Febrile Seizures in My One Year Old, I'm Panicked!

Updated on April 16, 2011
M.B. asks from Woodstock, GA
9 answers

Hi moms. I am hoping for some words of encouragement from other moms who have experienced these febrile seizures in their little ones. My dd just turned 1 and had her 2nd one on tuesday nite and is still running a fever. We did some tests today and all are negative so it's probably a virus along with terrible teething. As much as i know from reading info and talking to the docs about these seizures I am still panicked at every noise my dd makes. She had her 2nd one in her sleep so now the monitor is left up loud and every noise i hear stops my heart. I know these are supposed to not cause any real harm but i am finding no amount of comfort with that. They are just terrible to watch and with a baby you just don't know how they feel or if they need any assitance. I can't stop thinking about my plan for the next occurance. Should i call 911 or wait and see? How can i wait and see what if something unexpected happens?? They are lasting 7-8 minutes not just seconds or a couple of minutes. That's a LONG time to watch! And i hope all the fever reduceer i am giving her around the clock is not harming her little body inside. I have not sleep more then an hour or two for the past few nights and i can't eat right. I know we will get thru this but just need to talk to someone else who has gone thru this. My hubby has to go out of town next month and now i am terrified about being alone with my 3 year old and 1 year old if it happens again. Is it wrong to ask him not to go? Am i worried too much? And those of you who now use mortin at the first sign of fever, are you having success? No more seizures? TIA

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M.P.

answers from Provo on

I've been there when my niece had them. It's no fun at all. But she is now one of the smartest girls in her 2nd grade class. They are scary, but she will be just fine.

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R.H.

answers from Boston on

Hi, my daughter does not have febrile seizures but I had them a few times as a baby. I just want to let you know that I grew up to be a completely healthy, normal (well, that's debatable) adult. My parents were worried sick, just like you.

Is co-sleeping an option for her? Perhaps if she were right next to you you would feel more comfortable falling asleep, knowing that if it happened again you would be right there. I'm not saying to co-sleep permanently but just while she has this fever. IT might help you get some much needed sleep. Best of luck.

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

Ok, you need to call the pedi and ask them to help you come up with a game plan, and know when to worry. Get a second opinion on what is going on if you feel that will help you. Have an adult, preferably one with older kids or no kids that can come over at the drop of a hat when/if needed to help with the 3yr old while you tend to the 1yr old'd needs. I have not been thru this before but I have been thru the scary issues with babies before and this is what we did for our plan. Doctor, adult help, full game plan done deal. When you have a plan of action and know how to issue it (trial runs are not a bad idea either) your stress levels are greatly reduced.

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R.A.

answers from Charleston on

You're not alone. Our son had his first at 11 months in his father's lap. If you've done your research, you know that it's not how high her temp gets, it's how fast it rises. We went through winter weather with his and it felt really odd to under-dress him around the house. Being in the car seat seemed to accelerate the rise (winter & fully clothed). We went through test after test and sometimes I felt like a really poor mother, but we did get through it with fewer episodes after about 6 months. We alternated Tylenol and Motrin, depending on his temperature, with the prescribed 4 and 6 hour increments. You'll never know where it will happen, so be diligent with the medication. There is a wonderful forehead thermometer now. We had to use the one in the ear. He is our only child, so your coping is much more difficult than mine with an older child. Can your husband postpone his trip? The question is really how many trips will he have to postpone if you start with this trip. Maybe she will be better soon and he can still go. Honestly, you will always be on guard, watching for the next one, so your life goes on and you deal with it. Please let us know how she's doing. This too shall pass; our son is 19, at college and had NO issues after we learned not to overdress him. God bless your family.

