Febrile Seizure

My daughter (also 22 mo), just had two episodes of very high fever with no other symptoms, 3 weeks apart. Both times, she had a 103 fever that went up and down on it's own for 2-3 days and then, poof!, was gone. My pediatrician said that some viruses were going around that produced high fevers and little else. If it goes longer than a few days, I'd worry, but otherwise she's probably fine. Little kids can spike high fevers with the smallest of infections. I hope she feels better soon!

If you can control the fever with the motrin I would let her ride it out. Just make sure she has plenty of clear liquids. My daughter who is now 6 , always gets a fever if she dosn't get enough sleep. She gets some sleep and then she's fine.

Has she had vaccinations recently? Just another thought.

My boys have had fevers before and nothing showed up but a rash after the fever broke. I guess it was viral, but the thing is, their fever was high like your daughter's (even though we were told it shouldn't go that high), but there was nothing else.

If you want to try and break the fever...it needs to do it's job. I don't give my kids any of that stuff unless it gets too high (over 103 or unless they are uncomfortable). Other than that, I let nature run it's course. There is a fever for a reason. The fever helps the body fight whatever it is fighting.

But, having said that, there are a few things you can do to help build up her immune system. Vitamin C is a wonderful way to flush out the toxins and reduce fever. For a child, I would use a calcium ascorbate form of it because it can produce diarrhea if taken too much. My 2yo is taking a fizzy powdered drink mix (can get from Wal Mart or your local health food store) that is 1000mg of vitamin C. I stir in two packets in her big sippy cup and she drinks that once a day. She began a runny nose on Saturday and now the runny nose has stopped, but I'm continuing to give it to her because I know that her body is not yet rid of the cold, but at least her runny nose has stopped. (Vitamin C is wonderful.)

You can help break the fever by giving her a Yarrow Tea bath or even having her drink a bit of it (I'm sure you'll want to sweeten it or mix it with something else.) Definitely stay away from dairy.

Other suggestions:

Catnip tea enemas daily to help relieve any constipation and congestion. C and C will keep the fever up.

Elderberry tea and hot steam baths could help.

But honestly, if she were my child, I would be giving her something to boost her immune system. Whenever, my kids get sick (which is rare), I automatically give them capsules or powder or chewables of something that will boost their immune system to fight whatever is attacking the body. Your daughter needs help to fight whatever problem is going on. Her immune system is weak...children's are. We use Beta Glucan in our house and I've opened up the capsule and mixed with orange juice plenty of times (I've used it for strep, etc., so you see this stuff works.) Vitamin C is another good one and getting some liquid form of an immune booster at a local health food store can help a LOT! Good luck and I hope everything gets better soon.

M.,
I'm glad your daughter is doing better! I had febrile seizures and agree with several of the posts. It is when it spikes up quickly when they happen. The cause of mine was finally determined (I was 3 mos. old when they started), and it was kidney infections. I am sure your doctors checked everything and there is no problem. My daughter has had fevers, and they tell me it is viral and there's no infection. I prefer to let it ride out as well without antibiotics if at all possible. One suggestion I have (and of course ask your pediatrician first) is that when my daughter is running a high fever, I alternate between tylenol and motrin to keep it down or level. A nurse in the ER told me that (when I called frantic one night because my daughter's temperature was over 104). She said you can alternate. I give my daughter motrin first (it helps the quickest and longest) and then start giving her tylenol three hours after that, and motrin another three hours after that. I write down the time and medication given to make sure that I don't give her too much too often. Take care, and I'm glad she's feeling better!

