Our Eli woke up with a fever about 3o minutes after putting him to bed last night of about 100 degrees. This is considered a low grade fever, thank goodness, as fevers kinda freak me out. I know that fevers are the body's way of fighting an infection, but what concerns me are the possibility of febrile seizures. Having known 2 toddlers who have fairly recently experienced these scary episodes (our chiropractor's daughter and Miss Callie), I've been told they are truly terrifying to witness. These seizures occur in 3-5% of children age 6 months to 5 years and while seemingly horrific, are actually harmless majority of the time. What concerns me, though, is that they tend to be genetic, and I was recently informed that I had a few as a child along with overall high fevers resulting in being dunked in cold baths several times by my grandmother (we now know the bath should have been tepid, not cold). So, it may be quite possible that our Eli will experience one of these seizures during his toddler/preschool years and I just have to pretty much educate myself about them so I am prepared for if and when they do. What I've learned is the following:
1) These seizures are due to the overstimulation of brain cells brought on by a rapid spike in temperature.
2) They occur in fevers over 103 degrees but are almost impossible to prevent due to not knowing when the spike in temperature will occur
3) A description on Dr. Greene's page describes how frightening they are to witness: "These seizures may begin with the sudden sustained contraction of muscles on both sides of a child's body -- usually the muscles of the face, trunk, arms, and legs. A haunting, involuntary cry or moan often emerges from the child, from the force of the muscle contraction. The contraction continues for seemingly endless seconds, or tens of seconds. The child will fall, if standing, and may pass urine. He may vomit. He may bite his tongue. The child will not be breathing, and may begin to turn blue. Finally, the sustained contraction is broken by repeated brief moments of relaxation -- the child's body begins to jerk rhythmically. The child is unresponsive to the parent's screams." YIKES!!
4) 1/3 of children who have these seizures tend to have them again with subsequent fevers.
5) During the seizure you should make sure your child is in a safe place and focus on reducing the fever. Apply cool washcloths to the forehead and neck and lukewarm cloths to the body. After the seizure is over, give the normal does of ibuprofen or tylenol (ibuprofen was recommended over Tylenol when Miss Callie had her seizure). I also read to take your child to the ER after the initial seizure to determine what is causing the fever to make sure it isn't a bad illness that needs to be treated. I know when Miss Callie and our chiro's daughter went to the ER, they didn't do much and pretty much told them they didn't need to come to the ER every time they had a seizure unless it lasted for a long time or occured numerous times during the same illness. Although both weren't breathing well and turned blue, so that was quite concerning to mommy!!!
6) The only way to prevent the seizure is to give tylenol or ibuprofen at first signs of fever. This is conflicting advice as I've been told to only give the medication if they are feeling uncomfortable and to let the fever run it's course. BUT, if your child is susceptible to these seizures, it's better to keep the fever low to help prevent the seizures. Also, lukewarm baths are helpful in keeping the fever low.
Even though I feel more educated about these seizures, I know if Eli experiences one, I will be a MESS! Here's hoping his fever stays low grade!
P.S. Due to Eli not feeling well, I may or may not blog this evening. Look for one Monday if not!
UPDATE: Eli's fever is still holding strong and only going down with medication. It got up to 103.7 this morning and since it's been 3 days, he is going to the doc this afternoon to see the cause. On Motrin he is his normal self but once it wears off, he is hot & sleepy. Poor guy!!
1) These seizures are due to the overstimulation of brain cells brought on by a rapid spike in temperature.
2) They occur in fevers over 103 degrees but are almost impossible to prevent due to not knowing when the spike in temperature will occur
3) A description on Dr. Greene's page describes how frightening they are to witness: "These seizures may begin with the sudden sustained contraction of muscles on both sides of a child's body -- usually the muscles of the face, trunk, arms, and legs. A haunting, involuntary cry or moan often emerges from the child, from the force of the muscle contraction. The contraction continues for seemingly endless seconds, or tens of seconds. The child will fall, if standing, and may pass urine. He may vomit. He may bite his tongue. The child will not be breathing, and may begin to turn blue. Finally, the sustained contraction is broken by repeated brief moments of relaxation -- the child's body begins to jerk rhythmically. The child is unresponsive to the parent's screams." YIKES!!
4) 1/3 of children who have these seizures tend to have them again with subsequent fevers.
5) During the seizure you should make sure your child is in a safe place and focus on reducing the fever. Apply cool washcloths to the forehead and neck and lukewarm cloths to the body. After the seizure is over, give the normal does of ibuprofen or tylenol (ibuprofen was recommended over Tylenol when Miss Callie had her seizure). I also read to take your child to the ER after the initial seizure to determine what is causing the fever to make sure it isn't a bad illness that needs to be treated. I know when Miss Callie and our chiro's daughter went to the ER, they didn't do much and pretty much told them they didn't need to come to the ER every time they had a seizure unless it lasted for a long time or occured numerous times during the same illness. Although both weren't breathing well and turned blue, so that was quite concerning to mommy!!!
6) The only way to prevent the seizure is to give tylenol or ibuprofen at first signs of fever. This is conflicting advice as I've been told to only give the medication if they are feeling uncomfortable and to let the fever run it's course. BUT, if your child is susceptible to these seizures, it's better to keep the fever low to help prevent the seizures. Also, lukewarm baths are helpful in keeping the fever low.
Even though I feel more educated about these seizures, I know if Eli experiences one, I will be a MESS! Here's hoping his fever stays low grade!
P.S. Due to Eli not feeling well, I may or may not blog this evening. Look for one Monday if not!
UPDATE: Eli's fever is still holding strong and only going down with medication. It got up to 103.7 this morning and since it's been 3 days, he is going to the doc this afternoon to see the cause. On Motrin he is his normal self but once it wears off, he is hot & sleepy. Poor guy!!
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Keep us updated of course! Call when you're done with doc.
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