Friday, April 25, 2008

Febrile Seizures

What is a Febrile Seizures anyway? Well, I hope you will only have to
read the definition and not experience it first hand. What did I know
about them until last week...Nothing!

Sunday morning was just a normal Sunday in our house! Our 16th
month old woke with a small fever. When I say small, I mean like
100.5. I did the normal things, gave her a fever reducer and liquids.
She was fine and on her way to "mess up the house!"

With a touch of the hand, it was obvious that the fever was headed
up. She had gone from 100 degrees to 104 in the shortest amount
of time. I called the Doctor on call as my husband put her in a tub
of lukewarm water. All was well, and the fever dropped 3 degrees
in seconds. She was playing again....and then it happend! She went
limp, her eyes rolled back in her head, her breathing became very
slow and she started to drull at the mouth. 911 was called as our
daughter would not respond. A five minute seizure seemed like days!

The ambulance arrived and took our baby (along with the rest of us)
to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. I commend them for their great
efforts to keep our baby allert and well monitored. Several tests were
done to delcare it was viral infection.

Her fever was high for several days. When I say high, I mean 105.5.
We are still fighting the viral infection with all the likely symptoms.
Will this happen again? We do not know. We are told that there is
a 50% chance of it doing so. Why am I writing this in my blog? To help
YOU! I want you to be aware of what to do. I am so thankful that
my husband is a RPH (Registered Pharmacist). His training played
a vital role in this situation.

What are the affects on our little girl? The doctors say she
will have a 100% recovery! We are so blessed! Here are some
things to make note of:

1. Children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old are the
most likely victims of febrile seizures. It is because their brains
are still in the developing stages. It can happen with a temp as
low as 100 - 101, but it may occur when it is even more elevated.
Our little girls' was at 101 when it happened.

2. They are 30 - 50% likely to have one again if they are suffered
from a previous seizure.

3. If one child in a family has one, it is more likely for the other
children to experience a seizure.

4. KEEP A LEVEL HEAD!! DO NOT give your child additional
medicine while a seizure is happening. Lay them either on their
side or on their stomach. (they will often vomit) Do not put them
in the tub. Keep a very acurate record of how long the seizure
lasts and what exactly happens. They can last a couple minutes
or even up to 10 -15 minutes. The main thing is to watch their
breathing. The breathing WILL CHANGE, but watch for the signs
of no breathing at all and the changing of body color. DO NOT
DO TOO MUCH! If you do, you may cause even greater harm to
your child.

5. The good news is that most children do not suffer damage or
death due to a febrile seizure. It is the body's way of reacting to
the change in temperature. We called 911 as this was the first time
we expereinced this with either child. Regardless of what you
decide to do, DO HAVE YOUR CHILD CHECKED OUT either
at the office or the Emergency Room. There is a reason that the
temp is up. All tests came back negative for our daughter, so it
was ruled viral.

6. BE ALERT! I will always have mortin and a themometor in my
purse. The doctor told us that regardless of what a parent does,
the seizure WILL happen if it is going to happen! You cannot
prevent it. If your child is in the care of someone else, make them
aware of the past seizure and tell them to contact you ASAP!

7. Brush up on your CPR!!

8. LOVE your children every day! We are so blessed to have them!

Deborah

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