When Sammy was 25 months old, he got a low grade fever of 99.9 F. He did not have a cough, runny nose, or any other symptoms, so we just gave him a dose of ibuprofen and put him to bed for the night. The next morning, he had another low grade fever, so we tried to give him more ibuprofen. He refused to finish it and insisted on playing. We had no idea we had a family history of febrile seizures.
A few hours later, Sammy suddenly stopped talking and playing. His entire body went stiff, his eyes rolled back into his head, his jaws clenched closed, and he turned very pale. We held him and shouted his name, but he did not respond to us at all. When we noticed that he was not breathing and was starting to turn blue, we called 911 immediately.
I attempted to use my training as a nurse to give my son CPR, but his jaws were closed tight and I could not give him any breaths. Fortunately, his body soon relaxed and he began to breathe. Just as Sammy was waking up, the paramedics arrived. His temperature had risen to 103 F, but he was recovering on his own. They gave him additional oxygen to help him along. By the time he was loaded into the ambulance, Sammy was drowsy but awake.
His fever had climbed further, to 105 F, so Sammy was given another dose of ibuprofen. We went to the nearest emergency room to try to find out what caused his first febrile seizure. We were never able to pinpoint the cause of the fever, only rule out meningitis, bacterial infections, ear infections, and electrolyte imbalances. It was most likely caused by a virus.
Though the entire febrile seizure only lasted a minute or so, it felt like an eternity. I could not believe that this was happening to us! I was 7 months pregnant with Sophie at the time. I was a neonatal nurse! In addition to blaming myself for not doing more to prevent the seizure, I also worried about the effects it would have on Sammy’s developing brain.
I was reassured when I did some internet research later. Dr. Alan Greene wrote:
Although febrile seizures are fairly common, many parents have never seen one until it happens to their child. Febrile seizures occur in 3% to 5% of otherwise healthy children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. Toddlers are the most commonly affected.
Dr. Greene continues,
This is usually one of lifetime’s most frightening moments for the parents. Most parents are afraid that their child will die or will have brain damage.
The NINDS Febrile Seizures Information Page states “The vast majority of febrile seizures are harmless. There is no evidence that febrile seizures cause brain damage.”
The Mayo Clinic website states:
If your child is prone to febrile seizures, you might be able to prevent them by treating a fever early. However, most febrile seizures develop suddenly and without warning. Being sure the child is safe during a seizure, offering comfort afterwards and following up with a doctor’s visit are good approaches for handling a febrile seizure.
What should I do if my child has a seizure?
- Lay your child down on the floor to eliminate the risk of falling.
- Turn your child on his side or stomach so that he won’t choke on saliva, mucus, or vomit.
- Don’t put anything in his mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. It might cause further injury.
- Remove any hard or sharp objects near your child.
- Loosen the clothing around his neck. Open or remove his shirt.
- Don’t attempt to restrain your child’s movements during the seizure.
- Try to bring the fever down:
- Give an acetaminophen (Tylenol) suppository. Nothing by mouth.
- Place cool washcloths on his forehead and neck.
- Give him a lukewarm sponge bath. Ice water or alcohol can cause shivering, increasing the fever.
- Stay calm and observant. Try to note the time the seizure started and stopped, and your child’s behavior during the seizure. This information will be helpful to the doctors who treat your child after the seizure.
- Call 911 if the seizure lasts more than 10 minutes or if the child stops breathing.
What should I do after the seizure has stopped?
- Call your child’s pediatrician. The doctor may ask you to bring your child in for a visit or to the emergency room for some tests. It is important to try to find the cause of the fever, especially if it is his first seizure. Dr. Greene writes, “Most febrile seizures are brought on by fevers arising from viral upper respiratory infections, ear infections, or roseola. Meningitis causes less than 0.1% of febrile seizures but should always be considered, especially in children less than one year old or who still look ill when the fever drops.”
- If your child still has a fever, but is alert, you may give him medications by mouth. Give him a dose of ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol). Never give children aspirin due to the risk of Reye’s Syndrome. Ask your pediatrician for the correct dosages, and how often to give them.
- Continue to monitor your child’s temperature very closely. Check your child’s temperature often, especially before giving medication and thirty minutes afterward to see if the medication is helping.
- Encourage your child to drink plenty of cool fluids. This will keep him hydrated, as well as help control the fever.
- If the fever persists despite the medication, try cool washcloths to the forehead and neck, lukewarm sponge baths, or tepid tub baths. Don’t go overboard and cause shivering. Shivering is the body’s natural response to cold and raises body temperature even more.
- Though it will be difficult for both of you, try not to snuggle closely with your child, since this retains body heat. Keep him lightly dressed.
- Do not let your child be too physically active, since this may increase his temperature.
What can I do to try to prevent another seizure?
According to the Mayo Clinic website,
Most of the time, a febrile seizure occurs the first day of an illness. Often, a febrile seizure occurs before parents realize that their child is ill. Giving your child acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) at the first indication of fever will help reduce the fever, but won’t necessarily prevent a seizure.
