Seizure Brought on by Fever????

Hi, the same thing happened to me when my son was 3. There was no damage and it never happened again, mostly because I never allowed his temp to get that high again. Once he went passed 101, I would start with the lukewarm baths and alternating motrin and tylenol. He is going to be 12 this month and like I said, it never happened again. Try not to freak out, just always be prepared to handle it. Hope this helps. S.

A.,
Oh my God!!! You sound just like me about a year ago. My 2 year old daughter had a febrile seizure also. I can tell you it was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. She quit breathing for a few minutes. I was praying to God to save my baby. We really thought we were losing her. I to this day have that image in my head.I remember being so upset and histerical and the paramedics were so calm and told me this was very common and that there is nothing they could do about it but find the cause of her infection. I know exactly what you are going through. What they told you is completely true. They said that if the temp rises or drops too quickly that they could seize. My daughter was in the tub when it happened. Thankfully I was in the bathroom with her.I can tell you some signs I noticed before the seizure were that she was turning a bit blue onher feet and hands. She looked cold. I am sure this dosent happen in all cases, but it did in mine.There is not much you can do to calm yourself down because I know that you are probably replaying in your mind what you saw that day. I know I did for weeks afterward. But what helped me was that I did alot of research on feribrle seizures.( I dont think I spelled that right) but anyway researching and understanding why it happened helps to calm you.Also just hugging him and holding him helps too. Its so weird for me now everytime my daughter gets a fever I panic. Take care of your little one and I hope this advice helps

Febrale (sp) seizures - my now 18 yr old daughter had them. started when she was about 6 mo old and lasted till she was about 5 yrs old - altho the dr's said they would probably stop after about 2-3 yrs. i would just hold her - her body could not deal with the quick spike in temp when she would get sick and this is how her body handled it. i did call the paramedics the first time - i did have her tested to see if it was something else - but it was just her way. they are very scary - but in her case - not damaging. sorry for no good news - take care, keep your spirits up! J.

I am so sorry for your scare. The paramedics are correct though. It is fairly common and it does not mean that he is prone to seizures. It also does not mean that anything else is really wrong with him. The best thing is to breathe through the fear and remind yourself of these truths:
-He is ok
-We both made it through the scare
-We are safe now
Mr. Rodgers always said to focus on the helpers not the fear.

Hi A.!! I am so sorry to hear about your little guy. Poor thing.
I myself had a 2 year old who is prone to very high fevers. His little fevers have gotten as high as 104.6! And luckily they have not be accompanied by seizures. I start by giving him Tylenol, then at the 3.5-4 hour mark I give him Motrin (which lasts 8hrs, then at 7.5-8 hrs mark back to Tylenol (just keep alternating)...cool wash cloths only...I have been advised NOT to put him in the tub...and lots of popsicles... and even tho he is sooo SAD...he luvs having a popsicle even when feeling so terrible! And lots of fluids of course. =) I usually sleep in his room with him or he sleeps in my bed...so that I may keep a very close eye on him!! Hope you find this helpful.
Good Luck!!
~B.

Hi there, I am also a paramedic and sorry for your scary experience. Continuous Tylenol until the fever breaks! Follow the directions on the bottle carefully, give it every 4hrs (I think it says every 4-6). I know it comes on so very quickly! If you have any suspicions of sickness/fever coming on dress him very lightly, just underwear even. We as Moms tend to want to make sure our little ones are warm and comfy! I am sure you were reassured by the medics/ ER that this was just an attempt of his body to regulate his temperature and long lasting effects are extremely rare. One great thing...considering his age-he will quickly outgrow the immature thermo-regulating system that causes this to happen. The older he gets the less common it is. God Bless!

it's called a febrile seizure, and what they told you was true; it's how fast the fever rises. which means it doesn't matter if you try to keep the fever low or whatever--it's just how fast it comes on.
it's usually kids under age 5, rarely after. (from "How to Raise a Healthy Child...in Spite of Your Doctor" by Robert Mendelsohn, MD)
he also says:
"Calm yourself by remembering that the convulsions are not life-threatening and will not result in physical damage and then take a few simple steps to protect your child from injury..."
"...keep him on his side
...keep him from striking his head
...make sure he has no breathing obstruction
...keep him from biting his tongue by putting between his teeth a soft, firm object (folded leather glove, wallet)
...for your peace of mind, call the doctor.

