Febrile Seizures – the facts, and myths busted.

Did you know 1 in 30 children aged 6 months to 6 years will have a febrile seizure? 

Febrile seizures are also known as febrile convulsions, pose many questions for parents and carers:

What is it? What do you do if your child has one? Are they dangerous? Can I prevent them and will they happen again?

Watch our video on febrile seizures, for the correct steps on how to respond if your child has a febrile seizure.

Some key tips and busted myths from the video:

• It’s not about how high your child’s temperature gets! It often happens because of a rapid rise in temperature, not how high it gets.
• They do not do your child any harm (despite being terrifying for you as a parent/carer) – they can result in physical injury though, which is why knowing the best response is vital.
• Febrile seizures can appear in many different ways (most commonly jerky movements/stiffness) and your child will not respond to you.
• They may become blue during a seizure – and this is okay. What is a red flag is if they remain blue after the seizure has stopped (watch the video for more on this!)
• Paracetamol and ibuprofen do not prevent a febrile seizure. These are for comfort and not cure! Fever is a symptom/sign and not the disease – the focus shouldn’t be treating the fever (but the overall child!)
• Your child will not swallow their tongue during a seizure, it is an old wives tale and physically impossible!
• Recording a seizure (as confronting as it is), can be very helpful. It allows you to show medical professionals the seizure, including an idea of the length of time of the seizure. (But make sure you are responding appropriately with the correct first aid, as a priority!)