Fever Convulsion

My son had (2) in the same day when he was about 2 yrs. old. Spiking fever...one min. he was fine and then the next going into convulsion. I would alternate motrin/tylenol every two hr. until the fever was at bay. Once he had fever for a couple days and wouldn't eat. I notice tiny white bumps on his tougue and red dots on his chest. He was almost contracting what they use to call scarlet fever. He had ear infections all the time and had tubes put in his ears. He is now 7 1/2 and hasn't had any convulsion since. He very seldom gets spiking fevers, but I immediately pull out the meds.

Hi D.,

I have been through this with 2 of my 3 children. They were both about 18 mos when it happened (they are now both 6 yrs old - twins). Several things I have learned that may help you:

- They DO grow out of it (all pediatricians have told me by about age 5 or 6)
- If you keep on top of all fevers from here on out, it probably won't happen again (I give my children Tylenol even at a slight fever of 100 degrees because I never know how high it will go or how fast it will spike)
- The child will be very tired after a seizure..that's normal!
- It's the spike (how fast up OR down) not how high the fever goes that triggers the seizure
- Our pediatrician told us to alternate Tylenol and IB Prof as well, if/when needed.
- Popsicles are a great way to get fluids in the child AND cool them down at the same time. We ALWAYS have them on hand in the freezer.

And my biggest piece of advice...an over-the-counter product called FEVERALL. If/when your child ever has a fever and vomitting, thus they cannot keep the fever medication down (they throw it up), FEVERALL is a supository and it reduces a fever w/i minutes. It is absorbed faster than an oral medication and they don't throw it up because you insert it into their anus. I learned of this product from the EMT that treated my children for their febrile seizures. I carried it with me in my diaper bag or purse always! Although we haven't had repeat seizures, I still use this any time there is vomitting and fever just to make sure that fever doesn't spike.

I know that what you are going through is scary! My nerves felt it each and every time my children had a fever from then on out. Keep on top of those fevers - if your child seems ill, feel their forehead or check their temp frequently.

I will keep you in prayer,

C.

The EMT's were right febrile seizures are very common in children. Though I'm not sure why they wouldn't transport him, that's their job. "Fever Seizures" are the body's way of dealing with such a high temp. The body just gets so hot and can't find a way to relieve itself so it goes into overload and seizes. I wouldn't worry too much if he's only doing it when he has a high grade fever. Try to keep him cool, not cold, and keep putting the acetemetephen and ibuprofen to him. I would also give him meds anytime he goes in for shots. The only thing that concerned me was that he had more than one, but if they were a few hours apart it shouldn't be too bad. But I would make an appointment with his pediatricain and have some work ups done to rule out any seizure disorders that have waited until now to manifest themselves. My godson had a few fever seizures as a kid and is perfectly healthy today. Where as my little brother has has seizure disorders all his life. It just takes time and meds to manage and it really doesn't interfere with his life so far. I hope this helps, I know it's scary anytime your kids are sick and you don't know what to do for them.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can hopefully it is just a fever siezure that you can avoid with meds. no fever no siezure. Just one thought you can also put him in a tepid bath to keep the fever down. You fill the bath tub about 4-6 inches with warm water....not cold or his body will shiver and his temp will rise. then use a cup to pour water on his chest legs and arms. The water will gradually cool and his body temp sould go down. Of course you will be sitting right there with him so if he starts to seize you can remove him from the water to a safe place.

Seizures are so scary. Take it easy. Ask for as much help as you need.....you need all your energy to get thourgh this.

I am not sure about the fever part, but my daughter had a siezure once due to dehydration which a fever can cause. Therefore if he is not drinking enough hydrating fluids pedialight or gatoraid then it may be due to dehydration. They said that due to being dehydrated when she stood up her blood pressure was going down too low which caused the siezure. Don't know if this helps but good luck and I hope everything goes well for you and you little one.

D.,
I am so sorry for your experiance.. However I am sad that the EMT did not take the baby even with you in the unit.. I am an EMT myself and I have transported some kids with this..
Anyway.. some kids have the fever convulsions. You sound like you are doing great... Did he ever wet himself durning the convulsion.. Some times if they have during then its not just the fever.. but your dr will know more about it.. Good luck and keep up the good work.... Remember one thing EMS can not refuse to take you or your son to the ER...