Hey A.! My son is 6 years old now, but when he was 1 he also had what they called "a fever seizure", it is very scary, but what i did was i just kept a close eye on him after that and if he felt like he was getting too warm i would take his temp and if that was high i would give him tylenol or mortrin which ever you prefer and i would put a cold towel on his head to bring down the fever. Hope that advice helpeda little.

When my daughter was about 1 1/2 she also suffered from a seizure by fever. It was the first and most scary experience I've had (also depending on how long your son's seizure last). Ironically, my daughter's seizure also occured roughly about 5 am, when she had been fine the night before. There was no fever before she went to bed, which totally caught me by surprise when i woke up to see her having the seizure. The fever was also not to high, but, it was about how quickly it developed (at least thats the same answer I got).

Although she was checked by the ER doctor, and her primary doctor, and everything seemed to be fine, my doctor request further testing to make sure there were no signs of beginning epilepsy or brain damage. When her testing was normal, i felt a little more relieved. But to be honest, she's 2 1/2 now, and im still a little scared when she gets sick.

The best way to stop being so freaked out at the beginning, was by requesting further testing. Take a day or two off to stay with your son (if you can). If the doctor says there are no health concerns, insist on your testing. If the testing shows there is nothing wrong with him, there is really not much you can look out for to prevent the seizure. Just watch his temp and his actions, and if something doesnt seem normal, call your primary doctor. Keep record of when the seizure occured, what time, and how long it lasted. Hope this helps.

I'm so sorry you had to experience that. I also watched my daughter have a seizure from a high temperature brought on by her MMR shots when she was a little over 1yr old. It's one of the scariest, heart-breaking, tramatizing things a parent has to see their child endure. I was at work and she was at her grandma's...my mother called me telling me that she was really hot and her eyes were all glossed over and she just was laying there. I raced home, got her to her doctor where she had the seizure within minutes of arriving. I thought she was dying before my eyes.

Her doctor told me that certain young children are more susceptible to having seizures because their body doesn't know how to handle the fever yet. Her's lasted almost 5 minutes, and she was fine after it happened. Her doctor told us to monitor her to make sure if she ever got a fever over 102, to immediately put her in a tepid bath, and try and give her some cool fluids to drink to start getting her fever down. Also, MOTRIN is the best for a fever. To monitor a fever to make sure it stays at bay is to switch from Children's Tylenol & Children's Motrin every 3-4 hours until the fever is broken. Trust me, I was on HIGH alert anytime she had any kind of fever because I never wanted her to have to experience that again.

Eventually, children grow out of that danger and their bodies learn to handle the fever.

I would suggest talking to someone about it or doing research on a medical website where you can ask questions about this issue in order to feel ok about it and calm yourself. My daughter never had another seizure, and I was very pro-active in making sure she didn't by taking all the right precautions. I always had Motrin and Tylenol with me at all times, and when ever I noticed her not acting like she felt good, I was on top of her fever before it had a chance to spike. I also made sure any caregiver knew what happened and new to monitor her closely.

Also, some people don't know this...when someone has a fever, it makes them feel cold and have the chills. It's hard to put your child in a tepid bath when he/she has goosebumps...but it's worth it so they don't have another seizure. Also, after the bath, dress your child lightly (even if he/she's cold) and only cover them with something as a light as a sheet. DO NOT let them wrap in a blanket. You probably already know this, but it's surprising how many people don't.

I'm a 29yr old mother of a gorgeous, active little 2-1/2 year old little girl. We have another baby on the way...

Best of luck to you! Don't worry...just make sure if your child is sick before bed, either give him medicine before bed for the fever, or check him through out the night to make sure he's not heating up (maybe have him sleep with you if he's not feeling well so you'll know if he gets a fever). That was my daughter's favorite time to get a fever! In the middle of the night!!

Hi A.. I was a paramedic for many years and have 2 older boys. It is a very scary thing to watch, but as long as the doctors ruled out other causes, you can relax some. (Who really relaxes with a 3 year old?)When it seems he is getting feverish, give him tepid baths, not cold, and not during a seizure if he has one. Also whatever you give him for fevers (tylenol,etc),again, not during a seizure. Don't hesitate to call 911 if it ever happens again, that's what they're there for. It happens to a lot of kids.

