Discussion Board: Toddlers and Pre-schoolers

would like to her from other parents who have experienced febrile convulsions in their children. my 3 year old daughter had one nearly a year ago, in which she stopped breathing, we happened to be at the hospital (what luck!) and it wasn't too long (long enough) before she started again(assisted). even now a year on i still don't really grasp what happened. I get the fever causes a seisure, but can't find much info about why she stopped breathing. any info/experiences would be great

Can't help you out as have not experienced this with our gils. Have had them almost collapse due to extremely high fever, but never to the point when they stop breathing. Sounds scary. Thank goodness you were already at the hospital.

My son had a febrile convulsion just after his fisrt birthday due to high temp from ear infection. Was the most scriest thing I have ever experienced we were at home and the convulsion lasted about 3 minutes at one point he stoped breathing and turned blue I thought I was going to lose him for sure but he started breathing again about 20 seconds later. It took 11 minutes (which i suppose is quite quick but felt like an eternity) for the ambulance to arrive. No one had ever told me about these and I was very surprised to find out that 1 in son under 3yr olds will have them. We haven't had another yet fingers crossed as he is only just 16 months but we are very careful to watch his temp if he feels remotely hot we give him pamol and lighten his clothes. The Docs I have spoke to about it say that if they are going to have one there is nothing you can do to stop it and you only need to call an ambulance if it lasts more than 5 minutes. ( personally I would never wait 5 minutes) but should always seek medical advise afterward. Sorry i haven't answered your question and am unsure why they may stop breathing but know a febrile convulsion is the brains defence against dangerously high temps and it shuts evrything down ( like restarting your computer I guess) and maybe the breathing part of the brain is effected.

How amazing to see this thread. Do I have experience of this topic - YES!! I haven't had the chance to really talk to too many others who have experienced this terrifying ordeal so it's great to have the chance to talk in this forum and perhaps pass on the information that I've gathered after 15 convulsions in almost 2 years!! I have three year old twins: Jessica (girl) and Finlay (boy). Fin has always been my sickly boy and at 13 months when he seemed really lethargic and a little warm, I didn't really think too much of it. Five minutes later, he was convulsing and we didn't have a clue what was going on. A rash actually swept over his shoulders and disappeared again and I immediately thought that it was Meningitis (especially as we were still debating whether to immunise or not). I instinctively put Fin on his side and called for the ambulance - all the while my daughter wondered what I was panicking about! (the rash was perhaps a heat rash and didn't seem to be related to anything else - Phew!) The first convulsion lasted about 15 minutes and was incredibly scary. The ambulance crew were great and off we went to hospital for observations. Of course, once Fin came out of the convulsion and the secondary sleepy stage (not surprising after being worn out from the convulsion), he seemed fine! We waited at the hospital for 5 hours under observation and was told that it was probably a Febrile Convulsion. Apparently, it's common in about 10-15% of children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. Many children simply outgrow it but there are no hard and fast rules about when that will occur. We watched Fin closely and I constantly checked his temperature but the second convulsion came during the night at about 1am. We simply heard some funny noises and as I went in to check I saw that he was having a convulsion. We had been told that timing the convulsion was useful as a parent's perception of how long these things lasts can be a little inaccurate (it seems like hours when it's only a few minutes!). So, we timed this 12 minute long convulsion and started to do as reccomended by the hospital: Remove all clothing and nappy Put the child on their side Take a cool (not cold) flannel and put on the hot spots (back of the neck, under the arms and on the groin) After that it's just a case of waiting to see how long the fit will last and to see what kind of reaction they have to it. Some times Fin would go a steely grey, other times his lips would go a little blue and at other times he'd have no other reaction beside the convulsion. For us, it was a case of having one or two every month and we would always be so cautious (but try not to be too overprotective) of Fin. We've had convulsions at a variety of locations but mainly at home. We haven't always gone to the hospital but have nearly always called an ambulance. A hospital stay doesn't really benefit the situation as there is no real cure for this and observations are simply carried out - something that we can do at home without travelling the 50 minutes up to our nearest hospital. (but everyone is different and you should go with your gut instinct on this and camp out at the hospital if you want!). We've been for tests with specialists and to determine whether it's epilepsy or not but I'm sure that there is nothing more to it than febrile convulsions. I don't know if it's more typical in boys (probably not) but my husband had a few when he was around 12 months and his Uncle also had them when he was very young. It is said that it can be hereditary. Really, it's just a little malfunction with the temperature control. The body can't handle any kind of big temperature (that might eventuate from a mild bug or infection) and so instead of just providing a high temp on a thermometer, it throws out a warning signal - a convulsion. It's hard to say that it's 'normal' or 'just one of those things' but it really is and there's nothing really that can be done about it. A few tips that I have for preventing the convulsions in the first place are as follows: * Use Naturopharm's FevaMed - it's a simple spray that can regulate the temperature a little better. * If other children/siblings who are around your child often, have come down with a fever, aren't feeling well or if there is a 'bug going round' then you might want to regularly check your child's temperate (Invest in a digital thermometer that provides an accurate reading after a few seconds rather than a minute or two. Also read the instructions as to how to use the thermometer. It's best to pull the ear out and up in order to access the membrane in the ear better - giving a more precise reading) and perhaps give Pamol. Having twins, we found that Jess would outwardly show the signs of a cold or infection whereas Fin would hide it internally and a convulsion would follow. * We've found that a dose of Pamol followed 2 hours later by Ibroprufen, followed 2 hours later by the next dose of Pamol and then 2 hours later followed by the next dose of Ibroprufen helps. Done this way, it's not 4 hours in-between medication and it can quite often knock any proposed convulsion on the head. * I've actually stopped a convulsion just before it was about to happen by placing the cool (not cold) flannels on the hot spots (back of the neck, under the arm and groin). Talking to your child so that they have your full attention seems to help too. Otherwise Fin just used to slip away in to a fit (this only really worked when coupled with the cooling down!). Hopefully the above will help but don't beat yourself up if you miss any signs that a convulsion is on it's way (quite often Fin would be yawning away as his body was gradually shutting down). I felt very guilty a number of times but you can't watch them 24 hours a day and sometimes it happens with very little warning. I must say that our last convulsion was in August, 2006 and we haven't had another one yet!!! An encouraging sign is that Fin is sweating more! It might sound a little odd but I think that it's a sign that his body is regulating the temperature for itself now - and sweating is a sign that that is happening. The further proof seems to be that he's not had a fit so perhaps we're finally over it. I have said that before though and been disappointed so I'll keep you posted!! If you want to talk to 'an old pro' then reply to this post or e-mail me, Charlie, on lwtwins@hotmail.com Good luck!

