Hi
Someone was asking about febrile convulsions last week and ironically ds has since spent 4 days in hospital after having had his 2nd and 3rd convulsion in the space of 8hrs. We were given a leaflet to take away and I just thought I would pass on the info for anyone who wants to refresh their memories.
What is it?
A seizure which happens when some children have high temperature. Usually last less than 1min but maybe up to 5mins. Often happen on 1st day of illness or may even be the 1st sigh that your child is unwell.
What does it look like?
- At 1st the child may look hot & flushed
- May appear dazed and/or confused
- Their eyes may appear to roll backwards
- Their arms, legs, face and other parts of the body my twitch or shake
- May experience shallowness or a pause in their breathing
- May 'wet' or 'soil' their clothing or vomit
- Often sleepy or sleep for some time afterwards
Why do they happen?
It is still not fully understood why febrile convulsions happen. It is possibly due to a body chemical that is released during certain feverish illnesses rather than the increase in temperature. The young brain appears less able to cope with these chemicals and may trigger a seizure.
Will it happen again?
The majority of child only have 1. About 1 in 3 children have a 2nd with a future illness and less than 1 in 10 children has 3 or more. A futher convulsion is more likely if the 1st occurs before the age of 15mnths or if there is a family history of febrile convulsions. Once the child is over the age of 3 years the likeliness reduces. (The several paeds told they happen to children under 5)
What should you do for a febrile convulsion?
Although febrile convulsions can be alarming, as they look similar to an epileptic seizure, most are fairly short and the child makes a full recovery.
- Note the time that is started. (Bloody difficult, last thing on my mind)
- Lie the child on their side with the head level or slightly lower then the body (recovery position)
- Remove anything which could affect the breathing such as food or vomit.
- Do not put anything in their mouth
- Do not shake the child
- Remain calm (easier said than done)
- Ring 999, don't take the child to the hospital yourself
Once the convulsion stops try to lower the child's temperature by:
- Removing their clothes if the room is warm
- Give paracetamold or iburprofen if you haven't already (you can get paracetamol supportories for children over 2 which work faster than syrups)
- Give cool drinks
DS had his 1st convulsion at 16mnths and then nothing for a year. The 2nd took me completely by surprise and the 3rd just blew me away (we had just gone to sleep). Although, I gave him paracetmol, stripped him to his nappy, open windows etc, I should have been sponging him down but I relied too much on meds because ds cries when we try to sponge him and I didn't want to distress. I feel extremely guilty for not having done it and I don't think I will ever be able to sleep when ds has a fever again.
When he was convulsing, I took him into a lukewarm, NOT cold, shower (I had already given him paracetmol and nurofen but his fever wasn't coming down.) While dh called 999. I was told by the paramedics and paeds (in A&E) that I did the right thing but that it is very important that this is done only if their temperature is still high and that you must not put them in cold water or use cold flannels, apparently convulsion can also happen if the temperature comes down too quickly.
Also, paramedics said that it is better to ALWAYS ring 999 even with subsequent convulsions.
Ds has now been prescribed diazepam but I hope I never have to use it him.
Take care