Why febrile seizures

Febrile seizures have been divided two groups, simple or complex. Your doctor will ask questions about any symptoms suggestive of infection and perform a careful physical exam to look for signs of infection.

Blood tests may be needed. A spinal tap may be needed in some cases if your doctor is worried about meningitis. This is done more commonly in children under 12 months of age, but rarely is needed in older children.

Although an EEG electroencephalogram and MRI magnetic resonance imaging are not needed most of the time, these may be done when a seizure is very prolonged, if the seizure begins focally, or if there are any concerns on examination.

How are febrile seizures treated? During a seizure: Place the child on his or her side on a protected surface and watch carefully. Keep track of the time. If the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, call or take the child to an emergency room.

Learn more seizure first aid. Find a doctor. After the seizure, your child may be sleepy for up to an hour. A straightforward febrile seizure like this will only happen once during your child's illness. Occasionally, febrile seizures can last longer than 15 minutes and symptoms may only affect one area of your child's body.

These are known as complex febrile seizures. These seizures sometimes happen again within 24 hours or during the period in which your child is ill. If your child is having a febrile seizure, place them in the recovery position. Stay with your child and try to make a note of how long the seizure lasts. Do not put anything into your child's mouth during a seizure — including medicine — as there's a slight chance they might bite their tongue. Take your child to the nearest hospital or call and ask for an ambulance if:.

While it's unlikely that there's anything seriously wrong, it's important to get your child checked. If your child has had febrile seizures before and the seizure lasts for less than 5 minutes, call a GP, use NHS or call for advice.

You should also contact a GP or NHS if you think your child is showing signs and symptoms of dehydration a lack of fluid in the body. Febrile seizures can often be diagnosed from a description of what happened.

It's unlikely that a doctor will see the seizure happening, so it's useful to note:. Further tests, such as a blood test or urine test, may be needed if the cause of your child's illness is not clear.

It can sometimes be difficult to get a urine sample from young children, so it may have to be done in hospital. Further testing and observation in hospital is also usually recommended if your child's symptoms are unusual or they're having complex febrile seizures, particularly if they're younger than 12 months old.

The cause of febrile seizures is unknown, although they're linked to the start of a high temperature fever. There may also be a genetic link to febrile seizures, as the chances of having a seizure are increased if a close family member has a history of them. In most cases, the child's high temperature is caused by an infection.

In most cases, no other treatment is needed. The doctor might order tests if your child is under 1 year old and had other symptoms, like vomiting or diarrhea. The doctor may recommend the standard treatment for fevers, which is acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Giving these medicines around the clock is not recommended and won't prevent febrile seizures. If your child has more than one or two febrile seizures that last more than 5 minutes, the doctor might prescribe an anti-seizure medicine to give at home. A child who has missed getting some vaccines and has a febrile seizure could have a higher risk for meningitis. Get medical care right away if your child has any signs of meningitis, such as:.

Febrile seizures can be scary to see. But they're fairly common and not usually a symptom of serious illness. If you have questions or concerns, talk with your doctor.

Reviewed by: Anita S. Nathan, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Are Febrile Seizures? Who Gets Febrile Seizures? Kids are more likely to have a febrile seizure if: They have a family history of febrile seizures.