Seizures caused by fever?

Question

My son is 21 months old and had a fibral seizure which the nurses attribute to a spike in fever. How common are these seizures and what is the likelihood that this will be a continuing problem instead of a one time occurence?

Answer 1

This is from the brochure at my clinic:

FEBRILE SEIZURES

Infants and children often have illnesses that are accompanied by a fever. A fever may bring on a seizure at some time during childhood. A febrile seizure is a convulsion, caused by abnormal electrical activity in the nerve cells of the brain that is brought on by having a fever.

The exact cause of febrile seizures is not known. Seizure may occur when a child’s temperature is rising or falling rapidly. In many cases, the seizure may not be predicted or prevented. In addition, febrile seizures may run in families.


Facts about febrile seizures:

 A febrile seizure usually occurs between three months to five years of age. The median age of occurrence is 18-22 months.

 Boys are slightly more affected.

 The incidence is higher in African-American children

 Febrile seizures usually last three to five minutes

 Most children only have one or two febrile seizures in childhood.

 A febrile seizure may involve only one arm or one side of the body, which is focal, and then progress to the whole body, which is generalized

 Epilepsy is a disorder of repeated seizures that occur without fever. Even repeated febrile seizures do not indicate that a child has Epilepsy.

 Febrile seizures generally do not cause brain damage unless they last for a prolonged period of time and the child is not getting enough oxygen.


What do I do to prevent a fever?

 Give medications as prescribed by your doctor

 Don’t bundle up or overdress your child. The body loses head through the skin and if you bundle your child up, the excess heat cannot escape.

 Sponge your child with lukewarm water or put them in a shallow bathtub containing 2-3 inches of water and drip water over the body. Do not use alcohol or cold water to bring your child’s fever down.

 If your child begins shivering or shaking in the bathtub, stop sponging and remove them from the bath water.

 While your child has a fever, give plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

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What are the symptoms of a febrile seizure?
*Not all symptoms may occur

 A fever that is high or rapid rise in body temperature

 Loss of consciousness or fainting that lasts 30 seconds to five minutes

 General muscle contraction and rigidity that usually lasts 15 to 20 seconds

 A violent rhythmic muscle contractions and relaxation that commonly last for one to two minutes

 Biting of cheek or tongue

 Clenched teeth or jaw

 The eyes may roll back in the head

 Loss of control of urine or stool

 Absence of breathing or difficulty breathing during a seizure and blue skin color. Deep, spontaneous breathing during a seizure and blue skin color. Deep, spontaneous breathing, usually resume after the seizure.


First-Aid for Febrile Seizures

 Stay calm.

 Protect the child from injury

 Do not attempt to restrain or hold the child down during the seizure

 Turn the child onto the side if vomiting occurs

 Do not put anything in your child’s mouth

 Loosen clothing

 Support your child’s head with a pillow or soft object

 Try to note how long the seizure lasts, what types of movements are occurring and which parts of the body it is affecting.

 Notify your doctor

 After the seizure subsides, your child will be disoriented for a few minutes while the brain rests and recharges --- this is normal


Call 911/Ambulance if:

 This is the first time the child has had a seizure of if this is a new type of seizure for the child.
 The seizure lasts longer than five minutes
 Repeated seizures occur
 Your child has difficulty breathing
 You child looks blue

Answer 2

Those type of seizures are common among small children and the likely hood of another occurrence is low. My oldest has partial complex seizures, so when my youngest one had a seizure I felt my heart sink.
I checked her at 11pm and she was fine by 2 am she was having a seizure from a fever that spiked suddenly. She hasn't had one since, that was 7 years ago.
I worked in peds before and yes all mom's like us get concerned, but watch him for the next few days keep his fever down and then enjoy watching him grow.

Answer 3

My daughter who is now 11 had a fibral seizure at age 1 and was.She has never had any after that.I think it is possible that it will not happen again.Until this day when she does have fever i try not to let it get too high....with motrin and tylenol as u can give them together,i know it is scary to see them go through that but like i said she only had the one.I would just keep an eye out for when your child has fever.

Answer 4

Febrile seizeres ---look it up on webmd. They can recurr in the same child, either with this illness or the next. It happens cause of the rapid increase in temp, not so much of the temp itself. So moms of kids that have them, are usually advised to pretty much give Tylenol altenate with Motrin around the clock at the appropriate dose for your childs weight.when the child is sick. Did they tell you that? If not, please call your doc and have them tell you it's OK. I woudn't want to tell you something that wasn't OK with your babies doc, but that's what is usually said. I'm sorry, I know how frightening it is. My brother suffered from them, he's fine now, they stopped when he was about 2 1/2.

Answer 5

It is not uncommon for it to happen, however, it is not normal -- most times it is not a continuous problem (meaning, it is not due to epilepsy, etc). It can happen again, it is just a matter of getting Tylenol into him as soon as he becomes ill and keep the doses up (overlap by 30 minutes or so). It is the way that a child cools itself down, as they do not sweat like we do. Do not over-dress them and keep blankets off - as tempting as it may be because they are ill. Good luck!

Answer 6

My friends daughter has had these, although she has not had one since around age 2 (shes 4 now). Her mom still worries whenever she has fevers but they haven't happened since.

Answer 7

i have a daughter who had the same problem with her 2 year old so far she has only had one attack and they did test for epilepsy and found nothing . she has a bad thing of holding her breath and blacking out , my daughter was told she will grow out of it and that it was uncommon for this to happen but it does scare you when you don,t know whats happening and what is wrong with your child

Answer 8

My son had one at 12 months, the scarriest thing we ever went thru. Now we know to do the motrin and tylenol. Once we did that,never had another.

Answer 9

I am not a doctor, but I believe the odds increase as the temperature goes about 103. So if it is prolonged at that temperature or above, they recomend you go to a doctor or hospitol.

Answer 10

Alcohol sponge down to reduce the fever, and then medicine and the doctor.