

• Under no circumstances should drinks or food be given, as your child could choke on them.

• Do not try to force your mouth open. Breathing is restricted because of the spasm of the respiratory muscles, not because of the closed mouth.

• The tongue cannot be swallowed either. Attempting to put wedges or other objects in the mouth may result in injury. It doesn't improve breathing.

• Shake your child to stop the spasm (no effect and high risk of cerebral hemorrhage)

• Pour cold water over your child (no effect and risk of hypothermia).

 

Which examinations are necessary?

After a febrile seizure (even if it only lasted a minute or two), your child should be seen by a pediatrician and examined to rule out meningitis or other serious conditions.

The pediatrician will then decide if your child needs to be admitted to a hospital for further evaluation and possible treatment. 

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It is important to identify the cause of the fever. Therefore, in addition to the physical examination, various blood tests and possibly further tests are also carried out.

A brain wave (EEG) is recorded for all children.

 

Does preventive fever reduction help?

No. According to new findings, reducing the fever early does not reduce the risk of suffering a febrile seizure because the seizures often occur when the fever is rising and are therefore unpredictable.

So parents shouldn't blame themselves or feel guilty if their child has another febrile seizure.

In general, in the case of febrile infections, high fever, from which the child is visibly suffering, should be reduced with medication and measures recommended by the pediatrician.

 

If you are being treated as an outpatient, please come to me the next day. I will then discuss how to proceed with you. 

 

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What are the consequences of febrile seizures?

Children with febrile seizures develop just as normally as children without febrile seizures. Febrile seizures do not damage the brain. In a third of the affected children, however, further febrile seizures must be expected. Children lose this tendency to febrile seizures by school age at the latest. 

If you need more information on this, please call me for a free information session.

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