J.

((hugs)) that must have been very frightening!

Something to look out for, is that I have heard once a child has seizures even because of fever, it's more likely the child will have a seizure in the future.

sorry, I don't have any advice.
S., mom to four little girls

D., it sounds like Febrile seizures. These are common when a fever spikes too fast. If they happen once they are more likely to happen again. However, if they happen for no reason at all it could be Epilepsy. My 2 yr old was diagnosed a year ago after having several seizures for no reason. Definitely see the pediatrician and ask for a referal to a neurologist if you need it. I will pray for you. Please do not be alarmed. If it is epilepsy, most childhood forms are controlled with medication.

When my youngest son was 10 months old (he is now 3) he had a febrile seziure. I did the same thing you did and called 911. I was more or less told the same things you were, as long as they start coming out of it in 3-5 min.'s and they don't turn blue there is no reason to go to the hospital, just make sure to get them into the pedi. as soon as you can. They also said that about 1 out of every 3 kids will have these and they are not neurilogical so they do absolutly no permanate damage other than what is done to YOUR heart because it is so scarry. The up side is that this is not a perminate thing. They should out grow this by the time they are about 5. My son has never had another. (yet) I hope this helps.

Hi D.,
Let me start by saying "I'm so sorry that you and your little one had to experience seizures. I'm a mother of T. and thank God I have not experience it with my kids, however I did experience it with my only brother. I was 5 when my brother was only 6mos of age. It was horrible because his seizures would last a long time. He ended up with bacterial menengitis! I personally don't think your son has meningitis. What I do want to tell you is ask for a ct scan and get a diagnosis. Making sure everything is good and Doctors would reasure you that everything will be okay. The other thing is you really have to watch him because once they have seizures he is more likely to get them when he gets a high fever. If he only gets seizures do to high fevers he should grow out of it. I wish you the best of luck.

Elisa

Any time there are convusions/seizures, this is serious, regardless of whether it is triggered from fever. If I were you, I would get my child to a good pediatric neurologist as quickly as possible. What did the pediatrician say about all this? When a child turns blue, the brain may not be getting enough oxygen, and this could result in brain damage. It is imperative to find out what is causing the fever/seizures. Meningitis? This could be viral or bacterial, and contagious. I wouldn't listen to the EMT about this being "common"!, and I wouldn't listen to the doctor about nothing to fear if they didn't last over 7 minutes! Seizures are NOT NORMAL. Important to note any changes in his behavior, eating, sleeping, developmental milestones, etc.-since the seizures. Keep a log (like this one you put on mamasource) and copy it for the pediatrician/pediatric neurologist. Be assertive with your child's health care and insist on labs/MRI/EEG of brain. Good luck! Keep us posted. please.

Febrile seizures are common with fever. And yes your son will be exhausted after one, that's normal. Think of it this way, every muscle in his body clenched tight during the whole time he seized, it's like working out really hard for an hour on every muscle group at the same time, it's intense and expends a lot of energy.

Assuming the seizures are related to the fever and nothing more he should be fine. I would ask you pedi for a referel to a pedi neurologist for a second opinion if they continue without his being 'sick'.

I had a similiar experience with my now 8 yr old son about two years ago. We dropped him off at the babysitter at 6 that morning and she would put them back to bed (it was summer). He got up and told her he didn't feel good so she put him in the bed with her and he feel back to sleep. After about 15 min he started having a seizure. We rushed him to the hospital and put him through the mill. Nothing was found and he was sent home. The next day the same exact thing happened! We thought that something at the babysitters house was triggering his sezuires. We finally got him in at a specialist that once again put him thru the mill. And once again nothing was found. It was soooo frustrating, but what can you do? The doctor told us is was very normal and there was no medical reason for these sezuires. He had several more over the next few months but has seemed to grow out of them. It is one of the most frighteneing things a parent can go through. Be patient and hopefully your child will grow out of them to!

