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Children's health

help advise on shacking, twitching fit like ds

21 replies

hollyandnoah · 09/08/2008 23:48

hey,

i just came in from visiting my gran, got in and ds (7 months) was still sleeping in stroller.

I left it in the hall and let my dogs outside for a wee, came back ds sytill sleeping, i went into living room and set up the dvd player, heard ds crying.

I went out and got him, took his jacket and trousers off, got him a bottle ready and put him down in his cot with bottle untill i got his pj's out the drawer, when i returned to him he was shacking, twitching, on his back his hands were flapping all over the place and twitching with his arms out streached.
i picked him up while he was still twitching and then he stgopped about 20 seconds later, so im guessing it lasted about 30 seconds.

called nhs 24 and they asked if he had bumped his head, had been sick, i said he had been sick once today but it was just milky. he had bumped head yesterday as he is starting to pull himself up on the furnature. He is on meds for oral thrush atm so i mentioned that too.
His face and neck are roasting but his temp was only 37.8 which she sais wasnt too bad.

She told me to give him calpol and put him to bed, if he is sick to call back...

Has anyone else had any similar situations? Did your lo ever take a turn like this again?

Holly

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Tortington · 09/08/2008 23:50

they can have fits if too hot. its v. scary

AvenaLife · 09/08/2008 23:54

It sounds like a febrile convulsion, it's a fit that children/toddlers/babies have if they get too hot however the fever is normally high for this to happen.

What time did this happen? When did he bump his head?

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 00:01

Hey,

Thank you for the replies. Really appreciate it.

It happened at about 11pm.
He bumped his head yesterday morning/early afternoon, i think about 12noon or there about.

He fealt roasting when i picked him up, maybe because i left him in the buggy with his jacket on. but as i say his temp was 37.8 so not too hot.

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becklespeckle · 10/08/2008 00:01

It does sound very much like a febrile convulsion to me despite his temperature not being overly high. My DS2 had 2 of these as a baby and they are awful to see. He was very sleepy after each one and also whimpered a bit. The 2 he had were months apart, after the first one he was seen by a doctor (I was out walking with him and called an ambulance which took me to the surgery to check him out) and was told to keep him cool. We went to hospital with the second as it was in the early hours of the morning but again he was looked at and we were told to keep him cool and sent home again. Is quite common I think but very scary, hope your little man is okay x

AvenaLife · 10/08/2008 00:03

How have you taken his temperature? Have you used a strip that goes on his forehead or one that goes in his ear?

Is he alert and awake now?

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 00:06

Avanalife i just googled febrile convulsion, because i hadn't heard of it.
The description on net doctor sounds really similar to what happened. thank you.

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hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 00:09

he is sitting on m y knee, wide awake, pulling my hair lol, he just seems himself now. at first he looked stunned though.

I used an electric safty first one under his arm. Thats all i have.

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AvenaLife · 10/08/2008 00:16

Ok. Make sure that he's cool and give him a drink, his temp sounds fine though so I would take him back to the GP on Monday and let him know what has happened. Keep an eye on the temp, if it rises give him some calpol.
If he starts to convulse/fit again then I'd call an ambulance. Some babies can convulse with only a slight fever but it's best to get them checked over by a doctor. He needs checking to find out why he's convulsed aswell. It may be because he was just too hot but this should always be checked with a GP.

It must have frightened the life out of you.

becklespeckle · 10/08/2008 00:21

Agree with Avena, have him looked at for your piece of mind although there was possibly no reason other than his temperature. DS2 was tested the second time he convulsed and all they could find was a sore throat - it was just the temperature which caused it.

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 00:22

I will get to the gp on monday! He's just had calpol and doesnt seem anywhere near ready to sleep yet.

Yes i was so scared, I called my mum to come round, she lives close, because his dad and i arn't together and i didn't have a clue what was happening!

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NormaStanleyBelcher · 10/08/2008 00:22

I don't know what your themometer is but our ear one (that is accurate for adults) only reads really low when DD is well.

The only way I can tell if her temp is high is by feeling which doesn't give me a figure

With DS2 we ended up in ER because of meningitis symptoms, he was fine, but his temp was well above what our home themometer was reading - and they were really worried that his temp would make him fit

so if there is any re-occurence, call 999

AvenaLife · 10/08/2008 00:30

ds once had a fever of 40.5 because he had tonsilitis. The gp sent him to the hospital and we were in there for 4 days. He didn't fit though. I have seen others at work that have had a convulsion with only a temp of 38. It's important to find out why they have a fever though, even if it is very slight. The normal temp for a child is 37.5 but this can vary. Some children's (and adults) can be as low as 36.8. This is normal for them. It's a good idea to record their temp when they are well so you can use it as a baseline.

As with all fevers, keep an eye out for rashes, feeding problems, excessive crying,sleepiness and abnormal behaviour. I would take him to the GP aswell.

I hope he's feeling better soon.

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 00:38

Thank you all! I'm so glad for mumsnet!!

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AvenaLife · 10/08/2008 00:38

becklespeckle · 10/08/2008 09:02

How is DS this morning Holly?

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 11:40

Hey!

He is himself thanks! Just like nothing happened, he doesn't have a clue how scared i was. Bless him!
Went to get him thismorning and he was standing up at the bottom of his cot, holding on!!

thank you allxx

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becklespeckle · 10/08/2008 14:14

Glad he is okay now! Bless him standing in his cot, my DD has not yet mastered that one, she is 7 months too!

hollyandnoah · 10/08/2008 14:22

Thank you

This was the first time he's done it, i was like and today he's been climbing over everything! Scary.

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christywhisty · 10/08/2008 17:19

It's not how high the temperature goes that causes the febrile convulsion, it's the temperature shooting up suddenly. With my dcs it is usually the first sign they are ill.

becklespeckle · 11/08/2008 00:13

That's right, it is the change in temperature which does the harm which is why it is no longer recommended to put a hot child in a cool bath.

luvaduck · 11/08/2008 00:44

holly
am really glad he's ok
however nhs direct are talking bollocks - as always!
it does sound like a febrile convulsion BUT first febrile fits should be admitted to hospital for investigation at the time. he doesn't need to go on now, as time has proven that hes fine - but that was the wrong advice by nhs direct (they make me so cross, half the time they send people in to hospital to cover their backs, other half they ignore importnant stuff)
def have a word with Gp tomorrow

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