Febrile Seizures

KT05

Anyone have any tips? DD (almost 14m) had a febrile seizure on Thursday night. It was absolutely the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me. She stopped breathing while sitting on my lap and started turning blue. Fortunately I was at urgent care at the time and there was lots of help. But now I'm beyond terrified that it'll happen at home in her crib and I won't find out until it's too late. If you've dealt with this, how do you prepare?

smileybabyboy

I can't imagine going through that.  If I were you, I would be putting back the Angelcare monitor under LO's mattress, or buying one if you don't already have one.  There is a recall on it, so just be sure to get the kit to make the cord rigid.  Good luck!! 

zbeesma86

My heart goes out to you. I am so sorry this happened.

I am sorry I have no tips but after reading this and going to google about it I found this
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detail_febrile_seizures.htm

again I am so so sorry and I hope it doesn't happen again.

smileybabyboy

Nevermind, after reading about it, it looks like the child never actually stops moving.  I have heard about kids having this.  I think it's pretty common.  Did LO have a fever, is that why it happened?

RoryorHenry?

My daughter actually had several febrile seizures when she had a high fever due to Roseola at 11 months. My understanding is that they are very common. I know it was scary but try not to worry as it is very normal.

My daughter had them over about a 24 hour period all at home. I can tell you 3am seizures are terrifying! But really they are not a big deal.

I assume because you were at urgent care that she was sick/ had a fever? These seizures are super common with fevers and don't mean that there is an underlying seizure disorder. We have not had any more since her sickness months ago.

Just give lots of fluids, love and cuddles and I hope she feels better soon.

KT05

She had a temp of 104, that's why we were there (turned out to be an ear infection).

Roryorhenry: did your daughter stop breathing? That's what scares me. If she had been home in her crib I wouldn't have known. It wasn't a shaking seizure, it was more of a complete shutdown.

I was thinking about getting an apnea monitor but she's all over the crib at night. Still something to consider I guess.

RoryorHenry?

She didn't breath during the seizures but they were fairly short. I would estimate about 30 seconds. She always resumed breathing afterwards.

If getting a monitor makes you feel better than why not get one. I know I slept with my daughter afterwards for a long time. It is so scary!

I just kept telling myself that febrile seizures are normal and tried not to worry. We have friends who are both doctors and they helped me relax by assuring me how normal it is. They even encouraged us to not cancel our camping trip scheduled a couple of days after the fever broke and the seizures ended.

mrsshawnavanb

My heart sunk when I read this post because I have been there and must agree...there is nothing more terrifying. I had nightmares about it for awhile. My daughter had one about 4 months ago. She was brought home from daycare with a fever, and even with tylenol her fever rose to 105. My husband and I were grabbing things to get out the door and take her to the hospital when he came running in the room with her in his arms, turning blue and not breathing. He screamed "something is wrong"!! We called 911 and were taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. My eyes fill with tears as I type this, it was so awful. The doctors said that it is very common and that you just have to try to check for fevers more often and do everything you can to keep them down if LO gets one. I am terrified of the thought of this happening again and I'm so sorry that you experienced it.  

jmugirl38

Your post is so timely, my 19 mo DD just had the same happen while we traveled back home from Thanksgiving on Sunday evening! Our doctor reminded me that the rapid fever is usually caused by a virus, which for our DD was correct as she was just coming down with stomach bug. He reminded us to keep an eye on her a little closer when she starts to exhibit nonroutine behaviors (ie- being a little extra "clingy", wanting to nurse more often, etc) as she may be coming down with something and that way we will know to monitor for fever in the future.

What I have done the last 2 nights is check her every 3 hours for another fever/spike in temp, and I make sure to give her Tylenol or Ibuprofen (we rotate them) in advance of bath/bedtime. Other than that, I am not sure what else can be done during the nighttime.

Thank you for your post, and I am hoping you and your child feel better soon- we are recuperating this week, very frightening to say the least.