Comments on: Febrile Seizures: Information for Parents

By: MissyD0806

MissyD0806 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:38:50 +0000

I am very glad to hear that your daughter is ok. I am also saddened by reading the responses. I understand the fear between the lines in the responses that I am reading. My daughter, Sarah is almost 16 months. She has had two febrile seizures starting when she was about 14 months old. Both at home thank God! One on 4/21/08 and the other on 6/2/08. The doctors keep telling me not to worry, but if you have ever witnessed a seizure of this type you understand the fear. Sarah’s seizures lasted approximately 10 and 6 minutes. However, the first one took approximately 45 minutes for her to come completely out of and become responsive. I actually thought she was dying in my arms in the ambulance and hospital. I set an alarm to be sure I wake up to check her temperature all during the night. I am so afraid that she will have a seizure during the night. I keep thermometers all over the house and we have made it into a game so she doesn’t mind me checking it all the time. We call it Beep Beep! We are scheduled for our first EEG in the near future. The test is more about making me feel more comfortable than her. I hate to put her thru the testing, but I feel compelled to ensure that they can’t find anything else wrong with Sarah. She seems perfectly normal and seems to being doing fine in her development. Please keep us in your prayers as I will keep you and your daughter in mine.

By: Nicky

Nicky — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:55:35 +0000

Just reading all of your responses has made me cry. My son is 19 months now and has had 6 seizures. 2 of which were 4 hours apart and 1 was a complex one(one side convulsing). The neurologist has put him on Clobazam to break the cycle for his seizures. My son has to take it for a full year. Has any of your kids been prescribed this? Side effects don’t seem horrendous but I would like to know that there is at least one family out there for whom this has worked. Right about now I don’t even want the doctor’s word. Rest, tired like all of you checking your kids’ temperature all the time. He sleeps with me and my husband and I must say I check his temperature by forehead check at least 3-4 times each night. I wish parents who’s kids have come out of these seizures also take the time to read/respond to such groups so we can all take a sigh of relief that there is hope.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:12:40 +0000

Hi DD…my heart is going out to you…my husband and I are different people too (my post is above by Lynn)…but that is not a bad thing…all I can say is do what you need to do to ease your mind and to take care of your children…it’s our responsibility as parents. We had an EEG completed and pediatric neurologist appointments, upcoming naturopath MD and possible immunology consult appointment (to ease our minds that her immune system is functioning properly)…as I said, do what you need to do…as far as the jumping…this is very interesting and similar to what I experienced with my daughter…the same day that she had her first seizure I called my pediatrician’s office and told them that she would “shimmy” occasionally (like a quick chill)…something just didn’t seem right…I brought her into the office and she had a bilateral ear infection…started her on antibiotics that afternoon and she had the seizure around 11pm….on following up with the doctor I mentioned that I believe the “shimmy” was from her neurological system being hypersensitive and it was a precursor/warning sign of the seizure…I didn’t get much of a response- I know what you mean when you say how the doctor looked at you:-) But we know now that when she does this she is probably getting sick and we check her temperature asap…we’ve also noticed other signs if she is getting sick…wanting to nap during non nap times, she says “I bed”, unusually cranky….you know your child the best and if you notice something different investigate…what’s the worst…you find that everything is okay? Does this ‘jumping’ occur only if he’s getting sick? We all hope that a febrile seizure will only happen once…but educate yourself and always be prepared…knowledge is power…you are not alone! …and a final note…we have cried many tears and prayed endless hours too…the Lord is watching over our children and us…know that you will be in our prayers tonight! Take care and hug your kids! Lynn

By: DD

DD — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:54:38 +0000

Hey everyone. I feel your pain. My two year old son had a febrile seizure on New Years Eve and my four year old was there to witness it. I am online searching for any information about any changes in a child after a seizure. I just notice that my son sometimes will jump like he’s scared but their is nothing there scaring him. I can’t explain it to my Doctor cause I think he thinks I’m crazy. He keeps telling me he just had a febrile seizure and that’s all. I understand that but I notice a difference in him since that episode. Is anyone else noticing any changes in their child? I’m going to have a CT Scan done on him just to reassure myself that there is nothing else maybe wrong with him. The doctors did say until he outgrows them he may have a seizure before he even has signs of coming down with a virus. I’m just new to this. No one in my family or husbands family has ever had one. I have really just become a different person since this episode.I pray to God everyday to protect him and all your children. It really is such a terrifying thing to witness. THANK YOU ALL!!!!

