Febrile Seizures ** UPDATED ** Roseola Now...

A friend of mine's son had this. Any time his fever rose at a certain rate, he would have a seizure. It didn't need to be a high fever, just raise at a certain speed. They said kids outgrow it. It was really scary. Professionals told her not to worry and there is no need to call an ambulance, just bring him in. I can't imagine watching your child turn blue and not reacting like it is an all out emergency. He hasn't had one in a long time now and he's almost 4.

A friend of mine's little girl had one about 18 months ago, when she had a high fever. She has had no lasting side effects. Within a couple of days she was fine. Her mom was another story. You will probably be the one with the lasting effect. But I wouldn't worry about your daughter having any problems because of it.

My little girl had a febrile seizure when she was a little over 1 year old. I went into orbit! I called 911, and went to Cook's ER. She had been running a fever, but it had spiked up to about 105. The ER said this happens from time to time. Analee is 3 now, and only had this that one time (once is enough!). I just really watch fevers with her. (I check on her a lot. Usually, I don't let her be taken care of by anyone else when she has a fever.) Prior to going through this, I had been taught that a fever is a body's way of fighting something, and with my older child, my son, I let the fever run a bit before I gave him meds just to let the fever "burn up the germs." I did the same thing with my daughter until the above happened to her. Now, with her especially, any sign of a fever and I give her children's advil. Sometimes I tag team Motrin and then Tylenol to really bring it down fast. (Give a dose of Motrin, and then about 3 hours later give a dose of Tylenol. Your pediatrician can explain how to do this if you don't know.) We haven't had any problems since. It sounds like your daycare did pretty well. I can say this though. I am usually pretty good in a crisis, but with that episode with my daughter I was sobbing on the phone with the 911 operator to the point that my 3 year old little boy was the one who was telling me that, "It will be okay, Mommy!" Even as I type this, I am getting choked up. Bottomline: When my kids get sick, I'm on "high alert." Just watch out for fevers. If she has one, take her temp. a lot, and give her meds fairly soon. The other tip about hydration is good. If you haven't already had a child's cpr class, take one. It just makes you feel more prepared. Analee never stopped breathing with her seizure, but if she had I would have known what to do...and hopefully sensible enough to have done it!

Holly

I'm a pedi rn and have seen countless kids with febrile seizures. it is VERY scary to see your child have a seizure. It sounds like the daycare did everything right. Its normal for the ER to run alot of tests just to make sure that the seizure was only caused by the fever and nothing else. Since your daughter was cleared from any neurological reasons for the seizure it sounds like it was just the high fever. My advice to you is when she starts to run a fever make sure you medicate her with tylenol and motrin. Kids who've had a febrile seizure will sometimes have them again w/high fever. Most kids "outgrow" them by 6 years old. I wouldn't panic everytime she gets a fever just be cautious and watch her a little bit closer than you normally would. hope this helps!!

I am raising my grandson who also has febrile seizures. The first time I saw this we went to the ER. I was told "he is cooking a virus" Okay and what do I do? They said KEEP MOTRIN ON HAND AT ALL TIMES.
I took him to a cardiologist to make sure there was nothing else wrong and got a clean bill of health. The Dr/ said the same thing and he would outgrow this by age 6.
J's normal temp is 97.6 so we have to be more vigilant than most as at 100.9 the seizures start. The motrin needs to be given at 99. degrees in order to avert this problem. He gets lethargic after an episode but that is to be expected for a day or two, after all there is a virus running thru their body.
All you can do is stay calm and vigilant. Know the early indicators of temperature rising such as pink cheeks, loss of appetite etc. Make sure all who take care of her understand and know the warning signs of impending temps and know what to do.
good luck

My son who is now 20 had febrile seizures when he was a baby. He had no residual effects for years after the seizures...that is until he turned 12 years old. Then one day while he was playing on the playground at school, he got over-heated and had a grand-mal seizure. I took him to a neurologist and he had an EEG, but nothing was ever found to be abnormal. He didn't have another seizure for a year, but one year later he started having seizures regularly. He now is on seizure medication daily. I don't tell you this to scare you and your daughter will probably never have any residual effects from her febrile seizures, but as a nurse (I'm a registered nurse), I know that once an individual has had one seizure, there is always a VERY SMALL CHANCE that others may follow at some point or another in their lifetime. Just watch for sudden and high elevations in her temperature and make sure that you give children's tylenol to keep the fever from getting too high too quickly. Tepid baths can help lower the fever as well but you have to make sure she doesn't get too chilled (you don't want to give a cold or ice bath...tepid water is just fine!). Talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. He or she can help calm any fears you may have about your daughter's issues with the febrile seizures. They are extremely scary to watch. I was terrified the first time I saw my son Aaron have one and it doesn't get any easier even with his being 20! God bless and take care...Kel

