When your child is sick with a high fever, one of the symptoms that parents fear the most is seizures. But before you worry, let’s understand seizures and fever symptoms in children first… How do seizures occur in little ones, and what should you do immediately when your child is having a seizure?

Why Do Children Have Seizures When They Have a High Fever?

We are talking about children who are sick with a high fever. Febrile seizures do not result from brain infections, electrolyte imbalances, or low blood sugar. Most often, they are caused by infections in the respiratory tract, tonsillitis, middle ear infection, pneumonia, rash fever, or various viral infections, which are commonly seen in children aged 6 months to 5 years.

Simple Ways to Recognize Symptoms

When a child is sick, symptoms usually start with a runny nose, cough, sore throat, loss of appetite, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, lethargy, and high fever, which can lead to seizures. Parents will notice that when a child starts to have a seizure, the body stiffens, hands and feet twitch, eyes roll back, teeth clench tightly, frothing at the mouth, and loss of consciousness. In some cases, vomiting or diarrhea may also occur. Typically, seizures last no longer than 15 minutes, but if they last longer, the child’s face, lips, hands, and feet may start to turn blue due to lack of oxygen.

What to Do When Your Child Has a Seizure

Place the child on their side without a pillow and turn their head to one side to prevent choking.
Loosen tight clothing.
Do not put a spoon, any object, or even your fingers into the child’s mouth, and do not give medicine or water by mouth while the child is unconscious.
Wipe the body with tap water or warm water. Do not use cold water or alcohol to wipe the body.
Take the child to the hospital or see a doctor immediately to confirm whether the seizure is caused by a high fever or another cause, such as a brain infection. Knowing the cause first will ensure the child receives the correct treatment.

In fact, if we know how to care for a child with a high fever, it can help prevent seizures. For example, when your child starts to have a high fever, give paracetamol to reduce the fever, encourage the child to drink water frequently, and wiping the body can also help reduce the fever. But remember to use warm water and turn off fans or air conditioning while wiping. The correct way to wipe is to remove all clothing, use a towel dampened with an appropriate amount of water, and wipe from the face and neck down to the body, back, arms, and legs. Repeat several times until the fever starts to go down. Another technique to help reduce temperature is to apply compresses to the forehead, armpits, and groin. However, if the fingertips or toes become cold and warm compresses do not help, take the child to see a doctor immediately.

Preventing Your Child from “Febrile Seizures”… Important Information Parents Must Know

Why Do Children Have Seizures When They Have a High Fever?

Simple Ways to Recognize Symptoms

What to Do When Your Child Has a Seizure

Preventing Your Child from “Febrile Seizures”... An Important Matter Parents Must Know

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