Hi. I know this can be a very very scary thing. My daughter suffers from the same thing. When she was about 7 months old this happened to me. The hospital tolf me to alternate every 2 hours motrin and tylonol until the fever breaks. The 2 medicines are totally different so it is ok to give evey 2 hours. Hang in there and don't forget the 2 hr rule!

Hi A.,
My son had febrile seizures but started much younger. He was 6 months when he had his first. The signs I watched for were any twitching or jerking. Then I would try homeopathics like Belladona and if it didn't seem to help I would go for the tylenol to get the fever down. He recently had a fever (now he is 5 1/2 and no seizure although I was on alert for one.
All the professionals say that someone can seize up to 8 minutes before any brain damage happens. I remember the last seizure my son had was a bout 2 minutes and it seemed a lifetime. Oh the other thing to keep the fever from spiking is to keep them cool. Don't cover them with too much bedding and keep light cotton PJ's on them. I also would cool my son with a cool wet washcloth. He has not had a seizure since he was 3 so I am hoping he has grown out of them. According to the doc they grow out of them as their nervous system develops. It is good info to know that your son has a sensitive nervous system.
The thing that helped me not freak out too much was talking with other people and researching this type of seizure. good luck.
S. M

Watching a child having a seizure is frightening and can make a mother feel helpless. My first experience with seizures was several years ago when unfamiliar sounds from my 6 month old son woke me. I found him with his eyes rolled back and seizing. He was diagnosed as having febrile seizures. I was told these would eventually stop as his body's regulatory system matured. He subsequently had similar experiences which eventually tapered to momentary "dazed" episodes around 5-6 years old. At 10, he no longer exhibits any symptoms, he's a dare-devil on his bike, he plays football and he's an academic high achiever.

It is normal to freak out and seek all means to avoid future episodes. What you describe sounds like febrile seizures. I would suggest confirming this diagnosis with the physician who saw your son and then consult with your pediatrician. You'll need to know if anyone in either parent's families has had a similar experience. Sometimes, but not always, seizures occur in families. My pediatrician went as far as having an EEG (basically a non-invasive brain scan) to rule out epilepsy or other brain disorders. This is not necessary in most cases and was probably done more for my peace of mind.

If your son did have a febrile seizure, preventing temperature spikes is then your best intervention. Rise in temperature is the body's response to infection or other environmental factors. He is also at an age where he is interacting more with other people, thus increasing his exposure to new "bugs". This helps develop his social skills as well as his immune system. Of course, it also increases the risk for infections which leads to a rise in temperature as the body responds to the new "bugs". I would suggest measures to decrease your son's susceptibility by keeping him well-hydrated, his diet balanced with protein and green/red/orange vegetables, and well rested. This is especially important on hot days and when your son has been playing actively. Ask your pediatrician about any contraindications with yoghurt and pure cranberry juice (you'll have to dilute with water). These generally help balance the body's normal bacteria. You'll also want to teach him proper hand washing, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.

Despite all you do, your son may still have seizures. Stay calm and make sure he is safe. Your son may be old enough to recognize subtle changes in vision or smell (aura) prior to a seizure. If so, teach him to lie on the ground to avoid injury. Make sure to say things in a matter-of-fact way and use simple explanations. You're a busy mom but it also wouldn't hurt if you (and all parents) can make the time to learn basic CPR. Check with your local American Heart Association for classes and specifically ask your instructor for recommendations regarding a child who is seizing. Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that, as frightening as this may be, children do outgrow this. Below is a website you may find helpful.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detai...

My daughter started having seizures when she was 1. At first the Neurologist didn't think my explanation sounded like seizures but they started happening so frequently I was able to tape a couple of them on my camera and show him what was happening. He put her on a medication called Trileptal and we weaned her off of it after about 6 months. She's 2 now and no seizure activity whatsoever. To this day I'm not sure if was a febrile seizure or if something else caused them. She's doing just fine though.

Yes, fever caused seizures are commonly seen in emergency rooms. I worked in ER for 22 years as an RN. It's not "normal" but it is common. It does NOT mean the child will have or has epilepsy but a check up by his own doctor is needed. Children who have fever induced seizures generally outgrow them by the time they start school. Some never have more than one seizer.
The trick is to be aware of how your child acts and looks when he is coming down with something and be on top of it. Give extra fluids, take his temp, keep the temp managable...below 101 rectally if he looks ill should prevent seizures but there are no steadfast guarantees. Talk to your childs doctor today and get advice that fits you and your son.

