Anyone Else Have Kids Who Have Febrile Seizures?

We have a friend whose kids get them. Their doctor just recommended testing to make sure there wasn't something more going one. We were babysitting when their daughter had one. It's very scary to watch. She did stop breathing for a short time, and my husband ended up doing CPR on her, so you might just watch carefully during one.

I have never experienced first hand but have friends that their child has had it once or twice. I know if a fever gets high enough in a child it is completely normal and a good body reaction the fever to protect itself. I am sure it is terrifying for you!
Getting sick helps them build up their immune systems and cannot be prevented but I understand you not wanting to experience them.
I never knew there was such a thing as a predisposition for them, that is super interesting. Makes sense.
My thought instead of worrying so much about them getting sick is keeping fevers low with warm baths, tylenol/motrin alternates?
Here is a great article about it that is super interesting.
Hugs!

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

Hello D.,

My daughter who is now 24 years old had febrile seizures when she was young. Thankfully we did not have too many to deal with as we discovered that as long as I used Tylenol suppositories instead of oral medications I could keep her fevers low enough to avoid them.

We had no lasting effects from the seizures and by age 4 she had outgrown them.

I do not have children with febrile seizures, but have a husband who suffers from seizures and have done a lot of research on the topic. The thing that comes to mind, with pediatric seizures, is to check out ketogenic diets, which research has shown to help control seizures in pediatric patients. check out this website:

http://www.datasync.com/~josw/efainfo.htm#keto

I have a son who is now 14 that had febrile seizures as a toddler. The first time we called 911 and had an ambulance come. The second time the seizure stopped while I was still on the phone with the 911 operator so I told them not to send anyone. I can't imagine a siezure going on for 15 minutes, I would have definitely been at the emergency room by then. It is very scary and apparently common, but I had never heard of them before. I was very cautious whenever he came down with anything. At the first sign of a fever and probably sometimes when he didn't even have a fever I gave him tylenol and then a couple of hours later ibuprofen and he never had another siezure. From what I've read (and the paramedics told me), the siezure is the body's way of controlling a high fever. My son had a fever of 102 after the siezure. They said it brings down the temperature a few degrees. It may make you feel paranoid, but a little medication is worth not going through those experiences. They say it doesn't hurt the child and they don't even remember, but I remember! We have not seen any short term or long term effects from the siezures and I haven't even thought about them for years. All will work out in the end, but it will be worrisome for a few more years. Best wishes!

Yes D., we also found out that febrile seizures are common in little kids, when our daughter (then 1 1/2 ) had it. She is now 3 y old and has not have one since then. I am not sure why it is not known is common, until you are faced with the seizures which could be very scary. We were told that this happens when the body temperatures increases at a very fast pace ( basically developing a fever right away).
I think there is a recommended time for the seizure length, after which the doctor should be called, I think is probably 5 min. I would say talk to your doctor if the seizures are that long 15 min, and ask after how long you should call while the child is having the seizure.

A..

My son is alsmost 4 and he has febrile seizures. My husband had them when he was young, too, and out grew athem by the age of six. My son had his first one at 15 months old. I'm sure the doctors have told you the following: Stip them of all clothing (you can leave a diaper on), lie them on their back, and pat them all over with cool (NOT cold) wet clothes, and if not currently seizing, administer Tylenol and Motrin, taking turns, every three hours. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR CHILDS MOUTH, INCLUDING MEDICINE, DURING A SEIZURE. Febrile seizures are not caused by high temperature, but instead by the rate at which the temperature rises. So, be on the lookout whenever your child starts to feel ill to prevent the seizure before it happens. The fever spike usually occurs at the onset of an illness, so it is sometimes hard to catch because you may not know that your child is starting to become ill. My son hasn't had one now since he was almost three years old, but there was one time after that where we definitly prevented one because we saw it coming. He became lathargic and we immediately stripped him, gave him medicine, and cooled him with cool washcloths and he came out of it without having a seizure. Even though I know it's only Febrile Seizures, I always call the ambulance right away to have them on their way just in case it goes on too long.

My daughter had febrile seizures until she was about 4 1/4 years old. They told me that at was quite common and usually no long term damage. Also said to just make sure they won't get hurt during the seizures. But, if they are coming without a fever or lasting a long time to take her to the ER. Good luck :)

I don't have experience with my own children having these seizures, but my two youngest siblings, now ages 7 and 9, had them when they were young. They really are common, and pretty much harmless. Both my brother and sister have grown out of them, and did much sooner than six years of age. In the meantime, make sure you keep liquid Tylenol on hand. The seizures are caused by a spike in body temperature, so when your child has a seizure, wait until it's done (make sure there's nothing in their mouths to choke on, hold them and don't let them hit against anything), then give them the appropriate amount of Tylenol for their age and size. You can try to prevent the seizures by watching fevers closely, and trying to keep their fevers from getting too high. But really, it's not anything to be very concerned about. They will grow out of it, and it's not likely to cause any lasting problems.

My son has had one so far. It only lasted 10 seconds, but was probably the scariest thing I have gone through with him yet. Our doctor said the same thing. I have an uncle and some great aunts and uncles who had severe seizures when they were younger so that I know plays a part. My son had his in January and knock on wood, has yet to have another. I am hoping that our new baby wont have them. Good luck!

Both our children had one FS around the same age. Nothing since then. We're anxious when a fever comes on but other than that we try and pass it off as one of those unusual but ' rite of passage' of our boys.