- Invest in a quality quick read digital thermometer. Use a rectal (butt) or
axillary (armpit) if your child is under 6 months old, axillary or tympanic (ear) if over 6 months. We like the Braun ThermoScan digital ear thermometer which we purchased at Costco. - Monitor your child’s temperature very closely whenever he is feeling ill or acting differently than normal.
- If he has a fever, use this tips listed above to keep his fever down.
- Always keep a supply of acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil), in both suppository and oral form (drops, liquid, chewable, whatever is appropriate for your child). Be sure the medications are not expired, and you know the correct dosages based on your child’s weight. If you are not sure, ask your pediatrician, nurse, or pharmacist for your child’s correct dosage. If child refuses to take the oral medication or vomits immediately after taking it, give a fever reducing suppository.
- If the fever does not respond to one type of medication (acetaminophen or ibuprofen) after thirty minutes, give the other one. Keep a record of the types of medications given at what times. Generally, acetaminophen can be given every four hours, and ibuprofen every six hours. Once the fever is under control, alternate acetaminophen every six hours and ibuprofen every six hours. This way, every three hours, the child gets some type of fever reducing medication. Try not to give more than five doses of acetaminophen and more than four doses of ibuprofen per twenty four hour period.
This article is based on my experiences as a registered nurse and a parent, as well as advice from our pediatrician, emergency room personnel, and some internet research.
54 responses so far ↓
1 Tony // Aug 25, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Hey Elaine,
Great article.
No matter what your training it is still hard not to freak out when a child is seizing. My wife is an RT who works in a pediatric ICU as well — she would freak as well.
A couple of other things I remember from medical school (that need to be fact checked by a pediatrician):
Febrile seizures can increase the risk of developing seizures later in life — although the absolute risk is low.
If the seizures don’t stop after a few minutes, don’t walk, RUN to the nearest ER.
Cheers
Tony “I don’t just blog” @ DJI.
2 Elaine // Aug 25, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Thanks so much for the comments, Tony! You brought up some very good points.
Here are a couple of updates taken from the Mayo Clinic website:
“Only a small percentage of children who have a febrile seizure go on to develop epilepsy…The most common complication of febrile seizures is the possibility of more febrile seizures. About a third of children who have a febrile seizure will have another one with a subsequent fever.”
“Most febrile seizures stop on their own within five minutes. If your child has a febrile seizure that lasts more than five minutes — or if your child has two or more seizures — call for emergency medical attention.”
Of course, if your child is not breathing or has been seriously injured during the seizure, call for an ambulance immediately.
3 Jody Lewis // Dec 11, 2006 at 1:04 pm
I am writing this because my brother and sister in law are at their wits end. They have a two year old ( she will be two this january ), an about three months ago she had a seizure. They airlifted her to the nearest hospital ( Ft. Lauderdale ). She was put on medication, and stayed in the hospital for a week. Once home, she seemed fine, but had a reaction to the medication. She was taken off of it, and had another seizure within a few days. They went back to the hospital, and stayed for wnother two weeks. Still, they could not find anything wrong with Abigail.
She has a very limited vocablulary, and no inrterest in toilet training. Her walking developed very normally, and her contact is fine. She does, however, get VERY nervous in groups larger than mom, dad, and a few family members. I am not sure if this email will even get answers, but if anyone can tell us anything about why this is happeneing, please contact me. My email is jjohnssen777@yahoo.com. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you so much for your time.
Jody Ann Lewis
4 Elaine // Dec 25, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Jody,
It sounds like your niece had something more than a simple febrile seizure, but I am not familiar with the condition you described. Abigail probably needs to see a pediatric neurologist and get a CT scan or EEG or something to diagnose her.
I hope everything works out for her. Best of luck to your niece and her family.
Elaine
5 Kaycee // Jan 1, 2007 at 4:46 pm
My son who is 5 last week had a febrile seizure. He came to me said he didn’t feel well and I took his temp and he had a 101. temp . I gave him motrin right away laid him down went to put the motrin away and came back 30 seconds later and asked if he wanted a blanket he didn’t anwser so i looked closer and his eyes were open and they rolled to the back of his head and he started turning white. i picked him up right away and i yelled call 911 he turned blue with his jaw locked and his eyes open we thought he was gone and my husband started air puffs into his mouth and he started coughing and the color came back. At that time he was taken in an ambulance.It lasted about 5 minutes .This was the worst scaryist thing I have ever been though. they said it was a viris, but 1 week later he is still not he’s self running low grade fevers on and off , and just not well. I am scared to death ,this will happen again. shouldn’t he be well by now?
6 Tony // Jan 1, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Kaycee — like everything else, see your pediatrician if you have any questions, but a few things; if the seizure came back within 30 seconds, then by definition, it really didn’t stop. The fact that the whole episode lasted around 5 minutes means that it was sort of borderline with respect to actually treating the seizure; more than 5 minutes probably meant that the EMS guys or MD’s would have actually given medication to stop the seizures.
Having said that, viral illnesses can take up to 10 days to go away completely, and its hard to say with what you mean by “just not well”. Again, I’d keep a close eye on him, bring him back to his MD or emerg if you have any questions.
Good luck Kaycee!
Tony.
