I think the doctor misdiagnosed my DD

[Ducklingstroller]

Dd (3) had what I think was a febrile convulsion. I wasn’t able to rouse her during it but was able to within a minute (I don’t know how long it was going on before I found her but I’d heard her coughing which was why I went upstairs to check on her).

The ambulance took us to A+E where we remained for about 5 hours. The doctor said he thinks it was a rigor not a febrile convulsion as she didn’t wet herself or bite her tongue and I was able to rouse her quickly.

I’ve since talked to friends whose children have had febrile convulsions and they’ve said she probably came round herself within that time, rather than me being able to ‘rouse her’ and the fact she didn’t bite her tongue or wet herself doesn’t mean it wasn’t a FC as their children didn’t do these things either!

when I say she l came round, she was grizzly, hugged me and went back to sleep in my arms. She didn’t come round properly until the ambulance crew came.

my concern is it won’t say febrile convulsion on her medical record. Do I need to worry does it not matter in the grand scheme of things. Would they have done any further tests if they’d confirmed an FC?

If I was to happen again I can explain the history and have also let her pre-school know too.

Would welcome any advice, not sure if I’m worrying unnecessarily.

Was she unwell, did she have a fever?

She didn’t have one before going to bed and was fine in herself but the ambulance crew checked it and it was 38.5.

The doctor said her throat was red so was likely brewing a virus.

I think if it’s a simple febrile convulsion as scary as it is it isn’t a major concern. My daughter has had several and a few complex convulsions (and suspected epilepsy at one point). If the child comes around from the convulsion without re entering into another and it doesn’t last several minutes it’s just a case of being vigilant with temperatures. We have a Braun thermoscan thermometer as recommended by doctors it’s is very accurate, I would highly recommend this one if you don’t have it already.
Make sure you always have a stock of both paracetamol and ibuprofen (if no allergies) and don’t be afraid to get her seen again if you think it’s something more.

Thank you :)

People's ignorance about epilepsy and seizures in general astounds me. 1 in 130 people has epilepsy in this country, and febrile convulsions are way more common than that even. And yet a doctor can still talk this nonsense (I have epilepsy, by the way). As you say - neither of those things are necessary for it to have been febrile convulsions. It probably was. However as others have said, in and of itself the first febrile convulsion is nothing to hugely worry about. I can understand why you'd want it on their records 'correctly' but to be honest even if was down as suspected febrile convulsions, it wouldn't be a certainty anyway.

The key thing is that something will be on her records, so if it happens again you'll be able to point to the previous incident and get it taken seriously.

You don't need to worry unduly, OP, but you are right to be suspicious of what the doctor said. However given they didn't observe the symptoms they could never have been totally sure. Even if she has afebrile convulsions at some point and they decide to investigate for epilepsy, even eleptiform activity on an EEG (electro encephalogram, electrodes on the scalp measuring 'brain waves') isn't absolute proof of epilepsy as a diagnosis.

Most probably it was febrile convulsions, and she may well never experience them again. Or she may experience again but only whilst a young child with a high temperature. Most likely it will never go any further than that.

At the moment I honestly wouldn't worry too much as there is unlikely to be treatment prescribed based on one seizure. If your daughter has more seizures and needs long-term medication and a specific treatment plan for when seizures occur, then obviously the exact seizure type will be important, but with repeated episodes, the type is likely to become clearer anyway.

It may have been a febrile convulsion. But that wouldn't have indicated any extra medical investigations, compared to a rigor, at this age.