Febrile Seizures: What Every Parent Should Know

Febrile Seizures: What Every Parent Should Know

By Herbert Macomber

1. What is a febrile seizure?

Febrile convulsions (FC) or seizures (FS) are clonic or tonic-clonic seizures that most often occur in infancy or childhood, mainly occurring between four months and six years of age, with fever but without evidence of intracranial infection, antecedent epilepsy, or other definable cause. That is why they are often referred to as "fever seizures" or "febrile seizures." Most of the time when children have a seizure, or a convulsion, it's caused by fevers with a rectal temperature greater than 102 degrees F. Most febrile seizures occur during the first day of a child's fever. They occur in 1-5% of all children, and therefore febrile convulsions have the highest incidence of any childhood neurological disease. They are very frightening, but they are not as dangerous as they may appear. Nearly 80 percent of parents think that their child undergoing a seizure is dying or already dead. The controversy that the best management is parental support and education has not been substantiated. Rather, recent findings show that the parents of an affected child continue to be anxious, even after speaking with physicians, viewing videotapes, and reading educational materials, and there is often still family disruption. Parents and many physicians are sometimes driven to try to prevent seizures because of unfounded fears. Seizures do not beget seizures, and in humans there is no solid evidence of "kindling," which is seen in an experimental model in animals. The majority of children with febrile seizures have.

There have been families identified where each had multiple members affected by febrile convulsions over two or more generations. In order to identify the gene(s) for FC/FS a study was initiated by a genome screen with a panel of micro satellite markers spaced at 20 cM. Blood samples are collecting from families in which 2 siblings have had febrile seizures. Blood samples from both siblings and the biological parents are also required. Dr. R McLachlan is conducting this work in collaboration with The University of Western Ontario.

2. How serious are febrile seizures?

Usually, a child who has had a febrile seizure does not need to be hospitalized and may not need x-rays or a brain wave test. Your child may only need to be seen by your family doctor so the cause of the fever can be found.

Although they can be frightening to parents, the vast majority of febrile seizures are harmless. During a seizure, there is a small chance that the child may be injured by falling or may choke from food or saliva in the mouth. Using proper first aid for seizures can help avoid these hazards

(See section entitled " What should you do if your child is having a seizure? “) There is no evidence that febrile seizures cause brain damage. Large studies have found that children with febrile seizures have normal school achievement and perform as well on intellectual tests as their siblings who don't have seizures. Febrile seizures usually last just a few minutes and go away on their own. It's very unusual for a febrile seizure to last more than 10 minutes. Even in the rare instances of very prolonged seizures (more than 1 hour), most children recover completely. Between 95 and 98 percent of children who have experienced febrile seizures do not go on to develop epilepsy. However, although the absolute risk remains very small, certain children who have febrile seizures face an increased risk of developing epilepsy. These children include those who have febrile seizures that are lengthy, that affect only part of the body, or that recur within 24 hours, and children with cerebral palsy, delayed development, or other neurological abnormalities. Among children who do not have any of these risk factors, only one in 100 develops epilepsy after a febrile seizure.

3. What should you do if your child is having a seizure?

Parents should stay calm and carefully observe the child. To prevent accidental injury, the child should be placed on a protected surface such as the floor or ground. The child should not be held or restrained during a convulsion. To prevent choking, the child should be placed on his or her side or stomach. When possible, the parent should gently remove all objects in the child's mouth. The parent should never place anything in the child’s mouth during a convulsion. Objects placed in the mouth can be broken and obstruct the child's airway. If the seizure lasts longer than 10 minutes, the child should be taken immediately to the nearest medical facility, by EMS staff, for further treatment.