7 Elaine // Jan 1, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Kaycee,
Just wanted to let you know that it has been over a year since Sammy’s seizure. We have been very careful to monitor his temperature whenever he gets sick or just doesn’t seem his normal self.
Like Tony recommended, call or see your pediatrician if you still have questions.
I hope your son is back to normal soon.
Elaine
8 WENDY M. // Aug 3, 2007 at 12:46 pm
MY 18 MONTH SON HAD A FEBRILE SEIZURE LAST WEEK, HE WAS RUSHED BY AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY SAID THE FEVER WAS BROUGHT ON BY A DOUBLE EAR INFECTION. THEY PRESCRIBED ANTIBIOTICS AND SENT US HOME . A HOUR AFTER WE GOT HOME HE HAD ANOTHER SEIZURE(NOT AS BAD AS THE FIRST ONE AND THEN THE NEXT DAY ANOTHER LITTLE ONE. BUT NOW HE SEEMS TO BE DOING FINE AND THAT WAS TWO WEEKS AGO. MY QUESTION IS EVEYONE SAYS THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE SEIZURE PER ILLNESS, SHOULD I BE REALLY WORRIED THAT MY SON HAD THREE? I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO TAKE HIS TEMP EVERY HOUR BECAUSE I’M SO SCARED THAT HE’LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE.
9 kaycee // Aug 5, 2007 at 5:38 am
It have been over 8 months since my sons febrile seizure and he is now great. it took about 3 months for him to get totaly well again but after that no trouble and he have never had another , although he has not had a high fever since. So, I will always be concerned by that. but, the doctors said more then likely this was a one time deal and it has yet proven to be. Thanks for your help.
10 Elaine // Aug 5, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Wendy and Kaycee,
I’m so glad to hear that your sons are both better now. It has been almost 2 years since Sammy’s febrile seizure. In that time, Sammy has had several high fevers that we brought down as fast as possible with medication, cool drinks, and tepid baths.
I hope all of our kids remain seizure-free in the future!
Elaine
11 Tina Wicenzcik // Sep 5, 2007 at 10:07 am
I have a question about febrile seizures. My daughter had her first at 8 months old and has just had her fourth febrile seizure two nights ago and she is almost 15 months old. The pediatrition that she goes to says nothing is wrong with her and that she just has seizures when she gets fevers. Ihave read a lot of information on many differnt sites about these seizures and they seem to be unharmful for long lerm effects, but I still cannot help but wonder if my daughter is going to be ok.
Her first seizure lasted about 10-12 minutes and was te result from a sinus infection. Her next seizure a month later lasted about 8-9 minutes and was a result of an ear infection. Her third seizure a month and a half later lasted about 9-10 minutes and there were no infections found. The fourth seizure two nights ago (a month and a half later) lasted 5-6 minutes and no infection was found.
I just wanted to know I should be asking her pediatrition for something else. They will not give me anymore information about them, I don’t know if there is just none out there or what is going on, but its unsetteling to me and my husband. And we just want to make sure our baby is going to be ok.
Any information you could give would be a great help, thank you all for your time.
Tina
12 Kendra Batek RN // Sep 14, 2007 at 8:45 pm
My son is 3 years old and has had 7 febrile seizures to date. His first was at 8 months old and he was actualy febrile status with this one. Every fever since then has been simple, lasting only 2-5 minutes. He is otherwise completely normal and healthy. Anyone else have a child with so many seizures. I feel like the only one. I am an RN and so I try and remind myself of the benign nature of these seizures but they still terrify me every time. Do they sometimes grow out of them sooner than 5. Does anyone know?
13 Elaine // Sep 18, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Tina and Kendra,
I hope your children outgrow their seizures soon. In the meantime, keep treating those fevers aggressively. Invest in a quality, quick read thermometer if you haven’t already. Be sure to keep track of when they take Tylenol and Motrin so they don’t get too much or too frequently.
See your pediatrician if you have more questions. Good luck with everything!
14 Jennifer // Sep 28, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Hi my son Connor has had now 6 febrile seizures over the past year. We had him tested for epilepsy and everything you can think of and have found nothing. 101 seems to be the trigger temp for him and last night we found him seizing in his crib again. The neurologist suggested putting him on a medication called Keppra to prevent them. We are hesitant b/c it comes with some major side effects like hyper activity, sleep disruption, behaviorial issues and violent tendencies. Now that he has had 6 they say that there could be long term effects if he continues to have them. He gave us a scenario of if you lightly tap someones arm once or twice it doesn’t hurt, but if you continue the same pattern over and over eventually it will begin to hurt and leave a bruise. Seizure can work on the brain the same way and can cause learning disabilites, behavior issues, etc.
Now I am not a doctor, that is just the info that I was given. I am not sure what to do about the medication but with winter coming I am afraid of more seizures and illnesses. so for anyone wondering if repeat seizures are rare, I don’t think so. Like I said Connor has had 6 in 1 year now and only two of them have been b/c of infections.
15 kendra batek // Sep 29, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Jennifer. Thanx for posting. it always helps a bit to know we’re not alone. How old is Connor? Are all his seizures febrile?
