Support for Children with Febrile Seizures
June 30, 2022 10:18 AM Subscribe
Do you have advice for parents dealing with febrile seizures in their toddlers? Or know of support groups that helped?
Our 15 month old son had his third febrile seizure last night (but first in 7 months). While less scary than the first two times—no ER trip like the first two ones—it’s still scary.
We know from doctors, google and my own childhood experience that there are no lasting effects, (in my case, I think?) we would love to connect with anyone out there who went through these with their children and learn how you supported yourself emotionally, mentally and physically. Or if you know of any classes/groups that helped you!
Our 15 month old son had his third febrile seizure last night (but first in 7 months). While less scary than the first two times—no ER trip like the first two ones—it’s still scary.
We know from doctors, google and my own childhood experience that there are no lasting effects, (in my case, I think?) we would love to connect with anyone out there who went through these with their children and learn how you supported yourself emotionally, mentally and physically. Or if you know of any classes/groups that helped you!
Best answer: Our son had several febrile seizures from age 14 months to just under 4 years. My husband had had one himself as a baby, so it wasn't completely surprising (they are strongly hereditary) but still scary to see. We had a screening with a pediatric neurologist after the first several incidents, who reassured us that our son was developmentally/neurologically on track and there was no increased risk of epilepsy. Like ThePinkSuperhero, we were given a prescription (diazepam) to use if he ever had a seizure that lasted longer than 10 minutes, and then he never had another one again.
After the first seizure our pediatrician recommended we always give him Tylenol or Advil at the first sign of fever as a preventative, but obviously listen to whatever your own doctor recommends.
As far as advice, I will say that it is important to let your child's caregivers know that this has happened (since it could happen again), and have a plan in place for what they should do if it does. We had not done that for my kid's daycare (maybe it was wishful thinking on my part) and when he eventually had a seizure there, they sent him to the hospital in an ambulance and it was just about the worst feeling I've had as a parent. Trust me, you don't want to get the "Please meet your baby at the hospital" call, ever. I didn't blame them for anything but that situation probably could have been avoided with some discussion beforehand.
posted by Jemstar at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2022
After the first seizure our pediatrician recommended we always give him Tylenol or Advil at the first sign of fever as a preventative, but obviously listen to whatever your own doctor recommends.
As far as advice, I will say that it is important to let your child's caregivers know that this has happened (since it could happen again), and have a plan in place for what they should do if it does. We had not done that for my kid's daycare (maybe it was wishful thinking on my part) and when he eventually had a seizure there, they sent him to the hospital in an ambulance and it was just about the worst feeling I've had as a parent. Trust me, you don't want to get the "Please meet your baby at the hospital" call, ever. I didn't blame them for anything but that situation probably could have been avoided with some discussion beforehand.
posted by Jemstar at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2022
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:37 AM on June 30, 2022