Why Do Babies Have Fever Seizures?

Sometimes a simple fever can cause a baby or young child to have fever seizure, or fever convulsion. Frightening though it is when this occurs, this type of seizure often looks much worse than it is, it ends fairly quickly and it is most often harmless to the child.

Symptoms

• Fever seizures are uncontrolled muscle spasms throughout the body, often accompanied by loss of consciousness, lack of breathing for a few seconds, vomiting or passing waste. They can occur in young children due to virus-related fever that comes on quickly---usually within 24 hours of the onset of fever. The rapid rise in body temperature to 102°F or higher causes the seizure, and hereditary factors can raise the risk.

Who's Affected

• Children between 6 months and 6 years of age can be affected, but fever seizures are most common in 12- to 18-month-old toddlers. Approximately 2 to 4 percent of kids experience at least one seizure related to fever; if the first one happens before their first birthday, there's a 50 percent chance they'll have another; otherwise it's about 30 percent. A fever seizure is not related to epilepsy, but experiencing one at any age comes with a 2 to 4 percent higher risk of developing epilepsy.

What to Do

• Though frightening to watch, these seizures generally stop within a few minutes and don't usually harm the child. However, you do need to protect your child from injury as the seizure is occurring.
  When it happens, stay calm and comfort your child with a soft, soothing voice. Lay him gently on the floor or a bed, on his side, so he doesn't choke on vomit or saliva. Remove anything that could cause an injury. Don't try to stop him from moving, but loosen his clothing. Don't put anything into his mouth, including medicine.
  Pay attention to what your child does during the seizure so you can describe it to your child's doctor after the fact. If it lasts longer than five minutes, call 911. It's rare to have to make a trip to the ER, but you should make an appointment with his pediatrician. t

Follow-up

• Afterward, your child might be tired or confused, but if you let him sleep, you need to check him often for twitching limbs, color change, or different patterns of breathing. Make sure he sleeps in a cool room. Within about an hour, he should be back to normal.
  If his mouth is bleeding, he probably bit his cheek or tongue, so after the seizure is over, use a clean cloth to press gently on the wound to stop the bleeding. If he's having trouble breathing, turn him on his side and clear his mouth of any saliva or vomit with your finger.
  You can give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen for the fever, but it's not likely to prevent more seizures.

Warning Signs

• Call a doctor if your child has another seizure during the same illness, if he gets other symptoms like a cough or if any of his symptoms worsen.