16 Jennifer // Sep 29, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Connor is 2 and they diagnosed all of his seizures as febrile but honestly I don’t agree. He has had low grade fevers with a couple seizures so I am not so sure, but as of now the doctors do say they are febrile.
17 KENDRA BATEK // Sep 30, 2007 at 4:36 am
Vlady’s temp are low grade too and always have been with the seizures. He has never had a fever with out a seizure. First sign of fever is seizure every time. Its so frustrating. I know most people tend to say that the seizure happens after 102 degrees but not for us, so your not alone on that one either.
18 Tina Wicenzcik // Sep 30, 2007 at 8:37 am
My daughter had another seizure last month and never had a fever at all, her temp didn’t even reach 100, and there was no source of infection. Her pediatrition finally ordered an EEG and decided to give her carbamazapine for the seizures, and we are now also waiting to see the pediatriac neurologist on the 11th of October. We took her for the EEG last week and still have not heard anything about the results but I am calling this Wednesday because it will have been a week. Also my husband and I have chosen not to give her any of the medication for the seizures until after we get the results from the EEG and talk to the neurologist in a couple weeks. But I will be sure to keep you all informed if they find anything. We hope all the children are doing well and staying healthy. Until next time, take care.
19 Jennifer // Sep 30, 2007 at 10:12 am
You know I completely agree with you on waiting to medicate until after the test results. Connor was prescribed meds for Epilepsy before the EEG and the test was negative. Make sure what ever you decide make sure you research the medication. Alot of these meds cause side effects that are more harmful than the seizures themselves. Conno was prescribed Keppra and a lot of people have had a lot of problems on it. Its used to treat Bipolar Disorder also so it works like an anti-depression. It also has a high suicide rate in adults so imagine what the kids will be like? We opted not to medicate until he is older. He is only having them when he gets sick and if we watch his temperatures he is ok. Good luck with your results.
20 Elaine // Sep 30, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Kendra, Tina, and Jennifer, I’m glad you were able to share your experiences with each other. I hope everything goes well for you and your children. Please keep us posted!
21 Sandra // Oct 6, 2007 at 4:52 pm
My son william 13 months , just had his second seizure last night. Its shorts, about 2-3mins. His first seizure wal 6 weeks a go. All caused by ear infection. Since both of my sons havefebrile seizure ( the eldest son is 3 1/2 years old), I always carefull treating the fever (with Motrin and tylenol back to back just like our pediatric told us to do ) everytime they got sick. But still … after the 2 boys had their second seizure ( all of them caused by ear infection), I still could not believe it is happening to us, and how many seizure will happen again in the future. Because last night, it happened after 2 hours a gave him tylenol, william has been taking back to back fever reducer for about 24 hours and the seizure still hapenned. We just don’t know what to expect, even we already doing what we need to do .. I checked his temp after I gave tylenol, he was 100F, but 2 hours later…. YOu know…..sometimes … it just happened. I am still wondering if there’s anything else that we can do to prevent this?
22 Tina Wicenzcik // Oct 15, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Hi everyone, I just wanted to share a little bit of information with you about my daughter’s visit with the pediatric neurologist.
First of all the doctor said her EEG looks good and that there is more he would like to look into on it, because he didn’t have too much time to look it over when we were there. Second of all the doctor (the pediatric neurologist) explained to us that these days when anyone (child or adult) has 2 or more seizures (febrile or not) they are considered to have epilepsy. So that’s how they are now treating my daughter. She is now taking Carbatrol 100MG 2x a day. The Doc said that what our family Doc prescribed for us was okay but it is the generic of Carbatrol, and when it comes to seizure medication your are 20% more likely to develop the side effects of the medication if it is a generic.
Other than that my daughter had her blood levels tested and will be going back to the neurologist in 6 weeks. At the next appointment she will be getting an MRI to make sure that she does not have any damage to her brain from the previous seizures, and her blood levels will be tested again to make sure she is doing okay with the medicine.
Other than everything mentioned above we were also given 2 Diastat 2.5 MG tubes, if you don’t know what it is, it is to stop a seizure if it is lasting too long. It is basically a medicine that is given rectally if a seizure lasts for more than 5 minutes or if there is a cluster of seizures happening.
Like I said before I just wanted to share this information with all of you. Maybe this can give someone else a little relief as well. I know that I feel 100% better about my daughter having seizures now that she is seeing a pediatric neurologist, they really put my mind at ease and helped me to realize that this is something we can control. I would suggest to anyone to go ahead and take their child to a pediatric neurologist if they have had 2 or more seizures. Just be sure they are specialized in pediatrics because they know what they are looking for in children. I hope this helps with someone reading this.
23 Elaine // Oct 15, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Sandra, when my kids are sick, I feel like I am constantly checking their temparatures. I know how quickly a small child can go from a normal temperature to an alarmingly high one! Be sure to write down what medication you give at what time, to make sure your child does not get an extra dose, or a dose too soon. We always keep a small notebook near our thermometer.
Tina, thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I’m glad the pediatric neurologist visit has made you and your daughter feel better. I hope her MRI is fine. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers!