Hi I am coming into this thread a little late in the game but I was SOOOO glad to see it as my little girl had a convulsion for the first time over the week-end and I was terrified. What I can't get over is that if it is as common as the doctors say it is why aren't parents prepped for it in advance? As for the breathing stopping the only thing I can think of is maybe the tongue covered the throat area so your child couldn't breathe. This is why they say to turn the baby/child on its side and make sure the breathing passages are clear from obstacles and obstruction. The tongue is less likely to flop backwards if the child is on its side. That's all I can offer you. I imagine you have probably talked to you Doc about it by now and have had a satisfactory reply. If so - it might be a good idea to share that info here for us other parents. Great thread. So glad I am not the only parent to go through a convulsion although it certainly felt like it at the time.

Hi. I dont know why doctors dont prepare parents for it. I think that they might think that if parents knew then they would be terefied about it or something. But my oldest boy had them. The first time I panicked, but some small part of my brain kicked into action, a survival thing or something. I was totally terrified but I was calm and did everyhting right. I called the hospital, they said dont wait for an ambulance, so we didnt. He stopped breathing and was blue in the car, so while my ex-husband drove like a bat out of hell I preformed cpr on him. I had only seen the video once during an antenatal class, but I remembered it and did it properly. We ended up having a car accident on the way to the hospital, and even though the car was written off by the insurance company, we still dragged off the police, they caught up to us at the A&E entrance at the hospital. Noone was hurt in the accident except for me, just a slight sprained ankle and a few cuts. But yes, its very terrifying. If we had waited for an ambulance, Johnathan would be dead. If I had just blindly panicked like I see parents doing all the time, Johnathan would be dead, If I had not remembered how to do cpr on a baby, Johnathan would be dead. We were rushed into A&E and they put him straigh onto oxygen. I had to stay in with him for 3 days. It was the most terrifying time of my life. Because a little girl had died from Meningitis the weekend before, I had to hold Johnathan down while they did a lumbar punch on him and had to help monitor the drips and stuff. To this day the doctors dont really know what caused it. All I know is that if I had reacted differently, Johnathan would be dead. It took me months to be able to sleep again. Every time I closed my eyes I would see his little blue face with the life slowly draining away. Everytime I went to sleep I was back in the car with him dyeing in my arms. I can still remember it all as if it happened yesterday. But now I know exactly how to cope with it. The last convultion he had was last year after a school sports day. Hopefully he is growing out of it. Actually I think now I know why the doctors dont prepare parents for them. My ex-husband said straight out to me in the hospital that if he had known that things like that happened and how terrifying they are, that he would never have wanted children. He couldn't handle it at all. Its hard to be helpless and know that theres not really much you can do when doctors and nurses are fussing over your baby. Just take comfort that you are not the only one to ever be in that position. When I had my second boy, I didnt do antenatal classes, but the midwives up here wouldnt let any mother leave the hospital until they had seen the cpr for babies adn children dvd. I dont know how helpful this has been, but I know from personal experience that its nice to know that you are not alone. My oldest boy has had so many convultions now that I have truely lost count. We have had heaps of unexpected ambulance rides and rush trips to the hospital. I had convultions when I was little, but my parents said I grew out of it by the time I started school.

Alot of children cant use ibprofen. If you have asthma you shouldnt use it as it can trigger massive attacks, also, if you have heart conditions or they run in your family your children should not use ie

My girlfriends and I were discussing this topic at a doo this week end and it is comforting to know that convulsions is now covered in the plunket handbooks where as it wasn't before.

My daughter had a convulsion at 12 months and it was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. We raced to the doctor who then sent us to hospital in the ambulance.
I now carry a digital thermometer and pamol with me whenever I leave the house. I have come to know when she is feeling hotter than normal and take her temp as soon as it starts going a degree above her normal temp which is 36.4. If it goes above 37.7 and is still rising I immediately give her pamol and remove her clothing. This has managed to bring her temp down so far fingers crossed.

Our son Riley has suffered from febrile convulsions for almost 4 years now , we just keep a close eye on him when he's feverish , they are usually fairly short (but seem like they go on forever) the Dr's say that that will not do testing until he is 6 and still having them , he has just turned 6 and had 5 last year so heres hoping that he has grown out of them....Also a child will have one if their temp goes down quickly (we gave Riley Pamol as we knew he was burning up ) 10mins later he was convulsing and the dr explained that it come on with a high temp or a rapid reduction...one thing i have noticed is that when he first started getting them he would sleep for 5 hours after , and now he's awake within the hour ..

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