Hi M.,
Mimi and Donna have some great advise. The vaccine issue is a very personal one, just keep in mind that you DO have a choice on this issue and yes your child can still get into any school you want them in. Many, many parents are waking up to this choice, the ratio is about 40/60 now with the unvaccinated being 40%. Please look into it and do the research. It is absolutly linked to seizures and epilepsy, even months after the injection. Check out childhoodshots.com (wonderful, informational dvd you can order here), or just google 'dangers of vaccines' and you will learn so much. This information is supported by MD's in the know, unfortunatly many are not. Let me know if I can offer any more info. Other than that, if you want to clean her immune system up even faster, take her to a chiropractor. Best of luck to you guys:)

I know you have already gotten lots of replies but wanted to add my experience. My son had a high fever once with no other symptoms and our ped said that there are some viruses that don't do anything but cause a fever and it just has to run it's course, usually about a week or so. If the fevers persist, I would take your daughter back to the ped just to be sure.

Keep a close eye and with the doctor Do not worry about if the appetites goes away but make sure that fluids are taken regularly and keep out of the heat Dress lightly and please keep us posted

Aren't those scary?? You have done all the right things so far and I think you should just keep watching her temp and making sure she is comfortable and stable. One thing to think about if her temp keeps going up would be a urinary tract infection. They can be completely asymptomatic except for lethargy and a fever and the temps can go really high. A urine test would rule it in or out.
Good luck and let us know how she is doing!

When my son was 2 weeks old, he kept spiking fevers to the degree that your child has. The doctors kept telling me he had Bronchitis. This went on for about 3 weeks. Finally, we took him to the ER and they did a spinal tap and found out that he had meningitis. My suggestion to you is to talk with your doctor about the possibility of having this procedure done. It is quite painful for the child (not to mention the mother hearing the pain her child is in), however, it was worth it. He finally got the correct medicine and treated for the proper illness. It can't hurt to ask. Hope this helps you.

Hi M.,

Donna H and I are on the same page. The fever is telling you there IS a concern and the fever is there to do it's job. The seizure does NOT come from a high fever. The seizure comes from the SPIKE in a high fever. Simply put, her brain can't keep up with the change in temperature. It doesn't matter that the doctors can't find any symptoms other than the fever, her immune system is aware there is something going on and is fighting it. All the things Donna suggested do great. The only difference is I don't shop at Wal-Mart because I don't trust the quality of their products. A local health food store would have a better quality and their clerks are trained to help you.

My first child had febrile seizures, as did I, and the best way to combat them is to make sure your child is healthy. Good nutrition and a good absorbable multivitamin will be best to keep her from getting sick. Get things OUT OF THE HOUSE that break down the immune system and have things on hand like the Vitamin C or the Elderberry if she does get sick.

God bless!

M.

I am the mother of four children btwn ages 11 yo and 5 yo so I have seen a few fevers. My children had fevers up to 105 without symptoms other than fever. Usually a virus that they are tryinfg to fight off. God gives us fevers fight off infection - germs don't like the heat that high.I am very hesitant to give my children ibuprofen or tylenol for fevers because of possible reactions.(Look up info about Steven-Johnson syndrome or transepidermal necrosis) I monitor them when they are not feeling well and pay attention to how they are behaving- lets face it Moms know their kids and we instinctively know when something is very wrong( this has been the factor that has kept my children out of the hospital because I have been blessed enough to catch RSV in early stages as well as pneumonia early on). They are going to be sleepy and uncomfortable and probably not very hungry when they have fever but you will know when it is just more than that. Febrile seizures are not because of the high fver so much as the body's response to a fever that comes on quickly- the hypothalumus or thalamus(can't remember which) is reacting to keep the temperature where the body is safe. The things you need to be most concerned with is any symptoms that make you question or things like dehydration. Just insist upon care when you as a Mom know something is not right- you will know.

My son had a high fever but no seizure when a few months ago when he was one. The nurses and doctors on call told me that the way my child was behaving was way more important than the temperature he registered. The night it was 104, the nurse even asked us to wake him up every 4 hours and let him play to make sure he was acting normally, and give him tylenol/motrin. This gave me a lot of reassurance as he ate/played/slept fine during this time of high fevers. The fever only spiked that high one time and was totally gone in about 48 hours.