Did your son recently receive any vaccines? My daughter at 12 months had an adverse reaction to the MMR & DTaP vaccines. She was perfectly healthy prior to them and spent 2 days in the hospital with a fever off the scales and seizures. Needless to say, she no longer received those two particular vaccines but I did allow her to get the polio and Hep B shots only. She did okay with those. It is very sad that it is trial and error with your childs life! Because her reaction was so traumatizing I did not have any more children after that! If your child did have an adverse reaction, I highly recommend reporting it to the dr. and getting an injury report form with your State on file. That will enable you to file a lawsuit with the Fed, State and against the manufacturer if your child truly does suffer i.e. like suddenly develop autism. I did not know about this 6 years ago when I had my daughter but I wish I would have! There are statues of limitations and you must report the injury within a specific time frame or you lose out on your right to file. I wonder why this law is in place, hum??? I wish you and your child the best!

When I was alot younger(7) I used to go through the same thing. My mother would rush me to the hospital and they would tell her everything was normal. However I had 5 episodes up until the age of 14. My mother continued to take me to specialist and they told me I had a mild form of epilepsy. It took a long time before they were able to get to that conclusion because they were unable to identify the problem unless I was put to sleep. My episodes were also fever induced and I eventually never had one again. My results came from ekg's and cat scans. I did however take medications for a whole year. Till this day(33yrs) I have not had another episode but I do get severe migranes and they too are unexplainable. My gut instinct is they were a result from the sezures becuase I've had them since I was 7 coisidently. I would get a bad headache right before an episode. My advice is get a second opinion and have him checked when he's asleep. I too would sleep for hours after I went through it,in times I would even thow up. Follow your gut instinct a seek help for you son. I'll pray for you and your son Good Luck.

Hi Dsaha,
My son went thru the same thing when he was 13 months and 14 months. With the first seizure he was hospitalized for 2 days. He had the croup! I know it is very scarry and I feel for you. I was told you can give Tylenol with in a hour after giving Motrin, if the fever has not gone down at all. I also found the Be Cool strips, I would place it between his shoulder blades so he couldn't reach it. I stored them in the fridge. so they would be cool longer. Also, try washing him down with a cool rag at his arm pits, his head and back. They told me would grow out of them and they were right, he has not had one in 4 years. We still get nervous every time he has a fever and if gets to 104 we call the doctor!
Good luck,
K.

My daughter was 14months old when the same thing happened to her, I call 911 they took us to the hospital, they also ran some test on her, they did find out that she was a little dehydrated and her sugar was low from throwing up and not eating or drinking much, for 4 days, she drank and ate got during the day but at night she would throw up non stop until there was nothing, I had called the dr on monday monrning and while I was waiting for him to call back thats when I found my daughter. The doctor order for my baby to have a EEG done on her, to make sure the is no brain activity, we just did this last Thursday, still waiting for results. Good luck with your baby. I hope he does not have anymore convulsion.

Hi D.,
I am so sorry that you are going through this with your son. I know I would be going crazy especially if the doctors aren't able to tell you much and are just offering medications. I am not one for medications due to all the recalls they have been having so to keep my sons fever down I just watch his temp and when it gets to about 100-101 I put him in the tub with luke-warm water up to his chest for about 30min. It takes the fever away. I also have him sleep with a wet rag on his head. As far as the seizurs, I am not comparing this to your son, but I did have a dog that had the same thing. We just had to let him go through it and watch him and then it would be done and he would get up and play again. Our vet said it was a common thing. I would think with your son they would be able to tell you why this is happening though and what you could do to prevent it. I am praying for you.