Calm down. My daughter had a febrile seizure when she was 17 months old, brought on by a fever from an ear infection. And of course on the way to the emergency room, I went through all the same horrible thoughts about how I wouldn't be able to go on living if I lost her. She's now a thriving 8-year-old and she's never had another seizure.

The only thing you can really do to prevent is to prevent the rapid fever. In her case, she had frequent ear infections, so after the seizure, she got tubes put in her ears. She stopped getting ear infections (and also learned to talk!).

My children never had seizures with fevers, but my nephew, now 9 yrs old, has a history of seizures when he gets feverish. Although VERY scary, his pediatrician just advised my sister to watch him closely whenever he was ill. He has a light complexion so his cheeks redden when he gets sick, therefore we can always tell when he is sick. My sister had to be diligent in keeping him hydrated (water, soup, juice, popsicles, jello, whatever she could get him to eat), and give him his dosage of Motrin every few hours (as directed). That meant waking up in the middle of the night to give it to him. The other advice his Pediatrician said was to bathe him in lukewarm/cool water, whenever she felt his fever rising. So he'd get a bath sometimes 3 times a day. But the main focus is on keeping him comfortable and relaxed. If you freak out, he will too. They can sense our fears. I am no doctor, but as a mother/auntie, this is what worked for our family. I will keep you and your precious son in my prayers. God Bless, CC

Hi A.,
My son went through the same thing. It was so very scary. I too called the paramedics and they said the exact same thing. My son had his first febrile seizure at 18 months and unfortunately had 2 more after that. As soon as he got a fever I gave him Motrin and Tylenol alternately every 6 or 4 hours. Tylenol every 4 hrs and Motrin every 6 hrs. literally on the dot. The last seizure he had I literally had the dose waiting to give him but it was too late and his eyes rolled back and he froze. I was told by the paramedics that you can give them the meds up to 15 minutes earlier than scheduled because it takes that long to work in their system. Ask your doctor first! Just be on alert every time he has a fever and give him his medication on the dot. Keep him cool and give lukewarm baths.

Just to give you piece of mind. My doctor said my son will outgrow it as his body matures and learns to control its own temperature. I am happy to say my son is now 8 years old and has had fevers and no sign of seizures. He handles illness better now and can take any fever. Plus his body has been more tolerant of illness around him. Believe I wanted to put him in a bubble. Unfortunately the kids need to get exposed to illness especially when they start school because it will happen no matter what. You will get through it.

Good luck, A.

Hi A.,
I know what it is like to watch a child have a seizure...my oldest son has had 3. His are not brought on by fevers, I wish they were...from what I know this could be a one time thing for you and your wonderful son. It is how fast his fever came on and not how high it got so I'm not sure what you do about that but as how you are feeling...you can do anything you need to. I'm great when they happen to my son but I break down afterwords and feel like a train hit me for about a week. Then life just happens and I start to relax.

Hi A.;