M.3.

answers from Reading on

Oh Mama - Been there, done that with my 10 year old. She had her first febrile seizure when she was 10 months old. Her fever shot up and she had one when she was in daycare. She had a total of 6 episodes. Thankfully, knock on wood, she hasn't had one since she was 3. However, as soon as I can tell she has a fever, I give her Motrin and Tylenol, throw her in a cool shower and send my husband out to get her a slushy. I do everything in my power to get her fever down. For some reason, her body can not stand any kind of temperature change. Even if it's a hot day, she starts to over heat and I must bring her in and have her constantly drink! At first, I would panic but let me tell you, after a while, I adjusted and stopped panicking.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel - hang in there and good luck!!

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K.O.

answers from Atlanta on

I was told that any seizure under 5 minutes was fine and harmless. Once we hit the 5 minute mark, I have to give DD anti-seizure meds, call 911, and get her to an ER. So, if she's just having short seizures, those are "normal" and you just have to sit through them.

I don't think you should ask husband not to go. You can't put life on hold because your daughter may possibly get sick and then may possibly seize.

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J.C.

answers from Rockford on

My oldest son had these, starting at 18 months. He only had a couple, but yes, they are terrifying for the parent! The first one was just a nightmare. At night in the back of the car in his carseat. Yikes! We stopped and ran him into the first home with a light on we could see. He seized for several minutes and his lips and fingernails turned blue. He was in the hospital for 4 days with a high fever (he regularly got fevers of 106 or more) but did not get diagnosed with anything other than a virus. Alternating motrin and tylenol worked well for him, but his fevers would still get high. The idea of talking to her doctor and asking tons of questions and having a plan in place is great. Be prepared and knowledgeable. My son is now 16 and is tall, fit, healthy, an honor roll student, top kid on the track team, and had no lasting effects from these seizures. I can tell you that I never stopped panicking when he was sick because just the thought of watching him go through that sent me off the edge. I spent many sleepless nights during ear infections and such, but how can a mom not worry, right? That is going to go with the territory. It will get better and some kids have just the one, so maybe you will get lucky. If not, just take it one step at a time and you will get through it. I can't tell you how happy I was to get to that magic age of 5, although he was done with the seizures well before 4.

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B.R.

answers from San Francisco on

Your baby girl will be just fine! I totally understand your worries b/c I worried myself sick after my daughter had a febrile seizure when she was 16 mos. old in Kohl's. Around 12 noon I noticed she felt warm so I took her temp. It was a very low grade fever so I thought it was probably teething, gave her some Motrin, and she went down for a nap. When she woke up she was acting totally fine so we ran to Kohl's with my sister and were coming right back home. I was holding her at Kohl's when she had the seizure. I had no idea what was happening b/c she wasn't convulsing, but instead was rigid and her lips turned blue. I ran her over to customer service and they called 911. In the meantime another employee said she was choking and started CPR, which she didn't need and I wasn't happy about after the fact, but I was so panicked during the episode that I didn't know what she needed or what was happening. All I could do was pray that I wouldn't lose my baby. The ambulance took her to the ER, they ran a bunch of tests, and concluded that it was just a fever seizure and she would be fine. I still worried and also worried about the fact that a stranger gave her puffs of air. I was able to contact her and find out that she was healthy and had all of her vaccines. My daughter is now 3 yrs. old and is very smart and healthy. She hasn't even had a fever since that day, except for a low grade one after the HEP A vaccine she just had. We have talked to many people since who've said that all of their children had febrile seizures and one particular child had five. They are supposed to quit having them by age 5 and are much less likely to have them after age 2. Please don't worry. I know how scary it is and hope I have helped to ease your mind. Sending blessings your way! Take care!
Also, if she hasn't had the Hep A vaccine, you might want to consider waiting until she's at least two yrs. old b/c it has a higher than normal seizure risk. They normally give it around 1 yr. old, but I waited until my daughter was almost 3 since she had already had a seizure before. My vaccine book suggests waiting until 2 yrs. old. Just wanted to let you know that, but it's totally up to you and she may have already had it.

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L.C.

answers from Atlanta on

Be very careful my daughter died in her sleep from this 20yrs ago my advise get a sensor mat that goes under the mattress as they sleep when they stop moving an alarm goes off I wish I had one 20yrs ago but I don't think they were around then good luck

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