24 Elaine // Oct 16, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Tina, after receiving an e-mail from another regular reader, I have re-read your comment and I have a few things to add. I want to remind you all that while I am/was a nurse, most of my knowledge about seizures in children come from my experiences with my own kids.
First, regarding 2 seizures automatically being epilepsy, our pediatrician and ER doctors all told us that IF there’s a second seizure, then our children needed to be WORKED UP for epilepsy, not that they automatically had it. It sounds like your daughter is in the midst of an epilepsy work up, so if the test results are conclusive, then it appears that the medications are appropriate.
Second, every member of my family uses generic drugs whenever they are available. We experience the same results as with brand name drugs. http://www.fda.gov/Cder/consumerinfo/generics_q&a.htm explains the differences between the two.
I plan to look into this further and will post more comments as I come across additional information. I realize that many of the people who are led to this article are probably dealing with febrile seizures in their own children. I know this is a very difficult time for any parent. I hope others will feel free to post their experiences and opinions as well.
Special thanks to Tony of DJI for emailing us his comments.
25 LISA BERNDT // Dec 26, 2007 at 5:08 pm
My son aidan had his first febrile seizure two days after his second birthday and they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. on september 29th he had multiple seizures that were difficult to stop he was admitted to hospital had a spinal tap, eeg, mri, and cat scan done and found nothing. On dec 23 he had another one due to a fever but no one is sure what caused the fever. Again the next day he had another seizure worse than the day before was taken by ambulance again to hospital. Both times we were sent home but the one on the 24th they told us we werent giving him the proper dose of ibuprofen or tylenol. Isn’t it silly that the day before we were in the hospital and was asked how much we give him and no one said anything the next day they said our doses werent high enough. I don’t understand why a hospital wouldn’t have caught that and this last seizure could have probably been prevented. I feel like they were making us out to be the bad guys. Still wondering how much more of this we can take this is very stressfull for any parent!!
26 Tina Wicenzcik // Dec 28, 2007 at 11:44 am
Lisa I know that this is very frustrating especially when you don’t know why this is happening to your baby. You should get a referral to a pediatriac neurologist. We love ours and since my baby has been diagnosed with eppilepsey and been taking carbatrol 2x/day she has been seizure free since October. I hope you guys find out what’s going on. Good luck with everything.
27 Lisa Berndt // Dec 28, 2007 at 11:59 pm
weve already seen a neurologist several times and they couldn’t find anything wrong and we just had a follow up on thursday and they said they still don’t want to put him on medication because all there tests are coming back negative. How old is your baby?
28 Sara // Dec 31, 2007 at 7:55 am
Thanks for this article. My 19 mos. old son had a febrile seizure on Dec. 27th, and it was soooo scary. He vomited once the morning of Dec. 24th & he was constipated too, so I kept his fluids up, checked his temperature too (he didn’t have one), and gave him some Infant Motrin. On Christmas Day he still wasn’t himself, and he had a low-grade fever, but nothing serious, so again I gave him Infant Motrin & half of an Infant Supository. The supository worked & he had 2 bowel movements, and by the end of the day on Dec. 26th he seemed like he was getting back to his normal self (playing & very verbal while visitine family). Then on the morning of Dec. 27th he was overly tired (less then 1 hour after waking up, he was ready for a nap, and after waking from his nap, he was still really tired). I commented to my Mother that he didn’t seem like himself, so I called our family physician to make an appointment for the following day, with a follow-up call to Ontario Telehealth to see what I could do for him. While on the phone I looked at my son, and had my heart stop - his eyes began to roll back in his head, his arms & legs stiffened, he arched his back, and his face became contorted. I hung the phone up, started to freak out (luckily, my Mom was a nurse for over 20 years), and I called 9-1-1. My son’s seizure lasted about 1 minute, but it seemed like an eternity, and after the seizure ended he was completely limp/lifeless, and really couldn’t be aroused. The ambulance took him to the hospital, where he had blood work done, which said he was slightly dry, and he had a chest x-ray, which revealed that he was in the beginning stages of a viral pneumonia. I was so shocked to hear that, because aside from a slight bit of vomiting & a low-grade fever, he wasn’t coughing & didn’t seem sick (I just thought he had a common flu bug that had seemed to be going around). Anyway, this was one of the scariest times in my life, and I was so worried about losing my son, or brain damage, or so many other terrible thoughts that ran through my head?! The emergency room doctor prescribed antibiotics for him, and a follow-up visit with our family doc, but also said that this is common in children his age, it’s not my fault, and there’s really nothing I could do to prevent it from happening. Now there’s a 1 in 3 chance of this happening again if my son gets a fever, so without being paranoid, I’m doing some research & I found your article to be one of the best informative pieces. Thanks for offering tips & sharing!!!
29 Kaycee // Dec 31, 2007 at 9:39 am
It has now been one year since my son connor had a 5 min. fibrile seizure. I just wanted to let you know that for some of you it is true that this can be a one time deal and it may be something you will never have to go through again. hopefully this will be true with your kids also. connor has be super all year. keep posting. this sight helped me get through a really scary time. Thank you.
30 Elaine // Dec 31, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Sara, I’m so glad you liked my article and found it helpful. I hope it is just a one time thing for you as well.
