Tips For Managing Febrile Seizures

Febrile seizures are seizures young children, typically between six months and five years old, experience because of a high fever. Even if the child has more than one seizure, it does not necessarily mean they will develop epilepsy. It is scary when a child suffers from a febrile seizure. It could be the first time they have one and you do not know what to do. They could have had one before and you are always waiting for another one to come. And, even scarier, you are afraid it will develop into epilepsy. But here are some things to be aware of if you have small children and the chance exists that they may suffer from a febrile seizure.

Place Patient In The Recovery Position

Knowing how to place a seizure patient in the recovery position is important. This position is used for various seizures and should be done after the seizure has stopped. It is important to get the child laying on their side with their top leg laying over the bottom, so they are laying on their side with one arm slightly outstretched and the other on the side of their face touching the ground. Make sure their head is tilted back slightly, as this allows any fluid or contents to drain from their mouth and opens their airway to breathe easier. Getting an unconscious child into this position is important and should not be understated. You do not want them to aspirate vomit or fluids, and this position will help prevent that from happening. Knowing this position can be helpful in various situations.

Keep reading for the next aspect of treating a febrile seizure.

Seek Emergency Treatment

If your child has a high fever and it has led to a febrile seizure that is not stopping or is reoccurring, seek emergency treatment. If the child has only suffered from the one seizure, and it is apparent it is because of a high fever due to an illness, you can probably wait a short while to see the child’s primary doctor to get a check up on their condition. However, as a parent, if your child suffers from a febrile seizure, whether it is the first one you have ever seen or not, you are probably going to rush to the emergency room. Many individuals have never heard of this kind of seizure and do not understand they are generally benign. So, it is beyond frightening to see your child having a seizure, not knowing why, and not really knowing what to do. However, if the seizure goes away and comes back again, the child should definitely receive emergency care. If ever in doubt, having a medical professional evaluate your child is never a bad thing.

Learn more about how to treat a febrile seizure now.

Fever Medication

Fevers are caused by an illness, like the flu, a viral infection, or ear infections. You can try to head off any kind of seizure by trying to bring down the fever using over the counter medications, such as acetaminophen. As with any illness, you should check with a doctor to make sure any medication will be safe for the child. Additionally, it is critical that the right amount of medicine is given to the child, so make sure to follow the directions carefully. You should also always take the child to their primary doctor to make sure everything is okay and treat any underlying illness the child may have. Febrile seizures, thankfully, are different from epilepsy, and there is no strong correlation between febrile seizures and epileptic seizures, though both require prompt treatment.

Get to know the next method of treating a febrile seizure now.

Remove Unnecessary Clothes And Bedding

When a child is suffering from a febrile seizure, they should be made comfortable. Make sure to remove unnecessary clothes and bedding. You should not strip their clothes off or bundle them up too much. Make sure the bedroom is not too hot and make the child comfortable. It is important to not subject the child to wet clothes or a cool bath. The child just needs to be wearing appropriate clothes and receive other measures to reduce the fever and stop the febrile seizure. Using different methods can help both the child and the parents get through a febrile seizure. These seizures happen when a child has an illness and the fever rises to a level that the body can no longer handle it. Therefore, you need to make sure the child is comfortable, so the child does not get hotter or conversely, get a chill from being subjected to the cold.

Reveal the next option for treating a febrile seizure now.

Anti-Seizure Medication

There is anti-seizure medication, such as benzodiazepines, on the market that will help if a child has experienced more than one febrile seizure. Benzodiazepines act quickly and help get the seizure under control. Medication can be used at the direction of a doctor and is usually in an emergency because of the medication's quick acting nature. If a child only has one seizure, they will most likely not be prescribed this medication. However, if the seizures continue to happen, the medication may be considered. If the doctor thinks the medication will help your child, make sure you do your research and find out all the information you can. Make sure you understand any side effects there might be and ask your doctor all the appropriate questions. There are medicines available if the seizures become more common so the seizures do not take over the life of the child and their parents.