Febrile Convulsions, Has anyones dc had frequent episodes?

[DelGirl]

DD has been poorly this week with a high temperature that was not brought down with the usual calpol/nurofen and ended up in hospital for 2 nights. After the 1st night, we were sent home but she scarily suffered a febrile convulsion last night and I had to call the ambulance. It was the scariest thing i've ever witnessed and I hope to god she never has another one. I'm told thought that she may be prone to more in the future. I was given a leaflet about it and wathced a video at the hospital on recusitation (sp) etc

Just wanted to know if anyone else's child suffers from them, how you deal with it, and is it easier to cope with once you've seen it once. tia

btw, she was singing and dancing in the hospital today, nobody would ever know!! Still keeping a very close eye on her though!

My DS had two, within a month of each other, both due to rapid rise in temp. Had no more since. He was two at the time and is now 4.5. I know exactly how you're feeling, it took me ages to get over the shock of it and I am always jittery if he is ill even now.

I know . She had a 'rigal' fit in January but that was not even close to what I saw last night. So so horrible . The only comfort is that she was fine a little while later & usually there are no ill effects. Did you manage to stay calm with the 2nd one?

Yes, my dd3 has had 3 episodes since October, each time having 2 or 3 or 4 convulsions. She is 16 months now. the hosptital think it is related to her temperature, but last time her temperature barely hit 38, and she had been fine all day (and afterwards).

I don't really know how to deal with it tbh, I call an ambulance each time because I don't really want to be the one to decide that it is just a febrile convulsion.

I would only advise that if there is the slightest hint of a temperature or anything that might cause one, start on the calpol and the infant nurofen (alternately, every 2 hours I think). When they have a convulsion, you aren't meant to move them, but check they aren't biting their tongues.

Oh, and it might never happen again! My ds had one too when he was 13 months and never had another one.

My ds had them as an under 3 (he is now 12) he got them at any temp over 38 and the first few times were horrendously stressful
He seemed to outgrwo then at 3, but still wilts under a temperature now even a big lad aged 12.
There is some medical advice to medciate early with calpol/nurofen to prevetnt temp spkies.does involve being a little obessive on the thermometer but not as stressful as convulsions
Hugs I know how scary it is

Sometimes you just don't know what to do for the best. I seem to use the thermometer loads already, it can only get worse! She hasn't had any meds since 11am and now she's asleep with a temp of just over 37.5 Her usual temp is about 36.8 and she's only in a nappy and a pair of socks. I don't really want to give her calpol unless it reaches 38 as I seem to be forever doing her up and it doesn't seem right. Do you worry about giving too much/too frequently? thanks

that should be dosing, not doing lol. I think i'll give her some calpol then. I just feel like she's never off the blinkin stuff dykwim

It is very hard to know when convulsions are an issue, my ds had 11 in 2 yrs I got quite used to knwoing when he would "go" and it was over 38
So I medicated at over 37.5 and he spent a lot of months naked sleeping!
How they recover daytiem and get bad at nights is anyones guess
I had dd with temp of 39.5 happy as a lottery winner - it is very strange indeed.

I start by stripping off dd3 and if that doesn't reduce the temp (with me obsessively checking) then I start the medication. Last time though she went to bed absolutely normal and had a fit in the middle of the night with no warning.

Piffle, did you used to go to hospital each time?

thanks piffle. can't imagine 11 in such a shot space, i'd be a wreck. I think she's must have inherited my problems as she has kidney reflux ( I get stones) and when i'm very tired, I get very hot. When i'm just tired, I get cold. Weird person that I am! She's just woken up, a drink and meds is on the menu. Thanks

I was a wreck I had to sleep with him to make sure he would fit and hurt himself, the first tiem was weird, I woke up at 2ma and just watched him, seconds later he convulsed I was totally ready for it bizarrely calm
I used to fit as tot as well my mum told me, even now cannot take heat at all
dd on the other hand is a trooper! ds is not!

Hi, I had just started a thread about febrile convulsions and then I read this one. My DS (coming up to 15 months) had his first febrile convulsion in mid-Feb, and has now had 6 in total. We were in hospital again earlier this week after he had 2 within 12 hours, but apart from a temperature the doctors couldn't find much wrong with him, so have put it down to a viral infection (again).
From what I can gather, my ds is pretty unusual in having so many in such a short space of time (has anyone else experienced this?). Many children have 1 episode and never go on to have any others (this was the case for me as a baby, and for my nephew who's now 4), so this could well also be the case for your DD DelGirl. But I can totally understand how anxious you must be feeling now, I'm still really really struggling to come to terms with it all.

Sorry Piffle, I should have read the whole thread before replying there - I now see that your DS had frequent convulsions. Did you ever manage to relax a bit about them? I feel like I'm constantly on edge, just waiting for the next one to happen - actually feel like I'm losing the plot a bit.... And did the doctors ever mention epilepsy? My ds has just been referred for an eeg to investigate this, but at the moment they seem confident that they are typical febrile convulsions - just very frequent.

DelGirl, I'm so sorry to jump in on your thread like this.

no worries. Sorry to hear about your ds pp100. I hope the tests prove negative. I asked about epilepsy too and was told that there's no link.

dd still has a temp today and she's just vomited a few minutes after the calpol. I've given her a dose of nurofen and put her down for a nap. She's been poorly all week but this is the 1st time she's been sick so I don't know what's going on! I'm certain she's teething and wonder how much of it is due to that.

Piffle, how long did you sleep in with your ds? I'm wondering if dd may have had them before and i've just not realised. Though I guess she would cry when she comes round so probably not

DelGirl if she is being sick you might find paractamol suppositories give a better effect, they are more quickly absored and give a definate dose.
the convulsions are not caused by a 'marked' temp they are caused by a sudden rise in temp. Children can have fits for 30min or more and recover completely (although I am not suggestiong you would leave her for that long) but I hope that gives you some peace of mind.
If it makes you feel any better I work in a and E and I still am very upset by wee ones with convulsions, it is a horrible thing to see.

thanks chapsmum, I'll try and get some tomorrow when i'm out. She's just had 2.5ml of nurofen and is now asleep so hopefully that'll stay down. She's not a sicky baby usually. I just find it a strain, you know, the worry etc as does everyone else.

Delgirl phone your GP/ gems and see if they will give you a prescription (they should do it over the phone) but they are quite expensive to buy.