It happen to me also when my son was 3 yrs old and had a fever. It was 3 am and I woked up my husband and we turn the shower with cold water and have her head wash with cold water. I have four children and two adults and two teenagers. My eldest is 25 yrs old,married with 17 mths old daughter. My second oldest son is 21 yrs old and studying video and games designer in NY. My 16 yrs old daughter was in Junior College and my younger son is 14 yrs old, freshman and busy with Marching Band. Two daughaters are played 5 musical instruments and in Girl Scout,my younger son is also played 5 musical instrument and my second oldest son also played clarinet when he was in middle school and they're both in Boy Scout but his passion is art, so he was studying in art. Luckily, my husband has hiw own Computer Imaging Business and he can afford to support all of us. I stayed home mom and keep this children busy when they're growing up. I challenge them in Art,Sport,Music,Dance, etc., I volunteer also in their school in PTA,Soccer,Room Mother in their class. I joined Adventures In Art as a docent and I love it and stayed with the group for 15 yrs until my youngest son graduated middle school. When this children are sick, I cannot sleep well because I am concern with seizure while having fever. It is scary and then I experienced it and understand the situation. Being a mother is a tough job that we have done in our life. We have lot of challenge with our children because each one of them are different in everything and personality wise. I love children and that's why I choosen to stay home and raised them. I know the feeling of having one child, this is your life since you're raising him alone. My advise to you, if you're son has a fever, I always had a basin of luke warm water and face towel to keep the wet towel in his forehead or sometimes, I wipe the luke warm towel all over their body then have them rest in a light sheet not blanket because you don't want the temperature to go higher. Always give your son lot of liquid. Keep on eye on his temperature. Vitamin C is also good for him. With motherly love and attention is the best medicine for our children. Sometimes, I ask my self how do I done those things with my four children. Imagine two are adults already and one in Junior College already and one in freshman. Having a hard work now while they're growing up is worthwhile of investing. I believe also in spiritual and there is god there to guide us with all of things we do in this planet. Especially you only have one child and you wanted to raised him properly but not perfect. There is no such thing as perfect, children or human being make mistakes but it is okay and it is part of our life and growing up. Keep your son busy with different variety of activities so that he will be busy doing lot of positive thinking. Boy Scouts in your area is a good group with boys to join with their peers. It is healthy and he is learning how to be a boy and socializing with his own peers especially there is no father figure in his life. I am helping my 14 yrs old son to reach his Eagle Scout Award because he will needed that in his college application. With his commitment in high school, he is busy right now but I emphasis to him that academic is priority because he will need those grades in college application. Eagle Scout Award is the highest award in Boy Scout and it is recognized very well because the requirement is a lot but it is a good training for boys to accomplish. Also I am a Co-leader with my 16 yrs old daughter in Girl Scout and we are working with Girl Scouts of 8 to reach their Gold Award and it is a highest award in Girl Scouts. I am always giving up lot of my time when my children are growing up because I have to guide them and discipline them in every things they do. I teach them how to be organize and prioritized the acamdemic subjects. But in the meantime, I like my children to enjoy their childhood life because I always said them that you will only be a child once in your life but you will be an adult for the rest of your life. Routine is important to our children. My children does not walk from school because I pick them up and we go home. Each of my children has their own designated desk or table to work with their homework or projects. I provided them their home made cookies or snacks while they're doing their work. I also trained them to do work first before play. I explain to them how important to be discipline to themselves because it will help them to be successful in life when they grow up. The reason I allow my children to have different variety of activities and teaching them to learn how to manage their time is also a learning tools to learn at home and outside home,school. My experienced of raising my children is only an idea or sharing those information to you as a mother of one child. We traveled a lot also. We used to drive our children to the mountain every weekends and away from the city because we have a second house in the mountain. But since they like to do sport and other acitivities when they're growing up, we stop going to the mountain every weekends because of their schedules. But we still do lot of traveling with them especially we took them to Philippines,Europe,Costa Rica. We allow them to do travel with school also by going to Sacramento to study Gold Mine,Washington D.C. and White House,Camping. We took them to Alaska also, NY to watch the theater,visit museaum everywhere we go. I allowed my eldest daughter daughter to traveled to Hawaii to played Soccer because she is a goalie. She traveled in Miami,Florida because she joined the high school Chorus Group and they went there to competite and got a first place. She is also in High School Marching Band and they travel to NY,Philadelpia,Washington D.C. and performed in Macy's Parade. My two sons traveled also thru Boy Scouts camping everywhere in California,Arizona,Colorado. You have to ask your son what he likes to do or what interst him then challenge him thru those direction. He will be successful because he will practice to chose and experience. I invested 6 musical instruments in my house because they're all love music. I have piano,clarinet,trombone,bass guitar,electric guitar,drum sets. I paid their own private music lesson. If you have a resources, keep your son to be busy and challenge him in every thing he likes to do and of course you as a mother is an influential toward him because we wanted to have the best for our child. I hope I did not bored you with my experienced of raising my four children. Please don't hesitate to ask more because I love to share what I experience with my children. Good Luck and keep your mind off of those seizure, think something fun and positive way to erase those experience in your life. Have you and your son start planning to do in life. Enjoy him because he will grow so fast and once they're full time in school, they will have their scdules according to the thing they like to do. Always be attentive to him while he is doing his homework but don't do it yourself, he need to learn to do thing of his own. We as a parent, we can only guide them and discipline them but we can do everything for them. They needed to have a routine everyday how to do things including their sport. Take care and I hope you can try some of my idea and see which one works for your son.

