febrile convolsions

Hi, My daughter has a febrile convolsions nearly everytime she gets sick: whether it be a cold or cuts a tooth.she has seen a peadiatrician, we were told that she will be intelectually normal and will probably grow out of them by the time she is 6. She had her first convolsion in march 2003, 2 weeks before her first birthday. 3 on the same day 4 months later, and one 2 weeks before xmas and the next one 2 days before new years eve. each one has been a little different, but just as scary for her and us. She seems to get real clingy and sooky after each fit and it seems to take a few weeks for her behaviour to return to normal. I'm interested in finding out if anyone else has a child that has them and if they have grown out of them? And how you coped watching your child have them.

Hi Tweedon
This just doesn't sound right.
Is there any epilepsy in the family?
How do you describe a convulsion?
I would get a second opinion.
Monitor her temp and chart it down so you have more of an idea what is going on. Also time how long they go for. Does she lose consciousness? Can she still breath properly. What part of her body shakes? Document it all down and show the dr.
Make sure it is an experienced, well recommended Dr.

hi big mama,
there is no history of epilepsy in our family.with every convolsion she has a high temp of 38-39, mouth goes blue,froths at the mouth, eyes rollback, sometimes makes a weird noise(grunting sound),usually take 5 minutes for her to look like she is coming around, then is really sleepy. her whole body shakes. after every fit we have taken her to the doctors or the hospital to be checked out. twice she had a middle ear infection that i had not picked up on.the peadiatritian told me that if she was put on medication it would have worse side effects than the fits. i have only heard of 2 other people who have had these fits, 1 of which is 5 and still having them.

Hi Trudy

I agree that this must be scary for you.

It worried me when you said her mouth turns blue. This means she is not getting enough oxygen. What position do you put her in when she is fitting? Lay her on her side and make sure her airway is clear. Make sure her tounge is not in the way. You need to read up about how to deal with epilepsy.
I have been trying to figure out a nice way to say this without scarring you even more. But it’s more important that I say it. Have you though about what if she fits in her bed and you don’t know? A lot of epileptics have died this way. They have linked febrile convulsions/epilepsy and SIDS.
Please read these sites
www.disability.vic.gov.au/dsonline/dsarticles.nsf/pages/Epilepsy_in_children?OpenDocument
www.nevdgp.org.au/geninf/epilepsyf/INFANTILE_SPASMS.htm
www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=4096
www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?Article=4098
I hope it helps

Hi,
My sister who is now 21 had them until she was six. I remember helping mum to cool her down and I remember the hallucinations she would have. She went to the hospital many times and the Doctors and they all said she would grow out of it, and she did.
If you aren't happy with what you have been told seek more advice from other sources until you are satisfied.
Good luck smile
Barbara.

hi bigmama,
our peadiatrician has shown me what to do and what position to put her in when she fits. last time she had a fit she was sitting in her highchair and had just finished tea and it started, so i pulled her out and laid her on the floor on her side with her head tilted up the way the doctor and peadiatrician showed me. i even managed to stay calm. in august when she had 3 on the same day, we we on holidays in QLD. we were getting ready to go to sea world when she had one , it was about 6am. called an ambulance and they avised us to take her to the doctors that was 3 doors down. we did and she was fine about 3 hour latter so we went out for the day. at about 3.30 when we were about to head back to our motel my husband said that she was frothing at the mouth and when we looked at her(she was in the pram so we hadn't seen it happen) and noticed that she'd had another one. that evening she had another one at the hospital. they kept her for the remainder of our holiday.they did several tests and looked for infections but never found anything, but it took them 3 days to bring her temp down. it took her about 3 weeks to go back to her normal happy self

It sounds like you have got everything under control.
If you would like to email me my email is markandpauline @dodo.com.au
I do understand about this subject, so if you need someone to talk to about it?
Bye
Pauline

Hi

I have a daughter who convules when sick. I was unhappy with the doctors just telling me that it was nothing to worry about and that she would grow out of it. I explained to the doctor that it was me who had to deal with it each time that it occured and that I wanted a EEG done to make sure that it was not epilepsy. Thank goodness that I did as the result came back all clear and it put my mind at ease. It makes it easier to handle when you know exactly what it is and not just a doctors theory.

Michelle

Hi Michelle,

How old was you daughter when the fits started? I have had a hard time dealing with the fact that the doctors say it's normal. I just keep telling myself that she"ll probably be running around in an hour. That is how she has been after nearly all of her fits.
Did you ever take her to the doctors after her fits? I did and was made to feel silly a couple of times but other times she was really sick so it was the best place to be.

Hi Tweedon

My daughter convulsed for the first time one week before her 1st birthday. It was damn scary as I was a new mum and had never seen a fit or known about febrile convulsions before. We rang 000 and and ambo arrived, only to tell me that they happen to LOTS of children and it was nothing. They made me feel so stupid for not knowing that my daughter had a temp and that I did not know what to do. On the way to the hospital I got thinking and got mad I thought that it may happen to LOTS of children but it has not happened to mine before and none of my friend children either (and lots of them have kids). Then when I thought about it she had no signs of having a temp I was feeding her a bottle in my arms and she felt fine. Then she started to turn blue and had trouble breathing, that is when the shaking started I was beside myself. When she saw the doctor he told me the same thing that it was normal in LOTS of kids to convulse when the have a temp and not to worry. He said that the temp was casued from a VIRAL INFECTION and to go home and give her panadol every 4 hours and she will be OK. After the fit the temp seemed to be more present and it took five days before the fever broke (some viral infection hey!!!). I will admit each time she has a fit it takes a while for her to recover from it and she is off for a number of days after. I have taken everytime other than the last time to the doctors as it was before the last time that we had the EEG done. Each time I demanded that the EEG be done and the doctors brushed it off. It was my GP who finally agreed to give me the request form stating if it will make me happier to have it done then do it. It did make me happier as I knew for a fact that it was not epilepsy and that she just did not take having a temp well. My daughter is now 4 and a half and I think has finally grown out of it. We have had a son recently and from birth had similar episodes, so we went straight to the pediatrician and he sent us for a EEG straight away - hopefully it is nothing for him as well get results soon. Hope I have helped if you want to chat
michelle_alkemade@hotmail.com

Michelle