Hey M.-

My nephew began suffering with these seizures at about 10 months old, and they were very scary. They were onset by a fever for no apparent reason. When they started it was once or twice every few weeks, then progressed to once or twice a week. The doctors ran numerous tests adn never came up with an explaniation other than temps. Thjey perscribed him a med. called phenobarbatol ( i don't think this is how it's spelled) at about 14 months old and it held the seizures at bay until they went completely away at around age 2. He has never had any residual effects from the seizures and they never found a real cause.

If her pediatrician says she's ok I would try not to worry. Small children will tend to have a seizure when their temps get greater than 103 degrees. She might be teething, which typically causes a temp spike or and ear infection or sore throat related to a cold. There can be lots of reasons... I found that alternating between motrin and tylenol worked better in my daughter's case. Her temp spiked to 104 once and it turned out she had an ear infection. She never had any of the classic symptoms of an ear infection though. I know it's easier said than done to say try not to worry, because bottom line is you do and will worry . But typically febrile seizures do not tend to cause any kind of damage. Hope this helps. God Bless. Take care.

Well this is kinda weird but I have a set of twin sisters who are 15 years younger then I am, I use to take care of them alot, and one day when they were 2 I stayed home from school to watch them while my parents were at work because they were not feeling good, all the sudden cassandra had a fever, I gave tylenol, and shortly after she had a seizure, I raced to the ER where they put her in a cool bath and shortly after my parents got there they sent us home...before we got 2 blocks away, she started "seizing" again, this time she was still seizing when we got back to the ER. They admitted her and I took Marriah home, it took them till the next evening to figure out that she had salmonilla, after taking marriah back found out she had it to, just milder...Put them both on antibiotics and Cassandra came home 2 days later....don't know if this helps, but your story reminded me of this...let us know how it goes.
D.

Great advise you've gotten on immune system building and I also recommend that. I believe that so many years now of the human race giving out antibiotics like candy has caused our immune systems to lower. I myself was on antibiotics often for infections and then last year, I decided that enough was enough since I'm allergic to MOST antibiotics now. I began eating dark chocolate with acai berry, two great antioxidants, and oddly (or not so oddly) enough, I haven't had so much as a cold now for over a year ,so I'm a great believer in antioxidants now. When my now 32-yo daughter was one, she began getting fevers of unknown origin. My dad was a doctor and a great diagnostician and even he could never figure out the reason for the fevers. They would come for no apparent reason, spike and stay high for up to five days at a time. When she was five, her pediatrician ran every test out there on her including a spinal tap and no results whatsoever that indicated anything. So, my dad suggested that we give her plenty of fluids, lots of vitamin C, and just monitor closely the fevers, making sure they did not spike to a dangerous level. Fever just indicates the body is fighting something and it is okay to let a fever run its course, but if it spikes too high, that can be dangerous to the brain. So our solution then was whenever a fever came on, we put her to bed to rest, kept a cool wet cloth nearby and fed her lots of water and juices and the mega doses of vitamin C. Vitamin C cannot be overdosed -- any extra is excreted through the urine. We did now and then resort to putting her into a bathtub filled with lukewarm to cool water which also brought the fever down to a better level. I don't know if this is still a recommended practice, but it worked like a charm then. Some hospitals even would pack a baby or child in ice to get a fever down. Like I said, I don't know if this is still done these days. Never once did we give her Motrin or Tylenol or anything chemical to bring down the fever, though. She is grown now and has no major health problems. Just thought this might help to reassure you. I am stunned to see so many people going through this same odd phenomena now, 25 years later, with their children. By the way, none of my other children ever experienced these fevers.

My son had a Febrile Seizure when he was 2 years old. (he is now 8) It just some times happens. After we researched on the subject, we found that there would be no cognitive problems from this type of seizure. But the chance that he could have another one before the age of 4 or 5 ( I do not remember the age) was higher. We just became more pro-active in medication whenever he got a fever and kept him on tylonal or motrin for the duration of the fever. He never did have another one. Research shows that they do diminish after the age of 4 or 5.
hope this helps.