B.
www.MoreForMyBaby.com

This exact same thing happened to me with my (then) 1 year old son last year. We had just put him down for a nap when his seizure started (a febrile seizure) - we also went to the emergency room and recieved the same advice - that these were common (especially in boys) with high fevers and to treat any fever over 100 with alternating motrin/tylenol. We have since learned that James' fevers tend to spike very quickly and the fastest way to bring it down is to put him in a tub of lukewarm water (just an inch will do) - that absolutely works best for cooling down a fever. We also learned that he is more susceptible to febrile seizures (up to about the age of 7) in the future and therefore should NEVER be left alone in water just in case he has another seizure (bathtubs, pools etc.) - our doctor suggested showers instead of baths as he gets older because there will be no risk of drowning in case of a seizure. So my advice to you is to keep a thermometer on hand and take your son's temperature whenever he feels warm (I prefer the fast-acting thermometers that you use in the ear - expensive but worth the cost when you have a son susceptible to febrile seizures) and anything over 100 should be treated immediately with tylenol/motrin and if the fever doesn't start to go down head to the lukewarm bath - it works immediately. And keep those fluids down - we keep "special" drinks in the fridge that we only give the kids when they are sick - they think they are getting a treat and drink it down quick - also he loves the pedialyte popsicles. Take Care momma - I have been there and know how terrifying it can be to feel so helpless.

D.,
I experienced the confulsionive seizures with my daughter at 11 months of age caused by high fevers. The doctors told me not too allow her from then on to let her fevers get out of control. From then on I was asked to alternate tylenol and ibufrofin medications every two hours until the fever broke to prevent the seizures. My daughter is now 14 years old and she has never experienced another episode. Praise God. The first was horrifying enough. I hope this helps!

Check out this website, (not mine)
www.dailyhealthjuice.com , this is about Doctors talking about how xanthones can help.
listen to each one of the doctors, especially Dr templeman.
he talks about kids and how this helps.

thanks,
Oly

My daughter was premature. She had one convulsion, as a baby, very similar to what had happened to your child. She had a very high fever when she was a baby. The doctor's said it was a fiberal seizure. Not sure of the spelling) They said this happened because her temp was so high. She is going on 15 years, and has never had another. Although when she does get high fevers now, that time of her life kicks in and I am there wiping her down, and she is taking small sips of water, Tylenol & Motrin still so she does not get too high a fever or seizures. Hope that helps. ~J.~

My understanding is that your biggest concern is not how high the fever gets, but how quickly it climbs. So... I would frequently take his temperature and continue the Tylenol and Motrin. Cool baths also help a lot to bring the fever down, just be sure to not chill him because if he starts shivering, his fever will continue to climb.

Most children outgrow febrile seizures.

D. , my son had a convulsion when he was one and a-half years old from a high fever. I rushed him to the hospital and they cooled him down with wet towels and gave him some medicine to bring the fever down as well , they also had to do a test for meningitis , which was horrible for him as for me to watch , I don't mean to scare you , but I just want you to know what to expect if God forbid if it happens again they may have to do that to him . They didn't find that any thing was wrong with him Thanks to God . I can relate to your fears. Just pray to God that he never has one again . I will pray for you and your son myself .I just think the convolution came from the high fever it also was summer and when he got the fever he was waiting in the car with my mother when this happen , I had given him some baby Tylenol before so I didn't expect this to happen , just keep checking his temperature and keep him cool .He must have a fever for a reason ,take him to the doctor and have him check him out don't wait . Make sure you give him the medicine that is for children , and give him the correct amount for his size and age , Don't ever give him Tylenol for adults ,it could be fatal . God Bless and I hope you find out what is causing him to get this sick . Oh also if some one is trying to get blood or get an IV started and after the second time they can't , YOU Tell them , to get someone that is more experience or that can do a better job , Don't let them poke your child more than they have too , YOU HAVE AVERY RIGHT TO STAND UP FOR YOUR SON. and don't take this as a angry statement from me I just capitalize this sentence because I just wanted to make sure that I am stressing on how you have a right to ask them to get someone else that can maybe can start an IV with more success . Take care and I hope everything goes well for you and your son.Oh P.S. my son never had any more seziure after that one when he was one and a half now he is a grown man at twenty four , but for me he will always be my baby . Good luck........

Hi D.,
This happened to my son as well. He is now 14 and fine. Our story started about the age of one year. We were at a restaurant eating and he got a fever and his temp spiked and he went into a seizure. It didn't last very long and we rushed him to the hospital and he was fine. This happened a couple of times because he had ear infection issues. My mother-in-law informed me after the first seizure that my husband had febrile(sp) seizures. Apparently, they can be inherited. I was told they are harmless unless you can't control the fever. At the time, if you can imagine, motrin was not available over the counter. When they perscribed it to us we never had another problem. Good luck to you.