Like Kaycee, it has been quite a while since my son’s febrile seizure, and hopefully none of our children will ever have another one.
Good luck and Happy, Healthy New Year to all of you!
31 kendra // Dec 31, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Just thought I’d update for the new comers. My son Vlady is 3 and a half and continues to have febrile seizures. he had the first one when he was 8 months old. He tends to have one about every 6 months or so and has had a total of 7 now. He is a perfectly normal, rather exceptional, adorable healthy little boy and the seizures have had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. My pediatrician says that he wouldn’t dream of medicating him and that a neurologist friend of his says that anything under 12 seizures is nothing to get excited about. Vlady has seizures every time he has a fever and unfortunately the seizure is the first sign of the fever. he seizes the moment that the temperature goes up so Tylenol/Motrin aren’t really preventative. We still live in fear because they are so scary but our pediatrician is wonderful and his own son had febrile seizures and he is confident that he should be growing out of it. Just to let you all know that I’m out here dealing with this over and over and we are fine and surviving and just plodding on and most of all that my little boy is perfect despite multiple seizures.
32 amphy // Jan 16, 2008 at 3:54 pm
My 8-month old son adam had a 3-minute seizure last week. That was his first seizure. He had gone through a CT Scan but no abnormality was found on his brain. There was a slight infection in his blood and we are still waiting for the culture sensitivity result this week. He will be undergoing an EEG next week. His pedia neuro recommended phenobarbital as anti-seizure medicine. According to her, we will be giving the medicine until we get 5 consecutive normal EEG data. Initial treatment duration is 5 years. I am afraid that medicine has some adverse effects on my baby. Does it really take this long before knowing if the seizure is just a simple fibrile seizure or not? Based from what I read in the articles over the internet, my baby had a simple fibrile seizure only. Thank you.
I hope all is well with your children. Ciao!
33 Kaycee // Jan 16, 2008 at 6:34 pm
You are so right. my son had one and has never had another. I would no but my baby on anything if he only had one. I hope your son has had his last.
34 kendra batek // Jan 16, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Amphy! I would seek a second and even third opinion if necessary. My son has had multiple febrile seizures and my pediatrician is not even close to considering medicating him. He’s fine. And my son was also 8 months when he had his first one. He’s never even had an eeg. I could almost understand the neurologists concern if the seizure was prolonged or not related to a fever (although medicatin him with phenobarbital would still be radical in my opinion). Anticonvulsants have very serious side effects and are more dangerous than simple febrile seizures!! Sounds like you need to get all the details from the neurologist cause if this is what it sounds like she is very, very wrong.
35 amphy // Jan 20, 2008 at 7:45 am
Thanks for the information. We already stopped giving him phenobarbital. You’re right Kendra, we should have asked for a second opinion right after knowing our pedia neuro’s judgment. It really was just a simple febrile seizure. I just hope it would be his first and last seizure.
36 kendra batek // Jan 21, 2008 at 12:50 am
Amphy. I just read your latest post and just want to add that I never endorse stopping a medication without the guidance and advice of a physician. I hope that you got a second opinion before stopping the medication. I cannot diagnose a febrile seizure all I can say is that what you have described sounds to me like nothing more than a febrile seizure. most family doctors mange these without a referral to a neurologist. So I hope everything turns out well for you but remember that all medication changes should be made under the guidance of a doctor.
37 Connie // Jan 23, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I was very happy to find this site and all of your comments. My 3-year old daughter had a first ever febrile seizure just before Halloween last year. Of course, I was hysterical and called 911. In the pediatric ER she had a CT scan and lumbar puncture to rule out brain abnormalities and meningitis. Both tests came back fine. Even a follow-up MRI came back normal. The ped neuro in the hospital recommended putting her on Keppra because the EEG conducted following the first febrile seizure came back abnormal.
I was horrified of the medications’ side effects and sought a 2nd opinion. Thank GOD I did, because a more senior neurologist in the same ped neuro practice recommended against medication. He said when the EEG was conducted my daughter was still postictal and, had the EEG been conducted later, the results would likely have been normal. Moreover, he said if the seizures are always fever-induced, an anti-seizure med may not prevent them from happening anyway.
My daughter had a 2nd febrile seizure just before New Year’s this year, but her fever was 106 (it was 103 with the first, and due to ear and upper respiratory infections both times).
I urge any parent dealing with this to seek 2nd and 3rd opinions, if necessary, before putting your child on medication. Every doctor treats differently, and you don’t want your child to suffer medication side effects unnecessarily. My daughter will likely outgrow febrile seizures by the time she’s 4 or 5, and I would have never forgiven myself for putting her on a long-term medication with adverse side effects.
38 Elaine // Jan 23, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Connie. I’m so glad that this article is still helpful to people over a year after I wrote it. I definitely agree to seek a second or third opinion whenever the first one just doesn’t sound right. In some cases, talking to another pediatrician or ER doctor is just as helpful as a pediatric neurologist consult.