A.

Hi A.! I know how scary it can be watching helplessly as your child is seizing. I am a paramedic and mother of 2 and will agree with what the paramedics told you. Unfortunately, for some reason, some kids are more prone to having seizures with fever. Some kids only have one in their life. Fortunately, he should outgrow them. You should consult with his pediatrician b/c they are more familiar with your son. They will also make sure that the seizure was in fact just due to the fever. There is no real way to prevent it, just make sure that he is not able to hit his head on anything during the seizure, do not put anything in his mouth, and do not hold him down or do CPR. I know it is scary, but the best thing to do is what you did - call 911 and also when starts to come out of the seizure, he is not going to know what happened and will be very groggy, confused and scared so it very important that you stay calm. If he sees you crying and freaking out, it will scare him even more. The last thing you want to do is have him start to cry which may cause his temperature to rise again. Also, you don't want to do anything that will cause him to shiver, such as put him in AC, fan, too much clothes, blanket, etc. I hope that this helps.

How horrible for you. This happened to my best friend not too long ago. Her 2 1/2 year old daughter spiked suddenly and had a seizure as well. It is common for this to happen when the fever jumps suddenly. You are correct in the fact that it really doesn't have to do with the actual temp. My friend was also told that when a child does this they are more prone to do it again. Not to scare you but I know my friend has been freaking out too. Her daughter since has been sick with the stomach flu and a bad cold which left her feverish. Her temp last week was up to 105. Their approach now is to watch her closely since they are scared to death too. When she starts a fever they give her motrin right away to keep it under control. When she starts to get hotter they have put her in a luke warm bath so that it won't spike too high and will cool her down. A cool wash cloth works for this too. Fortunately they haven't had to deal with this again but are so scared. Perhaps just looking over what to do if this does happen again would make you feel a little more comfortable. I know for myself I was going to look on some websites to see what to do if a child does start to seizure until help arrives. Most likely this wont happen again for you but it is never bad to be prepared. Good luck as this is quite common and after watching my friend cry over and over again I can feel your pain. A.

When your child is getting a fever alternate Tylenol and motrin (motrin only if they are not vomiting). This will help prevent fever induced seizure

It is common for a fever to cause a seizure in infants and toddlers. You need to really pay attention to future illnesses and fevers. If needed, give motrin every 6 hours and tylenol every 4 until you see your health care provider. Hopefully, your baby boy will not experience a seizure ever again.

it is hard! i have a 6 year old son who has had seizures for the time he was 3 months old till to day. i was scared at first and did not know what to do. i was a first time mom. but i took him to a specalist for it and thay say you may not know when it will happen but some times there are sings like them staring off into space and cant get there attention. and then there are time it may happen in there sleep. my son first started haveing them after a high fever. so i would say if your still scared you should talk to a docter about it. THay can help a lot trust me. I know how it feals to be scared about it.

I can completly relate to this. my now 4 year old had many seizures due to fever. I was told to start with tylenol. if it does not go down, use motrin. you can use a cool (not cold) cloth and wipe him down. try to bring the fever down slowly and it will prevent seizures in the future. hope this helps, I know how scary it can be

Hi A.... my son had a febrile seizure when he was 2yrs old. The paramedics also mentioned it was very common in children when their fevers spike too fast for their lil bodies. Our Doctor told us they grow out of it when they are around 5 years old. Thank goodness our son did. Here is what I use to do when I noticed he was STARTING getting a fever. Tylenol & Motrin take too long to work so I used Children's Fever All (suppositories). While he slept, I used 'Be Koool'. They are gel like pads you put on the child's forehead to cool them down. They work for 6 hrs & with my little combo of treatment, he never had another seizure.

Good Luck!

A.: I'm just responding now as my password was not working. My daughter (she was 10 months at the time) came down with a high fever last October that built up over several days. The doctor had me take her to the ER at the hospital to get results from tests immediately. The triage nurse advised that when the fever starts getting above 102, give your child a dose of Motrin and then a dose of Tylenol 2 hours later and you can keep alternating every 2-3 hours. The dosage goes by your child's weight converted into kilograms and then by milligrams? So, for example, she converted my daughter's weight to kilograms which came to about 9 kilograms (I think her weight was about 21 pounds?) and gaver her 9 mg. of Motrin and then 2-3 hours later I could giver her 9 mg. of Tylenol? The best thing to do is call your insurance provider's hotline and speak to a nurse. I think the doctors and the information that is provided on the medicine bottles give you the minimum.

