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thechickencoop
member
XP: Febrile Seizures
thechickencoop
member
I had posted this on the 12-24 month board yesterday but didn't get much insight; I was hoping you ladies may have some advice!
H and I were out of town on Friday and DS was staying at my parents. My mom called me like around 4 and said that everything is ok, BUT Shawn had a seizure and the paramedics are taking him to the hospital for monitoring. She went into more detail, basically just telling me he was ok, but DH and I left then to head home (we had about a 2 1/2 hour drive). We got to the hospital and the doctor told us that is was a febrile seizure (he had a 102.9 fever at the hospital), and he was doing great, his temp was coming down, etc, so we hung out there until his temp got down to normal.
At his follow up visit with his pedi Saturday a.m. they found that he had an ear infection causing the fever, so we started him on acetaminophen, ibuprophen, and amoxi. After his visit he took a long nap and his fever actually went up to 105. I called the on call dr and he said that it was good that it was that high and he had not had a seizure, and he wanted us to just continue all of his meds, keep him hydrated, etc. It slowly came down to 103 before bedtime.
We continued his meds overnight and luckily this morning he woke up with a normal temp and acting a lot more like himself! Hopefully he sleeps well tonight and just keeps improving 
So I'm just wondering if anyone else has a LO that has had a febrile seizure and what your experience is? I don't know what his temp was when he had the seizure, but 102.9 doesn't seem that high to me. The doctor said that every child has a different threshold, and we will just need to be very vigilant anytime we find he is getting a fever so that it doesn't get too high. He also said it is about a 30% chance that he will have another.
How do you find it easiest to manage your LOs fevers? Do you take their temp at any set intervals or just anytime that they seem like they're feeling off? If they do have a temp do you always go right to alternating ibu/ace, or do you just try one first?
I am somewhat glad that we didn't see him have the seizure; my mom said it was the scariest thing she has ever seen.
ETA: Jeez, sorry I wrote a book! Thanks for making it to the end!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: XP: Febrile Seizures
My son has never had a febrile sz, but when I was a pediatric nurse I found out that it is VERY common. It is just their body's way of protecting their brain. Most grow out of it around preschool age.
Personally, I would start with Ibuprofen when a fever is first realized (and every scheduled dose after) and if it doesn't come down in about 30-60 minutes, then go ahead and also dose Tylenol. If the temp is okay after the Ibuprofen, check again in 3 hours, and if it's raised go ahead and give tylenol. That way, you can give one or the other every 3 hours and not deal with any medication issues with them wearing off.
Does that make sense?
For example a good schedule would be:
9:00- Noticed fever of 103. Dose of Ibuprofen
12:00- temp is 102, give dose of Tylenol
3:00- still febrile, Dose of Ibuprofen
6:00- Dose of tylenol.
Hope this helps! It is scary, but know that it isn't dangerous and he WILL grow out of it. Good luck!
My Ovulation Chart
I too, haven't experienced a febrile seizure but I've been on these boards long enough to hear lots of stories about them and they seem to be very scary but very common.
My daughter spiked a 105 out of nowhere this past winter and it scared the crap out of me but her doctor said that once you hit preschool-ish age and/or have enough body mass that the seizures aren't likely.
As for the "what do you do when your child has a fever" question - I do exactly what bridein08 said. And as long as your child is 6months+ I always give Ibruprofen first. I find that it works faster and sticks around longer than Tylenol. But when it's a raging fever we do both, alternative every 3 hours.
My son has had three. The first at ten months old, the second around two years old and the last a month ago. I was with him for all three, they were all in the early evening hours-when body temps are naturally higher. I'm hoping he will grow out of this soon!
Know that it is not dangerous to your LO, but I know that it is still scary and still causes me a lot of anxiety. From what i've read, it is not necessarily how high the fever is, just how fast it rises that brings on the seizure. I give him ibu at the first sign of fever, and then alternate ibu/ace. I tend to freak out and treat any fever. I had two as a child, so I knew it could happen, but it still didn't prepare me for witnessing them. Prepare yourself in case he has another. You should lay him down, make sure there is nothing around his mouth or around to hurt himself and just let it happen. Its a horrible minute or so, but he will be okay. My son's have all been from ear infections, but he was back to his healthy, happy self within a few days!
My son has had two of these. The first one was the scariest day of my life. He was acting completey normal and then said he didnt feel good, threw up and then went completely limp and unresponsive, then laid on the floor shaking for about 5 minutes. He was transported in the ambulance and wasn't responsive for about an hour besides saying mama and pointing. It was HORRIBLE. I almost threw up myself when it was all over.
The second one he had at my parents' house when we were out, the paramedics came, but he recovered more quickly and wasn't transported.
Our dr's told us that it's not about how high the fever is, its about how quickly it spikes up, which is why most of the time parents can't do much to prevent them, because one minute they are fine and then next they are having a seizure. It happens quite often with low grade fevers that come on quickly. We keep ibuprofen with us everywhere we go and always give it to him when he starts to have signs of getting sick. We also tell everyone that watches him about it so they know what to do. Our pedi said it was a 50% that they a kid would have another one and 50% chance he would get another after that etc. Since those two last winter he has had a fever and not had a seizure, so I am hoping they are over, but who knows.
We are doing ok with it now, I try not to let him play on monkey bars or climb things etc. when he is sick at all. The only way he could be hurt by them is if it happened while he was in the middle of doing something and fell or hit his head. Since he threw up during one I am always super paranoid about asphyxiation if he had one while sleeping, so I end up sleeping on his floor sometimes when he isn't feeling well. It's nerve racking to say the least, but all of the research shows that there are zero long term effects. Thank god.
I know this is really scary, I'm sorry you had to go through it. It is probably better you didn't see it because that memory is burned in my brain forever.
I shouldn't say he wasn't responsive for an hour, he actually was, but he was just completely tired out and falling asleep. The drs made us keep him awake but he could barley keep his eyes open. The ER dr said a seizure is like running a marathon for your body, so the exhaustion was normal but still scary.
Seeing your child seize is one of the most horrific things.
We are vigilant about treating fevers with ibuprofen and Tylenol every 3 hours. If he's sick we make sure he's dressed cool and the house is cool.
It's not how high the fever but how quickly it rises. You could also seize for the reverse so we don't do lukewarm baths or anything to quickly drop a fever.
I'm much more relaxed now since it's been over a year but his teachers, grandparents etc. know the fever action plan.
Hopefully this was his one and only for your DS.