Febrile seizure

Diagnosis

Even in children with normal development, febrile seizures can happen. To rule out any epilepsy risk factors, your doctor will carefully check your child’s medical and developmental history. Finding the source of your child’s fever is the first action you should take following a febrile seizure in a child with normal development.

Simple febrile seizures

Children who suffer their first simple febrile seizure and are up to date on their vaccines do not require testing. Based on your medical history, your doctor can identify the febrile seizure.

Your doctor could suggest tests to look for severe illnesses in kids with a delayed vaccination schedule or a compromised  immune system:

• Blood examination
• Urine analysis
• A spinal tap (lumbar puncture), to determine whether your child has an infection that affects the central nervous system, such as meningitis.

Complex febrile seizures

Your doctor can also suggest an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that gauges brain activity, to identify the underlying cause of a complex febrile seizure.

If your child has any of the following conditions, your doctor might advise a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to examine your child’s brain:

• An abnormally large head
• An abnormal neurological examination
• Signs and symptoms of elevated pressure inside the skull
• A prolonged febrile seizure that lasted longer than normal

Treatment

The majority of febrile seizures end on their own in a matter of minutes. Keep calm and take these actions if your child experiences a febrile seizure:

• Lay your child down on his/her side on a soft, flat surface so that they won’t fall.
• Begin timing the seizure.
• Remain nearby to watch over and console your child.
• Keep any sharp or hard things away from your child.
• Relax any constrictive or tight garments.
• Don’t restrain your child or impede his/her movement.
• Avoid giving your child anything to put in his/her mouth.

Call for immediate medical help if:

• Your child experiences a prolonged febrile seizure lasting longer than five minutes.
• Your child experiences repeated seizures.
• Although the seizure your child had lasted less than five minutes, they aren’t getting well right away.

More-serious episodes

To halt a seizure that lasts longer than five minutes, a doctor may prescribe medication.

Your child’s physician might admit the child to the hospital for observation if:

• The seizure lasts a long time.
• The child is under the age of six months.
• There is a significant infection present along with the seizure.
• The origin of the infection cannot be determined.

But simple febrile seizures rarely call for a hospital stay.