Hi. Why does your son have a fever? I am the oldest of 5 siblings and have two children. Two of my brother suffered from Otis Media (Ear Infections) both boys would get feveral seizures. It is very scary. My brothers both required tubes in the ears to prevent ear infections and both were on phenobarbital to prevent the seizures. Both boys outgrew the seizures at or around age 4. I hope the little information I have provided helps. I would ask your pediatrician to find out what is causing the seizures. The sezures will make him very lathargic it's scary. Good Luck.

Yes, a friend of mines son experienced this when he was about the same age. I think it isn't uncommon for this age if they get a high fever. His not having eaten much could have attributed to it. You can do tylenol and motrin every 4 hours. Start out with tylenol, then four hours later give motrin and so on so forth. Good luck, I hope things are better. J.

Hello D.!

My name is K.. We live in Pflugerville. Your sons story sounds a lot like the first time my youngest son had a seizure (caused by fever). A seizure caused by a fever is considered an feberal seizure in kids under 6yrs of age. My son had his first single seizure when he was 5 yrs old. We did the same thing as you, called EMT because it was something we had never experienced with him before and it was VERY SCARY to see him go through. After getting to the hospital the ER doctors ran lab work and a CT scan to make sure everything was ok. All the test came back COMPLETELY NORMAL and the ER sent us home with a diagnoses of "feberal seizure". The doctors told us the same thing as your doctor told you, that those kind of seizures are common in small children under 6 yrs old and it is nothing to worry about. Well for a few months after that first seizure my son never had another seizure but it had unexplained fevers off and on just out of the blue without being sick or anything. We took him to his pedi. doctor and she told us the same thing just keep a eye on him and he should be fine since he only had a single seizure that was caused by a fever. I thought this was great and nothing to worry about since he never had another seizure!
Well my son went 3 years with never having another seizure untill this past year in March him and my oldest son was two streets over playing at a friends house. My youngest son called me to let me know they were on their way home so I walked outside to talk to my neighbor and left my phone in the house within 10-15 minutes of me talking to him the neighbors son came running home crying and shaking telling us Cory (my son) was blue and not breathing. He said Cory fell over on the concrete and was shaking really bad. He said their friends mom called EMT because Cory was blue and fell really hard on the concrete. When I got over to were they where the EMT already had him in the ambulance and would not let me see him at first. After we got to the hospital the ER ran all the labs and CT scan and once again they told us everything was COMPLETELY NORMAL. The ER Doctor said we really need to follow up with a pediatric neurologist because this seizure was not caused by a fever and he was now 8 yrs old so we did. The neurologist told us our son had epilepsy and He needed to be put on seizure medicine. As you can probably understand my husband and I was beside our selves and was in major denial and said no our son has only had two seizures and he does not have epilepsy. So at that time we declined to put him on medicine and thought he would not have anymore seizures well within that week our son had a couple more seizures one at school and one at home so we went back to the neuro. specialist and decided to put him on seizure medicine.
My son has been on seizure medicine since last year in April he has the worse kind of epilepsy the tonic-clonic seizures or also known as grand-mal seizures. This past year has been a very trying and stressful year but for the most part our son's seizures are under control now with the seizure medicine he is on!!!
I would love to answer any questions I can for you. I pray for your little angel and your family that your son stays seizure free! But if I could give you any advice at all it would most defintley be if your son has anymore seizures go see a pediatric neurologist. They specialize in the brain and seizures. There are test they can run that the ER will not run. I am not sure where you live but my son go's to the Specially For Children group. Well please let me know if there is ANYTHING else I can help you with. I am here! I know how it is!

