When a child has an illness that causes a fever, he or she may have a "febrile seizure" or convulsion. A febrile seizure can be very frightening when it occurs. This handout will answer the most common questions about febrile seizures.

What is a febrile seizure?
     A seizure is a spontaneous, electrical discharge of the cells in the brain that can cause a child to become unconscious and have stiffening/jerking of his or her arms and legs. A febrile seizure occurs in response to an illness that has caused a child to develop a fever.

What are the characteristics of a febrile seizure?
     A febrile seizure will often:

• Occur between the ages of 6 months and 5 years of age
• Last less than 15 minutes
• Look like convulsion with both sides of the body stiffening and/or jerking

Do febrile seizures cause brain damage?
     Brief febrile seizures are not thought to cause any damage to the brain. Any seizure that lasts a very long time can be dangerous to a child's brain, but this rarely occurs in febrile seizures.

Will my child have epilepsy?
     When a child has a febrile seizure, there is an increased risk of him/her having another febrile seizure during the next illness with fever. A family history will often reveal a relative who also had febrile seizures. Most children will "outgrow" their febrile seizures by 6 years of age. The chance that a child will go on to later develop epilepsy (recurrent seizures without fever) is only 2-3%, not much higher than that of the general population.

Should my child be on medicines to prevent/treat febrile seizures?
     Typical febrile seizures do not need to be treated with anticonvulsant medicine. If a child's febrile seizure is "complex" in nature (that is, last longer than 15 minutes, is linked with other neurologic symptoms, or involves one side of the body more than the other), some doctors will prescribe an anticonvulsant medicine such as phenobarbital or valium.

What should I do if a febrile seizure occurs?

• Remain calm, make sure that your child is safe on the bed or floor with something soft under his/her head. Loosen the clothing around the neck.
• Look at your watch and then keep a close eye on your child. You need to be able to accurately report how long the seizure lasted and what occurred during the seizure.
• NEVER put ANYTHING in your child's mouth during a seizure. This may cause him/her to gag and vomit and may cause injury to teeth or gums.
• To keep your child's airway clear, turn him/her on to one side. After a seizure is over, your child may be very sleepy. Position him/her on one side until fully awake again.
• If a febrile seizure lasts less than 5 minutes and your child has had this problem before, you should call your child's doctor to have the illness/fever checked.
• You should call paramedics (911) right away if any of these occur:
    - the seizure lasts longer than 5-10 minutes
    - your child does not begin breathing within 30-60 seconds after a seizure
    - your child remains dusky (bluish) colored

What can I do to prevent my child from having a febrile seizure?
     Most children come down with several illnesses each year, some of which cause fevers. Reducing your child's fever may reduce his/her chance of having a febrile seizure. Unfortunately, a febrile seizure often occurs as a fever is rising at the start of an illness and the seizure may be the first sign that your child is sick. Doctors often prescribe non-aspirin medications such as tylenol or ibuprofen to reduce a child's fever. Sitting your child in a few inches of lukewarm water and sponging him/her or dressing your child lightly are also things you can do to reduce a fever.