39 Connie // Jan 23, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Thanks Elaine. Something has been really nagging me since my daugther’s first febrile seizure, although no doctor that I’ve talked to has much to say about it. About one week before her first febrile seizure, she got a flu shot and a Hep A vaccination at the same time. Since that time, I’ve read a lot of articles on the web that are critical of children receiving mutilple vaccines simultaneously. I had no idea of the risk. Does anyone else have any thoughts or insight on this?
40 Elaine // Jan 24, 2008 at 12:46 am
Connie, last October my daughter got a flu shot and Hep A vaccine at the same time also, and she didn’t even get a fever. In our case, it was harmless.
I have heard about people spreading out vaccinations to try to make them more effective and/or less difficult on the child. It’s a pretty new theory, so I don’t think it’s proven yet. If your doctor and insurance company go along with it and if it’s convenient for you, it probably wouldn’t hurt to try it.
Many times over the last few years, my kids got as many as 4 shots in a single doctor’s visit. At the time, I wasn’t aware I could spread out the vaccines. With my insurance coverage at the time, I might have had to pay numerous co-pays for each office visit.
Vaccines have been getting a bad rap lately, but I still believe that they are important for each child’s health as well as the public’s health. I do always ask if there’s a thimerisol-free vaccine available, especially for my 2 year old.
This is a lot to think about, but I hope it helps.
41 Kellie // Feb 18, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I just went through a similar situation with my son, Keaton who just turned 1. He started arching his back and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. He had a fever of 101.9 but also tested positive for the flu. He had 4 seizures back to back all the way to the hospital and while we were still there. They STAT flighted him to Kosair Hospital and there he stopped and has done fine since. That was two days ago and we just came home. I’m very scared of what may happen but I just pray that God will not allow anything like this to hurt my little man again. It’s so hard seeing your baby bagged, lying lifeless, and having tubes to help him breath.
42 Brandy // Mar 11, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi everyone! I’m glad also to have found this site. My son just had his 2nd febrile seizure and is 2 years old. He had his first one when he was 7 months. Since a long time had passed, I thought he was in the clear. But yesterday, it happened again. I was so scared again and now I find myself researching a lot and so scared to let him go to sleep at night, thinking it’ll happen again. Just wanted to share and say that I hope everyone’s babies grow out of this soon because it’s one of the scariest things to witness in a mother’s life.
43 Elaine // Mar 19, 2008 at 8:15 am
Kellie and Brandy, I hope your sons are doing better now. I completely understand that scary, helpless feeling when your beloved child is having a seizure. All you can do is be prepared and try to stay calm. Best of luck to both of your families.
44 kendra batek // Mar 25, 2008 at 10:11 am
Just wanted to update my good news. My son Vlady who will be 4 in May had his first fever EVER that did not cause a seizure. Every fever he has had since 8 months was accompanied by febrile seizure so I feel that finally maybe he has outgrown them. Fingers crossed!!!
45 Katie // Apr 6, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Hi everyone. I just found this site and am so happy that I did. I have an almost 5 year old son (he turns 5 on 4/15) who has had 6 febrile seizures - the last one happened 2 months ago. His first was when he was 13 months old. The first 5 seizures were all “simple” - a minute or so long. There was 15 months between the 4th and 5th seizure and 13 months between the 5th and 6th seizure. These large breaks between seizures gave my husband and I the false belief that he had outgrown them. During these “breaks” he did have fevers but they didn’t lead to seizures. We are always aggressive with motrin/tylenol and have him sleep with us when he is battling an illness. Unfortunately, his last seizure was in Feb of this year and lasted about 20 to 30 minutes (he did have a fever at the time). It was horrible. He was rushed to Childrens Hospital here in Los Angeles. We’ve been seeing a Ped Neurologist since his 3rd seizure and have never medicated him with anti-seizure meds since prior to this last one, they have all been simple and all seizures were febrile. However, after this last long seizure, the neurologist had us do an EEG and MRI - both came back normal (thank goodness). So, we are back at febrile seizures. For whatever reason, he had what they call a “complex febrile seizure” (lasts longer than 15 minutes). I know the fear you all face. Every runny nose scares me to death and I check his temp all the time! I have a 2.5 year old daughter who hasn’t had one and we are hoping that she never does. I just wanted to post and share my story. We are anxiously awaiting the day he not longer has these! And, I have been told by all the doctors we have seen that kids outgrow these by 6 years old. Most outgrow them by 5 but all should by age 6.
46 Elaine // Apr 16, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Kendra, I’m so glad Vlady is doing better! Like Katie, I’ll still be worried about my son until he finally turns 6 years old! I am also extra careful whenever my daughter gets sick.
We still alternate Tylenol and Motrin to keep their high fevers down, despite new studies that discourage this. Our pediatrician explained that as long as the medications are given properly (right dose, right time interval, etc.), then the risk of liver damage outweigh the risk of another febrile seizure.
I’m wondering if this is still a common practice. Have any of your pediatricians mentioned the new studies or told you to treat your child’s fevers differently?