By: anil dutta

anil dutta — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:00:25 +0000

reading this, i could understand how the parents feel wen a seizure is there, how it feels like and how hell breaks up for you seeing your child in the worst condition of his/her life. hope your daughter stays fine always GO BE HER.
my 22 month son had a seizure right wen my wife and I were sitting in the OP of my doctor waiting for our turn to see the doctor. it all statered with my son, we went stiff, shivering hard and convulzing, shaking like a leaf. the doctor took him to the emergency and pushed us out of that area as we were penic. the lips started to go blue and all his body shaking n went stiff. oxygen saturation went 45 percent. the seizure lasted for about 30 minutes and those were hell of a minutes for us. my son was hospitalised for 72 hours under observation.the fever was +105, ibuprofen was given along with other emergency drugs. the cause of the fever was severe infection, CRP test was +91 which according to the doctor should have been -4. now as we are back home I Thank GOD to come for our help and now we keep our son under strict vigil for fever touching him now n then

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:27:11 +0000

I hope your daughter is doing okay- and you too…it is so scary to watch your child go through that…and then there is the constant worrying about if it will happen again! I was searching to find other parents that have been dealing with febrile seizures and came across your site…our 22 month old girl had her first febrile seizure when she was 14 months. Her second was the same night we brought home our newborn baby boy…she was 18 months and she just had her third a week ago. Her first seizure was almost an hour, second was 20 minutes- both requiring medication to stop the seizure. The third seizure lasted 4-5 minutes and we stopped it by cooling her down. My husband had these when he was a child until he grew out of them around the age of 4 or 5. We now have a home plan treatment…when we notice a fever is present (100 or greater) we start phenobarbital. We continue this until the fever is gone…we also use acetaminophen but are unable to use ibuprofen secondary to a possible allergy. I suppose this feels so complicated and draining now because my husband and I are right in the middle of it…praying for the day she grows out of these! I was just looking to see if (and how) other parents are dealing with this…we literally go on lock down when she gets sick and do everything we possibly can (cool cloths, baths, fans, cool rice packs, meds)to prevent seizures…sometimes struggling every 3-4 hours when the acetaminophen starts to wear off…her temps have been as high as 105+ for 100 minutes at a time during the peak period for viral infections. I suppose what I’m looking for is to see how others deal with this and also to let others know they are not alone! No parent wants to see this repeated but being prepared is even more important…educate!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:50:13 +0000

Our son had his first febrille seizure @daycare on Feb 22nd that lasted for 3 minutes followed by the next one on Mar 15th when we were in a hotel room out of state which lasted for 20 minutes EMT had to stop the seizure. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life. I hope it never happens again.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:37:28 +0000

That is a very scary thing you went through, my daughter had her second febrile seizure it was so scary I wasn’t there for the first one, she was at daycare. Me and my husband didn’t know what was going it was 4:00 am and she was making choking noises. we paniced and drove her our slef to the hospital, we now know to call 911. her seizure lasted 45 minutes and they had to stop it on there own. I have never been so scared in my life. I was aholding all I could keep saying to her was stay with MAMA. She satyed in the hospital for 24 hrs. We now have medicine to stop the sezuires our self and still to call 911. I hope she grows out of them. Now touch her every 2 seconds to make sure she isn’t warm.

By: Cat

Cat — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:45:24 +0000

Thanks for the comments and support all. I agree with Tammy that it was absolutely horrific to watch, and I hope that she never has another one. We honestly believed we were watching our daughter die.

The more I talk to others about it, the more I am finding people who have had these seizures themselves as children, or have witnessed their own children’s seizures.

I think the key is education and awareness. I hope many people read this story, learn from it, and read more about Febrile Seizures from other sources in order to be prepared (if that is possible) in case it ever happens to them.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:00:22 +0000

My son, who just turned 3 had a febrile seizure on Jan.3,2008. I was home with him and my infant when it happened. I was just searching the web to find someone else who had witnessed their child. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. My son started to seize in my lap, I called 911 and placed him on the floor on his side. He was pale and foamed at the mouth and seized for about five minutes, then was unconscious, the EMT came into the house and took him out. Like you I felt supported by family and neighbors, but I am still having a hard time. It was the worst thing I have ever see. Thanks for your posting . Thanks for listening.