Febrile seizures

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Central nervous system

Grand mal seizure

Seizure - fever induced

During the seizure, leave your child on the floor. You may want to slide a blanket under him if the floor is hard. Move him only if he is in a dangerous location. Remove objects that may injure him. Loosen any tight clothing, especially around the neck. If possible, open or remove clothes from the waist up. If he vomits, or if saliva and mucus build up in the mouth, turn him on his side or stomach. This is also important if it looks like the tongue is getting in the way of breathing.

DO NOT try to force anything into his mouth to prevent him from biting the tongue, as this increases the risk of injury. DO NOT try to restrain your child or try to stop the seizure movements.

Focus your attention on bringing the fever down. Inserting rectal acetaminophen is a great first step -- if you happen to have some. DO NOT try to give anything by mouth. Apply cool washcloths to the forehead and neck. Sponge the rest of the body with lukewarm (not cold) water. Cold water or alcohol may make the fever worse. After the seizure is over and your child is awake, give the normal dose of ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

After the seizure, the most important step is to identify the cause of the fever.

Most children outgrow febrile seizures by age 5.

A small number of children who have had a febrile seizure go on to develop epilepsy, but not because of the febrile seizures. Children who would develop epilepsy anyway will sometimes have their first seizures during fevers. These are usually prolonged, complex seizures. Previous neurologic problems and a family history of epilepsy also make future epilepsy more common. The number of febrile seizures has no correlation with future epilepsy.

• An injury from falling down or bumping into objects
• Biting oneself
• Breathing fluid into the lungs, pneumonia
• Injury from prolonged or complicated seizures
• Side effects of medications used to treat and prevent seizures (if prescribed)
• Complications if a serious infection, such as meningitis, caused the fever
• Seizures unrelated to fever