God Bless

Kat

Hi D.,

Nothing is more terrifying than witnessing your child in the midst of a seizure. This happened to both of my children - one at 15 months and the other at 18 months. It's called a febrile seizure and there is a percentage of children that are genetically susceptible to it. In the case of my kids, the seizures occurred because they were fighting an illness and their fevers shot up too high, too quickly. It basically makes their little bodies go into shock. I was fortunate enough to have a fabulous pediatrician who was able to talk me through the first one with my daughter. I was to hold her until the convulsions stopped (never try to place anything in their mouths! The story about them choking on their tongues is an old wives tale!) After she stopped shaking I had to place her in a tepid bath to help bring her temperature back to normal. Never use alcohol rubs or ice baths. Again, you don't want to shock their systems. Administer Ibuprofen consistently as prescribed and don't ever let the fever spike again. After those incidents with my children, I was vigilant about keeping their fevers in check and they never suffered febrile seizures again.

Just an aside, some children have extreme reactions like this to vaccinations. Had your child received any vaccinations within the week of that incident? If so, make sure a report is filed and do some more research on vaccinations. You might wish to consider splitting up the vaccinations in single doses in different months. Bombarding their tiny bodies with all of those toxins at once is often to much for them to assimilate.

Good luck and remember to always keep the fever in check!

I have a friend whose child did this. it is linked with fever and if you can keep it down, then will not happen. Cold baths were big for her, while the motrin kicked in. If you do not get any other advice, I can give you her e-mail address. She is about to give birth, so possibly not the best person in the immediate future. I know it is common though and can be controlled with fever control. It also should go away with age I think. I seem to remember 5 years being the maximum....but I am not sure.

Sorry, thismust be dreadful.
K.

HI, what a horrible thing to have to go through. My little one - also boy(nearly 5 yrs) has had 4 of these episodes (although not one after the other in one day). My little one had his first one at 18 months old. It is so scary to watch, I really feel for you and seeing their little lips turning blue - very scary. Anyway, my doctors have said that it does happen, and they should outgrow it by age 6! (feels like forever). So now every time I feel the slightest fever I just dose him with Motrin (first) and then alternate every 4 hours with Tylenol. the nurse at the hospital did tell me that if he's spike a fever, giving him more Motrin than what is recommended is okay as long as you don't exceed the daily allowance. When he has a fever, get him (and you or your husband) in a lukewarm shower to cool him down then dry him dress him lightly and put him under a ceiling fan to help with the fever, as well as cold compresses on his head. What my doctor did tell me is that it isn't so much the high fever that causes the convulsion but rather the SUDDEN SPIKE in temperature. So for the next few years, keep a check on his fever, keep it under control, don't leave him alone in a bath, but also know that this will pass. All the best. S.

I am so sorry you had to go through that. My daughter had a 35 minute febrile convulsion a little over a year ago (she is celebrating her second birthday today and I know what you mean by terrible twos). The EMT finally got the seizure stopped in the ambulance on the way to the children's hospital. She didn't become "responsive" until after midnight (the convulsion/seizure happened around 4), it was VERY SCARY. Since my husband used to have them, our pediatrician prepped us before we had our first child because she knew we were having a boy (and they are more common in boys). She said they are caused by a spike in temperature or a prolonged high fever and that they were nothing to worry about. Our son has never had one.

The good news is they usually grow out of them and don't have any damage. The bad news at least for me is that I can't stop worrying. She has had so many fevers since then I am petrified every time. About two weeks ago she had been running about 101 most of the day. I took her temp before bed, it was 101.5. She was shivering so I knew it would be rising. I was just praying the motrin would kick in fast. It went to 104.9 in about 5 mintues, she kept closing her eyes (it was bedtime) and I couldn't tell if she was seizing so we took her to the ER (which I had never done before with either of my children). She had pnemonia.

I do the motrin/tylenol thing religopusly when she gets a fever and pray that she doesn't have another one. But I can tell you I worry about it every day. I hope your son never has another one, and that you are less of a worrier than me. Good luck to you

I am glad to see that your son is doing better! I don't have any specific advice, but I wanted to say that I had this happen to me when I was 18 months old. I apparently kept my fevers in my stomach, so my mom didn't even realize I had a fever until I went into the convulsion and she picked me up. Sounds weird, I know, but that's what I've been told.