Gabby O

Hi A.,
My five year old son had a febrile seizure at 2.5, and I can say it was one of the scariest, heart wrenching moments of my life. My brother is a physician, and even he admitted that being in the presence of a young child having a seizure is uncomfortable for him. He was very sympathetic for what I had been through. He reassured me by pointing out that febrile seizures are not known to be in any way related to neurological disorders, do not affect the brain like epileptic seizures, and very commonly go away by seven or eight years old.
The one thing I do differently is I am much more vigilant about his fevers. I used to reason that since the fever is a sign that the white blood cells are working, I shouldn't interrupt the process unless it really seemed high and prolonged. I believe generally in homeopathic and herbal remedies, and in immune boosting through diet and safe, well researched natural supplements. I now realize that in Michael's case, since he has had an incident, when the fever comes on and I have time to notice it I give him a low dose of children's tylenol. As it happens he came home from preschool early yesterday with no fever but he had fallen asleep at the lunch table. Last night he got very high, very fast (102.5) so I gave him the full dose before bed and once in the middle of the night. ( I use Tylenol Meltaways- he's picky and he's fine with these.) I stripped him down to just a pull-up with a light blanket. I put a damp wet washcloth on his head until I could feel the Tylenol working. I haven't given him any today but I keep checking his temp. He has a low grade fever so I'm keeping him lightly dressed and bundled in a light blanket. I've given him cool liquids (He loves Emergen-C fizzy packets) and frozen yogurt packs that he eats like popcicles. He's been sick a few times over the years, but he hasn't had a febrile seizure again. I hope the same goes for your sweetheart, because it is so traumatic for the mommy!
Good Luck!

Hi A.,
It's totally normal for this to happen (and for you to be overwhelmed by it). It has not personally happened with my daughter, but two of my friends within the past year. Some children just tend to have a fever that shoots up in about a minute and it causes a seizure. Hopefully you have or will call your pedicrician so they can tell you what to expect because now this can happen and is common in children from newborn to about age 7 I believe. But talk to the dr and don't worry, especially in front of your son because you don't want to scare him.

God Bless,
B.

We went through this with my nephew. It is a very scary time. Try to make sure to keep him cool. Leave him in only diapers and if you notice him starting to get a fever get him in cool bath. If he continues to have them MAKE the hospital transfer him to a childrens hospital. They can better monitor them there. My nephew began having grand mall seizers and was on meds for many years (this is not most cases). Just be persistant with the doctors if it continues!

I'm not sure what to do, hopefully you will get a lot of good advice. . Something to think about, did you just get him any shots? If so I would read up on vaccines and not get any more for a long time as he has had a reaction to them. I'm sending you good thoughts. Good luck with the little guy.

Dear A.:

Bless your dear heart. You must have been so frightened. Having a sick child can be a worry...and seizures would be enough to make anyone a little concerned.

First- understand that a fever is important. It is an indicator of a problem that the body is doing 'cellular aerobics' to overcome...hence warmth. A fever is not enough reason to run to the doctor or reach for the aspirin.

If your child is ill, take his/her temperature and keep them still. Sleeping is good. Take the temperature again after two hours. If it is going up...continue to take th temperature every two hours. If it hits 103... reach for medicine to reduce it. If you cannot find medicine you can give a child a sitz bath in a warm (not very) tub of about 3 inches of water with 1 c. cider vinegar in the water. Do not let the child get a chill.

My Mamma would always have us in bed...so nobody in my family would ever feign illness because it was thoroughly boring.

Fluids are VERY important because they help the body's cooling system and give you all kinds of other benefits to the kidneys and intestinal tract. My liquid of choice is WATER. Many families give their children soda and juice... but I don't because of the sugar in it. Sugar can feed bacteria. This will increast the illness.
Never give a sick child milk. Never.