47 kendra batek // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Okay—spoke way too soon. A day after I posted Vlady had another febrile seizure and then had another two with a string of virus over a three week period. My ped still thinks its within the range of normal simple benign febrile seizures but has refered me to a neurologist just to double check. My ped’s own daughter (who is 35 and fine now) had about 12 febrile seizures and they stopped when she turned four. I must say though that my paranoia and anxiety have peaked this time and I am getting one of those baby monitors with a camera so I can watch him in the evening and then I sleep with him most nights. I hope my paranoia at this point isn’t doing more harm than the seizures themselves. And of course he continues to be happy and healthy overall. Thankyou all so much for sharing your stories. It makes a world of difference to know we are not along. I’ll keep you posted.
48 Brandy // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Kendra, sorry to hear about Vlady..I sure thought he had grown out of them since he hadn’t had a seizure with that one fever. But don’t worry, the day will come! But don’t feel bad, Sunday, Noah had a febrile seizure at a park at the lake. We were riding boats and picnicing when i saw Noah get quiet. I felt him, he was warm, so I took off to the nearest drug store to get Motrin. By the time I got back to the park, my husband and father were on their way to the hospital because of the seizure. It happened that fast…This was his 3rd seizure but the last two happened within 2 months ago. I’m so scared now…I understand what you mean by knowing you are not in this alone. Not many people want their babies to grow up too fast, but in this case, we are waiting for the day for our babies to turn 5-6. I’m here if anyone ever needs to talk or vent.
49 Katie // Apr 17, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Kendra, I have video monitors in both of my kids rooms because of Jack’s seizures. So, no, I don’t think you are being paranoid. It is really just peace of mind. When Jack has a fever, he sleeps with me… 3 of his seizures happened in his bed (I saw them on the monitor) so I love having the monitors.
50 Kellie // Apr 18, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I have a question to a nurse or whomever will know. My son is Keaton, I posted a comment on Feb. 18th. Everytime he has ran a fever since and I call the doctors, they are not concerned with it at all. Just give Tylenol. OKAY! I know this, but the thing that gets me is that his ped. never saw him, they just got a report saying they had a patient stat flighted and was at Kosair. His first seizure lasted for about 10 min and he was completely blue, we had to breath for him. He stopped for a couple of minutes. The paramedics got there and he started another one this lasted for 12-15 minutes, they couldn’t get an IV started. He was still seizing when they got him into the hospital and got the IV started and gave him med. He had another one like within 5 to 10 minutes after that but they immediately gave him med. When the helicopter got there he was 15 min in flight and started to have another one.
I just worry b/c most febrile seizures don’t happen like that or as long as those do they? I know that they are Considered “normal” but I don’t know if it’s just b/c it happened to my child that I’m so scared of every fever or b/c the length of his, and that he had 4. Which everything was normal no brain damage or anything (Thank God for that) but, is this just something that I should just not have as much concern with b/c the doctors don’t or what? Everytime I call it’s either give him tylenol or give him breathing treatments. Am I just worrying to much or what. If not, what should I tell the doctors. I haven’t recived his paper work from the hospital so like I said they wasn’t there and didn’t see him and I don’t even think they know he was on the respirator?? Maybe I’m just being overprotective but should the doctors be more concerned. Thanks for any advice.
51 kendra batek // Apr 18, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Kellie,
I’m so sorry about you scary experience. I do understand how it feels. Your son’s febrile seizure was a complex febrile seizure as opposed to a simple febrile seizure. Theses complex seizures are also supposed to be benign in nature although I certainly would call for an appointment to discuss your concerns face to face with your childs doctor. Write everything you want to say and ask down. Has Keaton had any other seizures since?
My son’s first seizure was also complex (and I have read that first seizures are more likely to be complex than subsequent ones). His was complex because it too lasted a long time (about 25 minutes). My pediatrician gave me a prescription for rectal diazepam that I can give my son in the event that he ever has another prolonged seizure (greater than 10 minutes). We haven’t ever used it luckily but I have a bit of peace of mind in knowing that I have the drug to stop the seizure if the need ever arises. I hope that you get a chance to talk with your doctor and that he/she understands your concerns. Good luck.
52 Laurie // Apr 28, 2008 at 3:59 pm
My son Elliot is 2 and had his first febrile seizure @ 14 months. It was a simple seizure lasting ~2minutes and he was found to have an ear infection. His temp was >102. We got tubes and he was seizure free for a year. Then a month ago he had one with a virus and this weekend he had 2 eight hours apart with what seems to another virus. For all of his seizures his temp was >102 and he had received a dose of Motrin and Tylenol prior to ALL of the seizures. We had an MRI done (which was normal) after an abnormal EEG which we found out later was done too close to a seizure. I am living in fear of more seizures. We have a Dyastat at home now and do not want to put him on permanent meds but I don’t know what to do for him!
53 Debbie // Apr 28, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Your stories have really helped me! My daughter has had two bad febrile seizures that came up so fast…we didn’t have time to treat with motrin. Thank you for your stories!
54 Elaine // Apr 30, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Laurie & Debbie, Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I hope your children will be seizure free in the future.
Laurie, I’m not familiar with Dyastat, but if it was prescribed to your son for emergencies, make sure to always bring it with you, along with a thermometer and fever reducing medications. Be sure that everyone who takes care of your son knows what to do in case of another seizure and to dial 911 if necessary. Best of luck!
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