D.,

Our son had one this past February. They are really scary...it may sound weird, but you are lucky that you were not actually with your dauthter. I was at home with my son while my hubby was at the hospital (nurse) and our son had a viral infection. At 101.5 we gave him meds, but they didn't help and his fever spiked within an hour and a half or so. I walked out to get him something in the kitchen and when I walked back into the room he was slumped over on the couch and not responding. Eyes rolling into the back of his head, etc. He was only "out" for about 20 seconds, but me not being in my right mind at the time, I thought he was dead!? Called husband and luckily he calmed me down a bit...but took ambulance to Children's and after some more medicince and some cool rags on his head, he was doing better. Just a viral thing and a spike. Was told that Motrin works much better on a lot of kids than Tylenol does, so that is all we give him now. With my hubby being in the medical field, we don't like to give any meds until his fever reaches about 101 or so...otherwise, the body is not fighting the infection as it should be, but we only give Motrin and he has had zero lasting effects, etc. Glad to see your daughter is ok! Lots of fluids and rest and monitor her temp. Good luck!

It is common for young children to have seizures with high fevers, and goodness knows 105 is high. I don't want to scare you, just increase your awareness. My niece started having seizures at 6 months of age. At first it was with fevers only. Then she started having them with any temperature increase of more than a few degrees. She has since been diagnosed with a sever form of epilepsy called Durvet syndrome. She is now 5 and doing very well for a Durvet kid mainly because my sister is a pediatrician and knew to listen to her instincts when they told her it was more than just a febrile seizure. Yes she is a doctor, but when it is your own child it doesn't matter.
I guess what I am trying to get across to you is IF she has another seizure or your instincts say something else is going on, go to a specialist and do some tests. If the doctors start talking about anti-seizure medicine, and the FIRST one isn't effective, have her genetically tested. The more drugs you go through, the less likely they will work.
In the four years since my niece was diagnosed I have told many people this story when their child has had a seizure. Thank goodness all of them have turned out to be the febrile type. I'm sure your daughter will be fine, I just want to say with this and all medical situations, LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS. If you think something is wrong or different from what the doctor is saying, get a second or even third opinion.
Again I don't mean to scare you or anyone reading this. I just want to raise awareness. 105.6 is certainly a high fever and not uncommon to cause seizures in kids that young. Just keep a close eye on her. Thank You.

My niece had 1 at about that age from a high temp (she had as stomach bug and her fever just SHOT UP during the night) but hasn't had one in the 4 years since. The doc at the ER told the mom that the chances she will have another one are slim to none. Having one doesn't make you more likely to have Epilpsy (sp?) or more febrile seizures.

Hope you both feel better soon! I can't imagine how scary that must be!

My granddaughter had them when she was a baby. She spiked a fever, went into a seizure and quit breathing. My daughter and her husband called an ambulance and although she turned blue, she was breathing again by the time the ambulance got there. As with your daughter, the ER could not find anything wrong and even questioned what we told them had happened. Her fever went down to 99 and the ER nurse went to get dismissal papers to sign. Within 1 minute of them leaving the room I watched my granddaughter's eyes roll back into her head and she started seizing again. I yelled for the nurse and they ran back to the room. Her temp was up to 105.4. It had spiked in less than 2 minutes and caused another seizure. They ended up admitting her and found a kidney infection. The doctor told us that febrile seizures usually stop by age 3 and can run in families. Luckily my granddaughter only had one other minor episode, but her brother had one also. They are now age 10 and 7 and are fine healthy kids. We watched them closely until the passed that 3 year old mark, but once passed 2 there were no more episodes, and no one else in the family has ever had any problems. Hope this helps.

Our older daughter had a febrile seizure when she was about 9 mo. old. She had various tests and was put on medicine (30 years ago that was phenobarbitol). We watched her whenever she started to get sick and immediately started medicine to keep the fever down; we even put her into the bathtub to get it down quickly. She only had one other seizure when she was nearly 6 -- but the testing never showed anything and she never had another seizure. Our doctors said this was not uncommon and just to keep a close eye on her when she got sick.

Hi D.,
I can only image the fear and anxiety you are going thru, my mother went thru the same thing with my sister. At one point her fever was at 107. She was careflighted from Hico to Cooks and was there about a week. She was on fenabarbitol (?) for about 2 years. This happened when she was about 10 months old and she is now 23. She will be graduating from Tarleton in December to teach Jr. High Math. So, in her case there was no lasting effects. I will you keep you in my prayers.

I had a friend who had a similar experience while their baby was with a sitter. Same scenario except the little girl never came home (not to freak you out or anything). Bottom line, the baby was dehydrated . . . a simple thing like not enough fluids but they didn't get her fluids in time and it killed her. My 1st concern would be make sure the baby is getting plenty of water - you don't want to take any chances.

Hope she feels better soon!