Feed a cold (nothing with sugar), starve a fever. This is the rule. If a fever can go up (reasonably) and then break on it's own...this is the best. Most illnesses have a cycle. Once the fever is gone...you can reintroduce foods again...soup is good. Homemade Chicken soup is best! It breaks up congestion..has the benefit of vitamins and minerals.

A., My daughter had her first seizure at the age of three she is ten now and has had five altogether ( all with fever) Her last one( almost three years ago) lasted 45 min, We didn't think she was going to make it, I still have that fear of her being in School and me not getting there in time. I hope she has out grown them but time will tell. My doctor told me to give her Tylenol at the first signs of being sick, this will prevent them coming on.

First of all You are loved for being a strong Mom.

I have 3 sons & my hubby got up one day just did't want to be a Dad anymore. You will do a wonderful job I know this.

The freaking out part is normal (Maybe I should say in my case it was normal). I started using breathing techniques. You are the bases of who your son will become one day so you'll find freaking will become less & less apart of your life. Why? Mainly because experience will give you confidence in all you do.
Now the fever:
Have you seen his doctor with your health questions? Maybe before you do think back to his health & how he was acting. Did he have a cold? Was their anything healthwise that could lead to fever? Did he eat something new? Did he play somewhere new? Could something have bitten him? These are all questions for you to attempt to be on top of your son's overall health on a normal bases.

Next, I would become very educated in what can cause fevers in small children. Consider Googling/internet fever & small children. Also, check with older family members to see if any of your family may have had this happen in childhood.

Know always you are gifted. The gift of a child doesn't come with written instructions yet you do have instinct that when you quiet your mind(not freaking) you find all you answers or people who know how & will help. You are never alone.
Love another Mom who did it with the help of other Mothers.

my son, who is now 13, had his first febrile convulsion at 13 months of age. Our pediatrician
assured is that this did not indicate there was something terribly wrong with our son, just, as you said, the fever spiked up quickly. We were advised to layer motrin and tylenol, which I did
evrey fever around the clock for 4 more years. Tylenol is Acetaminophen, and motrin/advil is Ibuprofen, these medications are processed through different organs of the body, I was always very careful to be giving the correct dosage of each and I wrote down the times these medications were administered so I did not over due the dosage. Also
at the first sign of a fever spiking we were told to dose him with Tylenol and Motrin AND get him in a bath as hot as he could stand, this sounds a bit odd, but the high temperature brings his circulation to his extremities, in an effort to cool his body down. Of course you will have to gauge how hot the bath should be, it should be hot but not scalding, maybe just a bit hotter than a comfortable warm bath. You should keep him in the hot tub until his temperature starts to go down. We actually only had to do the hot bath a couple of times. The really good news is we were told our son should grow out of it by the time he was five, and he did! I understand how frightening it is to see your child have a seizure, you never get over the fear that it could be something terrible, but with some diligence you can help him through his fevers and eventually it will all be a thing of the past. there may be different advice out there now, as I said my son is now 13, but this was the advice we received at that time and it got us through a bunch of fevers, our son tended to always get high fevers, where as our daughter's fevers mostly tended to be lower, even if they were ill at the same time with a fever.

It is not good to smother children or be too overprotective. Just observing for a change in behavior or touching him to see if their is fever. I am 61 next month. My two sons both had their tonsils out at the same time but this was early 1970"s. One ran very high fevers to 106 or so. I believe they were 4 & 5 years old at the time. I did not become a Christian til end of 1995. Now I am very strong. I believe now that it is a sin to worry, so I don't worry. Me & my family are in God's hand & he has everting under control. My only beautiful, sweet & smart daughter is 21 & away from home for the first time. She is in Osaka,Japan going to school for an entire year. She is our only precious gift from God. I did worry but not any more. She is haveing a wonderful experience. She has met so many wonderful people over there & all helping her. She is safer there than here. She even has a boyfriend there.I have full trust & faith in God that he is protecting her. If you don't go to church or read the Bible, then you should.You are missing out on the best relationship ever.I totally trust God & it is such a load off of me & such a relief that I can't explain it in words. I have 6 grand children,even thou I lost both of my sons in 1995. They were in their 20's.I have no control over life, but I accept God know's what he is doing & has done.I will always Love them & think of them but time has made it easier. Time heals to a certain degree.I used to be very overly protective of my daughter. Now I only say prayers & praises to God.You can learn too.