I was rushed to the ER where they did a spinal tap and all was well with that. At some point, I did stop breathing or "not responding". Turns out that I had an inner ear infection.

I hope everything turns out well for your son. Please continue to keep us updated as you have the time.

This is probably a febrile seizure if test results did not come up with anything else. They usually grow out of it by age 5. Here is a website:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detai...

From what I understand they do not cause any problems later in life.

I had these and so did my oldest daughter. We both outgrew them first of all :-) They are called Febrile Seizures. I had them from ear infections and my daughter from ear infections and a sinus infection. I of couse don't remember mine but I remember her plainly. Her first one I was rocking her waiting for my mom to come get us to take her to the dr. She was running a slight fever or so I though...turned out when the ambulance arrived she had a fever of 104 degrees. The second, we were playing at grandparents and got in the car to go get something to eat, I heard a funny noise at a red light and turned around to look at her and she is having one in the car seat. That one she had a fever of 103 at the hospital. The last one she had at the babysitters (she has epilepsy, under control so she knew what to do) so she called and i took her to the dr. Don't know temp on that one. I found the best thing for the fever is fever reducer suppositories. This way they don't throw them up. WORKS GREAT!!!! I got hers at wal-mart. Also always take their temp rectally when they are little. It is a better read. I have been there and I really feel for you. It will be okay just keep a watchful eye out. Now that my daughter is 6 she tells me when she is in pain. Everyonce in a while, I still have to take her temp rectally but now she is like...MOM I'm okay....just my worries :-) Good luck

Hi D.,

My 16 yr old daughter has epilepsy, so right away I knew what you were talking about. What your son is having is febrile seizures. I attached a link from WebMD so you can take a look and read up on it.

http://children.webmd.com/tc/fever-seizures-topic-overview

You did everything right in taking him to the ER. They take blood tests to measure the amount of the hormone prolactin. If this hormone is present, then it means that he experienced a epileptic seizure, if it's not present, then it means that it is not epileptic. If he as another seizure, just make sure that he is safe and does not hurt himself. DO NOT put anything in his mouth, fingers can be bitten, or you could/can harm him more. It's normal to be tired for up to a few days after a seizure. Just try to be calm throughout the seizure and let him know you are there for him. When someone is in a seizure, a lot of times they do not feel anything or even know that they are having one. So just know that he isn't feeling any pain during, K?

Hope your son gets well soon,
T.

D.,
I would follow up with a pediatric neurologist; a pediatrician at least. Siezures can be caused by many things. If your child has had two in 24 hours, you should definitely get him checked out head to toe.
Good luck,
M. T

You are not over-reacting. I don't remember all the details, but children under 5 can have sudden spikes in temperature that cause seizure (over 105*). This can be a virus, a deprivation like hydration. You mentioned that he didn't eat well, but did he keep fluids down? Some childhood diabetes can onset seizures too. Make an appointment with his pediatrician and take a list of questions with you. Ask the doctor to explain all possibilities and most important... DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU GET ANSWERS. Nowadays, they say they will run tests and let you know. They don't follow up as they should so ask for all info upfront. Also you can google childhood seizures. I do know that it is more common for black children, but I don't recall why. Hope this helps.

I know you got a lot of responses about this immediate situation, but for future reference, you can give him Motrin and Tylenol at the same time so the fever doesn't break through and cause the seizures.

Give the correct dosage of Motrin (good for six hours), then four hours later give the normal dosage of Tylenol (good for four hours), then two hours later give the normal amount of motrin.

My son (now 54) had what they call febrial convulsions. His temp would be normal and then shoot up to 104 /105/106. He was put on phenobarbitol the minute he started spiking a fever AND was treated, normally, for strep throat. He always had something treatable and never JUST a convulsion. If this continues you should see a pediatric neurologist.

He is a very successful Dentist in Dallas and suffered no long lasting effects but was treated by his pediatirician until he outgrew them. He still runs high fever when he is sick but no convulsions. "Broken Thermostat" is what his dr. said. Please see your pediatrician about the phenobarbitol. It is so scary to see your child like that. Do cool him down and turn him on his side.