Hope things change for you.

Your not alone,My 22 months old son has them too,he had his first one when he was 11 months old, the second one at 14 months, And the third one at 22 months old,Which was just 3 day's ago.He has been diagnosed with "Prolonged Complex Febril Seizures" He seizures always last a long time,The first seizure he had 6 seizures in 1 hour.The second one lasted for 20 minutes.And the latest one lasted for 15 minutes and he quit breathing,A mothers worst nightmare having to give your baby cpr, Has really done me in.Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.I wish you and your children the best.

Hi D.,
I have a daughter now 7 that had 2 febrile seizures (one at age 19 months and one at age 4) they are very scary for parents to go through! Luckily my daughter only remembers the aftermath (the fun ambulance ride). Both of her happened when she had an ear infection. The emergency room doctors told me that it is caused when the body temperature spikes quickly. It is the body's way of protecting the brain to keep the quick change in temperature from causing brain damage. So although they are scary they are actually protecting your child. This also means that they can happen at any temperatures not just at a high one. I was told by my pediatrician that a small percentage of children who have them before age two may have another one before age four. So when my daughter turned four I thought we were out of the woods. She had one 1 month after she turned four so I found after this that they can be very common in kids who are under age 6. When Children who still continue to have them after this age it indicates that there could be another possible reason for the seizures. (Epilepsy, etc.). Although my daughters were all around 3 minutes in duration, I do have a niece that is now a bright and happy 8 years old that did have them several times when she was a toddler. She had one incident where she seized several times back to back, which lasted about fifteen minutes. So I know that does happen. The best remedy is to keep fevers as in check as possible. Whenever my DD would get even a low grade fever I would keep a close eye on it and if needed start to piggyback the Tylenol and Motrin. DO be very careful if your child has a fever not to drop her temperature too quickly. (Taking a cool bath) This is what happened when the first seizure happened. She second that she was out of the bath (with no medication) her body temp jumped back up very quickly causing the seizure. Luke warm baths are ok as long as you are treating the fever with medication as well to try to prevent that jump. Also just know that they may happen again. Don't panic! My daughter seized the second time and I was by myself. When they are seizing just treat it as any other seizure and make sure that they are on their side (so they do not choke on their tongue or vomit and keep them in a place where they cannot fall or hit anything. (Sometimes this means moving them) I also found it helpful to not have them on the bed as they often lose control of their bowels. Make sure to take them in to be seen directly after it happens. Even though they are most likely ok...they need to be checked out to make sure. This means if you do not call an ambulance that you go directly to the doctor’s office (if your pediatrician offers this type of service) or the emergency room or an urgent care. Hope some of this helps! Good Luck!

Your doctor is right. They are common in children and they do usually outgrow them. It has nothing to do with your sanitizing efforts, just with whether they get a fever or not. Just be patient.

My son has febrile seizures that started at 6 months old. Our doctors have also told us that they are quite common, and can't really be explained. They don't have to occur with a high fever but can also occur with temperatures of 99 degrees or so as well. In some children it is just their bodies reaction to getting sick. My sons fever was 102.

One thing to keep in mind is that over sanitizing and using lots of antibacterial soaps/cleaners etc can actually have a negative effect because the body gets too used to them and that's when you can get some of your worst illnesses/infections. If you use them all the time eventually they don't do anything to help as the body/germs have adapted to become stronger than the antibacterials cleaners

Okay D., none of my little ones have ever had a fibrile seizure, however, one of my friends little boy had them (I beleive he had two). I do not want to scare you AT ALL, but he just died two weeks ago from SUDS (Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome) - please Google it. One of the factors for children who have died suddenly and unexaplainable was fibrile seizures - along with MANY more factors. Now my girlfriend had fibrile seizures when she was young and so did her husband, but since they are searching for some kind of exaplanation for their son's death...they are beginning to put the pieces together and one of the pieces was the febrile seizures! Please know that this little boy (17 months) did not die FROM the seizures, however, it quite possibly could have been a red flag for his pediatricain. Again, I do not want to scare you AT ALL, but when I read your question I felt like I needed to tell you about my girlfriend's story.

Bless you, C.

The only time one of our children experienced seizures was following her one and only vaccination at the age of 2 years. It was the most frightening thing I've ever experienced as a parent. She continued to have them randomly over the course of two months, as we consulted with a pediatric neurologist. Then we sought treatment with an alternative practitioner who treated her for vaccine injury by putting her on a detoxifying regimen. She never had another seizure after that. If they are "common" in children, I believe it could be due to the ridiculous amount of shots they receive and the toxins in the vaccines.

you might want to try this great new dr. in west jordan. one of his specialties is working with seizures. he is an alternative doc, so he has different ways to treat that are better for your body. his office is called healing pediatrics, ###-###-####. i know he does free 15 min. consults. try him out, he might have more suggestions than a normal doctor would.

I don't have any children with febrile seizures, but I thought I should tell you to consider changing your cleaning products. You said you are constantly sanitizing & disinfecting trying to keep them from getting sick & I wonder if that might actually be the problem. I was just recently introduced to an all natural cleaning product called Shaklee(you might have seen them on the Oprah show) & I was shocked to know how DANGEROUS the everyday household cleaners are to our health & MORE IMPORTANTLY our children's health. You should definitely check them out! I am not an employee of Shaklee, but I am a stay at home mom & concerned for the health of my children & yours. Here is their website www.shaklee.net...I really hope that you check it out! Good luck!