Febrile Seizure: 
What It Is & What To
Do If It Happens
By: Jennifer Hale
After explaining to a friend and my daughter's preschool teacher why she would not be in class that day, I realized how many people had never heard of a febrile seizure. I know the only reason that I was able to stay so calm when it happened to my daughter, was because it had already happened to one of my friend's daughters.
The day before, my daughter was sleeping in my arms with a fever of 102.8F while my husband ran to the store to purchase children's Ibuprofen. We had given her Tylenol only three hours before, but her fever was stubborn and would not recede. We knew that it was best to alternate Ibuprofen and Tylenol every four hours but didn't have both on hand. Just as my husband arrived home with the medicine, my daughters eyes flew open, rolled upward and she started making choking sounds while her body seized. I couldn't get her to respond so I yelled for him to call 911 and ran to the bathroom carrying her in my arms. I put her in a bath of tepid water hoping to cool down her body as quickly as possible. After being in the water for about one minute she finally came around and was calling out to me. The 911 operator instructed us to take her out and lay her on her side to keep her from choking on her tongue in case she had another seizure. At that point, medical care had already started arriving and they took her by ambulance to the hospital. We were released three hours later, diagnosed with a virus from a common cold, and instructed to follow up with our doctor the next morning.
According to the doctor in the emergency room, this happens to about 1 in 25 children under the age of 6. The febrile seizure is triggered by a rapid rise in temperature, rather than the actual temperature reached, and is the body's natural way of cooling itself off. A doctor's opinion should always be sought after the occurrence and in many cases the child will be admitted to a hospital overnight for observation or to identify and treat the source of the fever.
What It Is & What To
Do If It Happens
By: Jennifer Hale
After explaining to a friend and my daughter's preschool teacher why she would not be in class that day, I realized how many people had never heard of a febrile seizure. I know the only reason that I was able to stay so calm when it happened to my daughter, was because it had already happened to one of my friend's daughters.
The day before, my daughter was sleeping in my arms with a fever of 102.8F while my husband ran to the store to purchase children's Ibuprofen. We had given her Tylenol only three hours before, but her fever was stubborn and would not recede. We knew that it was best to alternate Ibuprofen and Tylenol every four hours but didn't have both on hand. Just as my husband arrived home with the medicine, my daughters eyes flew open, rolled upward and she started making choking sounds while her body seized. I couldn't get her to respond so I yelled for him to call 911 and ran to the bathroom carrying her in my arms. I put her in a bath of tepid water hoping to cool down her body as quickly as possible. After being in the water for about one minute she finally came around and was calling out to me. The 911 operator instructed us to take her out and lay her on her side to keep her from choking on her tongue in case she had another seizure. At that point, medical care had already started arriving and they took her by ambulance to the hospital. We were released three hours later, diagnosed with a virus from a common cold, and instructed to follow up with our doctor the next morning.
According to the doctor in the emergency room, this happens to about 1 in 25 children under the age of 6. The febrile seizure is triggered by a rapid rise in temperature, rather than the actual temperature reached, and is the body's natural way of cooling itself off. A doctor's opinion should always be sought after the occurrence and in many cases the child will be admitted to a hospital overnight for observation or to identify and treat the source of the fever.
