Fever Fits (Febrile Convulsions)

Member Name: Belfastgirl

Product:	Febrile Convulsions
Date:	18/08/01 (1020 review reads)
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Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Terrifying for parents

Febrile Convulsions - not something that I had heard of before I started training as a children’s nurse.

The word Convulsion struck terror in my heart - how did the parents ever cope? Here was their child, normally bright and bubbly, who hadn’t been feeling too good and had been quite quiet all day, the one they remarked to their partner was "probably coming down with something", suddenly on the floor having some strange sort of fit while all sorts of horror stories are running through their minds. Next thing they know they are in hospital, surrounded by strange people, some of whom see these things every day and so treat it that way without a concern for how terrified the parents were just minutes before hand.

The reality of this all hit me when I first looked after a child who had had a febrile convulsion. The child was fine, sitting up in bed watching the Tweenies, while her mum was on egg shells, obviously very distressed at what she had just witnessed a few hours before. I realised that, like myself, many people did not know much about this subject, and so I researched it, and this information has come in handy on a great number of occasions since.

So what exactly is a Febrile Convulsion?

As the word Febrile suggests, it is a "fit" that is brought on by a raised temperature of the child, and is extremely common in young children under the age of 5. This is due to their immune system not being as strong as that of an older child and so infection can get a grip quicker and as their body temperature increases to fight off infection, their "heat control" mechanism does not stop the body from producing heat - so the temperature continues to increase and causes the convulsion.

It is thought that it is more likely that your child will have a Febrile Convulsion if you or your partner had one when you were younger and if your child usually suffers from high temperatures when unw
ell.

Various people describe the fits differently, but the most common description is that the child first becomes floppy, then their body will stiffen and begins to shake uncontrollably. This can last for a few seconds, or a few minutes. The child will normally go very pale, and on some occasions go a little blue. Each child will react differently - some quickly return to consciousness, others take longer.

What to do if your child has a febrile convulsion.

This situation should be treated like any other emergency situation.

First of all the environment should be checked for safety - remove anything that could harm your child while fitting, and put cushions against anything (like the fireplace) that you cannot move.

If you can, take a note of how long the fit lasts, it will be helpful for the doctors to know this.

Let the child "fit", do not try to hold them down and NEVER try to put anything into their mouth. If the child starts to vomit, their head should be turned to prevent choking.

While the child is still unconscious they should be placed into the recovery position, which will maintain their airway. Try removing some clothing to help reduce their temperature.

If the child continues to fit, an ambulance should be called (if you have not already done this).

Most of the time the child has stopped fitting by the time they have reached the hospital, but if they haven't it is likely that they will be given rectal diazepam, to help relax the body and stop the fit.

All children who have a Febrile convulsion should be seen in hospital, so that the cause of the convulsion can be figured out.

In hospital, you would find that the main aim is to keep the child's temperature down. Your child will usually be stripped down to it's underwear, and given Paracetamol. Temperatures will be taken regularly and if the Paracetamol is not having a grea
t effect, Ibuprofen will be used alongside. These two drugs work amazingly alongside each other in reducing temperatures, and many children will be discharge home on these drugs. Paracetamol can be given 4-6 hourly, while Ibuprofen can be given 6-8 hourly 3 times a day, so most hospitals will alternate between the two drugs so that your child is given constant antipyretics. Another method of cooling the child down would be to sponge the child with a damp cloth, but there are many views on how appropriate this is, and many hospitals will have their own view on the subject.

My local hospital sends parents home with detailed advice sheets that emphasise what the nurses have already told the parents, and there is always the option to ring the ward with any further concerns or queries - many parents find this to be of great benefit, and no ward should send you home with your child unless they are sure that YOU feel comfortable with what you should do if it happens again.

Usually the cause is a viral illness, most of the children I have seen, have had tonsillitis stated as the cause of the convulsion.

Many parents fear that this one convulsion will lead to their child having epilepsy, or brain damage. This is highly unlikely, and most children who have a febrile convulsion will recover totally from the ordeal, and while you will always remember it, the child will not remember the fit at all.

Usually, most children who have had a convulsion will not have another one in the same illness, it is possible that they will have one if they are ill again, but usually most parents will recognise the early signs and make moves to try to keep their child’s temperature down.

Seeing a child have a convulsion is very scary - I find it scary, and I do not have kids. I can only begin to imagine how terrible it must feel for a parent to watch their child go through this, but thankfully there is help for it, and a massive majority of c
hildren do not have any further problems.

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