Febrile seizure- The worst nightmare of a parent!

Shristi Sharma
Jun 24, 2021
4 min read

Today I'm going to narrate a story about Febrile seizure and how it changed our live..

It was a busy day, my MIL was supposed to be discharged from hospital after her knee replacement surgery.

I had a toddler and a house to manage on my own..

The AC in my MIL 's room wasn't working so I had called for the service center guys to check it out.

Meanwhile Viaan (1.5years then) woke up and had a slight running nose. So I decided not to send him to his playgroup that day.

While I continued my chores and waited for my MIL to reach home, Viaan was a lil cranky, I thought may be the cold is making him moody. I gave him medication for cold.

The morning went by, in the noon I fed Viaan his lunch and felt like he was warmer than his usual self. So I checked his temperature.

Ok its just 99F so I gave him an antipyretic syrup and put him to sleep.

My MIL came home when Viaan was sleeping.

After a lil while Viaan woke up from his sleep, smiling at me and his dad.

My MIL calls for me to help her use the washroom.

Suddenly I hear my husband screaming out my son's name .

He rushed toward me with Viaan in a state I can't ever forget.

His eyes were looking up , his body shaking continuously, he wasn't responding to us. There was froth coming out from his mouth . Even as I'm typing the memory is so vivid.

We rushed to our car while I chant the names of all the God I can think of and crying incessantly. "Oh God please save my child 🙏 "

Suddenly while we were driving Viaan stopped shaking , stopped any possible movement, my heart sank ..

My husband, still driving and chanting prayer, asks me to check for his heartbeat..

I touched his tiny chest and thanked God after finding his heart beat.

I kept talking to Viaan and kept telling him mom is here please wake up, but he didn't wake up.

We reached the hospital within 10mins since the whole episode started..

The emergency room doctors lined and hooked him to various monitors. His little body was all wired up.

It was a terrible sight for me as a mother.

Somewhere down the lane I kept blaming myself for not being a good mother and letting this happen to my child.

While I'm occupied with my fright and guilt, I heard Viaan cry incessantly.

I ran towards him but I wasn't allowed to enter , they said that they were getting an iv cannula in his tiny arm.

Suddenly I felt like the world has come to an end ,my little happy and healthy baby has been crying for 10 minutes non stop now and I can't even go and hold him.

How could all this happen to my son?

Finally the doctor came out from the room, I asked him what happened to my little boy?

He said you son went into Febrile seizure.

I read of it in my medicine text book but never did I think that I would encounter a case like this.

What is a FEBRILE SEIZURE?

A febrile seizure is a convulsion in a child that's caused by a fever. The fever is often from an infection. Febrile seizures occur in young, healthy children who have normal development and haven't had any neurological symptoms before.

Symptoms

Usually, a child having a febrile seizure shakes all over and loses consciousness. Sometimes, the child may get very stiff or twitch in just one area of the body.

A child having a febrile seizure may:

Have a fever higher than 100.4 F (38.0 C)
Lose consciousness
Shake or jerk the arms and legs

Febrile seizures are classified as simple or complex:

Simple febrile seizures. This most common type lasts from a few seconds to 15 minutes. Simple febrile seizures do not recur within a 24-hour period and are not specific to one part of the body.
Complex febrile seizures. This type lasts longer than 15 minutes, occurs more than once within 24 hours or is confined to one side of your child's body.

Febrile seizures most often occur within 24 hours of the onset of a fever and can be the first sign that a child is ill.

WHAT TO DO DURING A FEBRILE SEIZURE EPISODE:

Gently place your child on the floor or ground.
Remove any nearby objects
Place yourchild on his or her side to prevent choking.
Loosen any clothing around the neck and head.
Watch for signs of breathing problems including bluish color in the face.
Try to keep track of how long the seizure lasts.

It's also important to know what you should not do during a febrile seizure:

Do not try to hold or restrain your child.
Do not put anything in your child's mouth.
Do not try to give your child fever-reducing medicine.
Do not try to put your child into cool or lukewarm water to cool off.

Who Gets Febrile Seizures?

Febrile seizures happen in kids 6 months to 5 years old. They're most common in toddlers 12–18 months old.

Kids are more likely to have a febrile seizure if:

They have a family history of febrile seizures.
They've already had one. About 1 in every 3 kids who have had one febrile seizure will have another, usually within 1–2 years of the first.
They had a first febrile seizure when they were younger than 15 months old.

Most children outgrow having febrile seizures by the time they are 5 years old.

When to see a doctor?

See your child's doctor as soon as possible after your child's first febrile seizure, even if it lasts only a few seconds. Call an ambulance to take your child to the emergency room if the seizure lasts longer than five minutes or is accompanied by:

Vomiting
A stiff neck
Breathing problems
Extreme sleepiness

Since the first seizure, Viaan had few more episodes of seizures till now. But now we are mentally prepared and we know what are the do's and don'ts.

We try to monitor his temperature more whenever he is sick. When give him the medication which the doctor has given if he goes into seizure. I have stopped blaming myself and accepted the fact that it can happen to the best of us. I'm still not in peace with it but I believe it will be over soon.

I have written this post to spread awareness about Febrile seizure and how to deal with it incase you ever encounter it.

God bless all the little ones.

Happy parenting!