In thinking they could have done more?

[upset111]

Totally prepared to be told IABU. But I'm feeling very sensitive to kind comments only please.
Yesterday my toddler had a fit- never had one before.
The ambulance came and we were waiting in A&E for 5 hours. His fever was 40. He was completely unresponsive.
The doctor checked his ears and throat and a urine sample and said there was no sign of infection- and to go home.
That was it. I got sent home. No further testing whatsoever? Not even told to book a GP appointment to look into what's wrong? Maybe I'm expecting too much, but it was very scary and I felt like nobody was helping.

He was unresponsive for 5 hours and they sent him home? Was he still unresponsive then?

Did they mention febrile convulsion to you at all?

My ds had a febrile convulsion when he was a toddler too. They didn't really 'do' any thing for him either just meds to take his temp down and tbh he was full of beans within a few hours. It was terrifying for us. I have never been as scared but febrile convulsions are really common and in sons case there wasn't really anything that needed doing if you know what I mean. How is your son now?

Is his temperature still that high? I remember how scary those convulsions are. Did they give you any guidance in how to prevent it happening again?

Was he better by the time they saw him? Was he truaged quickly to make sure he was stable?

From what you've said yanbu, but if he was pretty much back to normal with no symptoms of anything worrying then they're unlikely to order diagnostic tests unless it happens again.

Fully understand your anxiety though. At least speak to your GP, A&E are really just making sure he's in no immediate danger.

Surely they didn't send an unresponsive toddler home

For a febrile convulsion, they don't really need follow up. If it happens again, they can give medication to you to administer when a fever starts. If it was a fit without a temp, your child would likely be referred for further testing. If your child had been completely unresponsive, they wouldn't have left him for 5 hours.

Sorry I wasn't clear. He wasn't unresponsive at that point. He was until the ambulance arrived and came round whilst they were there. Yes they did mention febrile convulsion, it was really scary. He just isn't himself- his temperature went down to 38.5 and they couldn't find a route to the infection. And sent us home after paracetamol.

My niece had a few of these with viral infections. Very common but very scary!
Never any warning signs, she used to get them as her fever spiked

@Cantbebotheredwithchores yes we had no warning signs either! I think that was the scariest part. He also has never ever had a temperature before- even after vaccines!

My sister was driving once and my niece was chatting away and all of a sudden when quiet and she was having one of these.
She grew out of these, they say once you have one you are more prone to them x

*went quiet

Febrile convulsions are horrifically frightening for the parents but fairly commonplace for doctors, which is why they seem perhaps a little blasé about it. As your little one had a raised temp at the time it was clearly a febrile convulsion, so from their point of view they don't need to investigate the primary cause - although it is often infections like tonsillitis, ear infections etc. or certain vaccines that can trigger a rapid rise in temp (it is the rate of the rise rather than the actual temp itself that causes the fit).

Generally they only happen once per illness (and usually within the first 24 hours of the illness starting), so hopefully your little one won't have another one and just needs to recover from the underlying infection. Unfortunately he may have more fits in the future, but they won't happen with every illness and you may get lucky and this is a complete one off! They are more likely to reoccur if your child is quite young (<18 months IIRC) when they have their first one.

There isn't really anything to be done to prevent them as they tend to happen very quickly at the beginning of an illness before you are even aware anything is wrong, and the general consensus is that Calpol/Nurofen etc won't stop them happening even if you do give them in time. Please rest assured they do no harm to your child, despite being absolutely petrifying to witness (my child has had 3, and I wish I could say it gets easier but it hasn't for me!). They usually grow out of them at around age 5-6.

It is scary and I sympathise, however, he did get emergency treatment and investigation which is the point of an A&E. Did they tell you how to manage it if it happens again? It is extremely common for young DC to have a fit with a temperature and further investigations are not carried out unless there is an unusual aspect to the presentation.They should have told you how to manage future temperatures and fits if they happen.You can make an appointment with your GP to discuss it all further .Of course, if his temperature remains high and it is not clear why you will need to see a doctor anyway.

What further testing would you want? He had a temp and a febrile convulsion ( we don't use the word fit anymore, seizure is correct) and then he was ok again.
It's very common in small children and not something to be concerned about.

My son had the same, not much treatment they do offer if it’s febrile convulsion. Very scary at the time (I thought we were losing him), but actually quite common and not life threatening. Hugs though Op, they’re quite traumatic! My son has them and stops breathing completely.

Yes, my daughter had a febrile convulsion when she was maybe 3. I thought she was dying so we called an ambulance. It was so distressing but the paramedics almost seemed annoyed that I'd called them and asked why I hadn't given calpol. Err, I thought she was choking or dying as that's just what came to my mind when it happened. It was like an out of body experience. She had another one not long after and we took her to the walk in centre and the GP said there's nothing they can do and just give calpol! She never had any after that but I'll never forget the shock and fear I felt in those moments. Xx

Thank you. It's reassuring to hear experiences and know it's very common. They really didn't tell me too much about it.
@Babycakes39 that's exactly what happened with me. I'd never heard of it nor had he seemed unwell leading up to it so I was petrified he was dying. Hence why I was so upset hat it felt like I was just given calpol and told to go home x

I'm sorry you had to go through it. They made me feel like a terrible mum as she had seemed fine to me. I wouldn't have changed anything though, of course I'm going to ring for an ambulance if I think my child's dying. They're in the wrong, not you. Probably compassion fatigue! Try not to dwell on it (even though I still relive it in my mind sometimes 10 years on!) and I really hope he doesn't have anymore xx

We've had the same experience. 40 degree temp, went limp and floppy, called 999. He was given oxygen in the ambulance and perked up massively so they kept him in for obs for a few hours and sent us home. I can't fault the people I dealt with though - they were really reassuring and explained that basically there is nothing they can do other than bring his temp down and I can do that with Calpol too but to bring him back if I was worried.

It sounds like a bit more compassion and explanation would have helped even if their medical response wasn't wrong