FEBRILE SEIZURE IN CHILDREN

Healthy Greetings,

Fever seizures are always a scourge for the mother’s father. The phenomenon that occurs when a child’s seizures, namely eyes melelik, stiff-kelojotan, and tongue bitten, no doubt make parents panicked. But is it true that febrile seizures are dangerous?

What is the actual febrile seizure?

A febrile seizure is a seizure that occurs at a rise in body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or more due to a process outside the brain. Most febrile seizures occur at the age of 6 months to 5 years. Characteristic of febrile seizures is the fever precedes seizures, when the child’s seizures are still feverish, and after the seizure the child immediately regained consciousness.

What causes febrile seizures?

The cause of febrile seizures is a sudden fever. Fever can be caused by bacterial or viral infection, such as upper respiratory tract infections. It is not known exactly why fever can cause seizures in one child and not in other children, but suspected to be a contributing genetic factor. Each child also has a different seizure threshold temperature: there is a seizure at a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, some are newly struck at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

What happens when a child’s seizures?

Most febrile seizures are common. Common forms of seizures that often encounter are eyes glaring or sometimes flickering, both arms and legs stiff, and when seizures children are not aware of not responding when called or ordered. After the seizure the child regains consciousness. Generally, a febrile seizure will stop itself in less than 5 minutes and not repeat more than once in 24 hours.

What to do when a child has a seizure?

When you see a child seizure, try to stay calm and do the following things:

  1. Put the child in a safe place, away from dangerous objects such as electricity and crockery.
  2. ay the child in a sloped position so that food, drink, vomit, or other objects in the mouth will come out so that children avoid the danger of choking.
  3. Do not put any objects into the mouth. Inserting spoons, wood, parents’ fingers, or other objects into the mouth, or feeding a child with a spasm, risks causing airway obstruction if the wound
  4. Do not try to restrain the child’s movement or stop the seizure by force, because it can cause a broken bone.
  5. Observe what happens when a child’s seizures, as this can be valuable information for doctors. Wait until the seizure stops, then take the child to the nearest emergency department.
  6. If the child has had a previous febrile seizure, the doctor may provide parents with a seizure drug that can be administered through the rectum. After performing the first aid measures above, the medication may be administered according to the physician’s instructions.

How to prevent febrile seizures?

Prevention of the first febrile seizure is certainly with efforts to lower body temperature when a child has a fever. This can be done by administering a febrifuge, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Avoid drugs with acetylsalicylic acid active ingredients, as they can cause serious side effects in children. Provision of warm (not cold) water compresses on the forehead, armpits, and elbow folds can also help.

Parents should have a thermometer at home and measure the temperature of the child during a fever. Temperature measurements are useful for determining whether a child has a fever and at what temperature a febrile seizure arises.

Long-term treatment is only given to a small proportion of febrile seizures with certain conditions.

Does a febrile seizure make a child fool or suffer from epilepsy later on?

Febrile seizures do not affect the child’s development or intelligence. Usually, febrile seizures will disappear by itself after a child aged 5-6 years. Most children who have experienced febrile seizures will grow and develop normally without any abnormalities. Epilepsy occurs in less than 5 percent of children with febrile seizures, and usually in these children there are other risk factors. Therefore, most children with febrile seizures do not require multiple examinations such as brain recording or electroencephalography (EEG) or CT scans.

When should parents worry?

Not all febrile seizures are febrile seizures. In the event of a seizure accompanied by fever outside the age range of 6 months to 5 years, it is necessary to rule out other causes of seizures, such as epilepsy or inflammation of the brain. If the child’s seizures do not immediately regain consciousness, sleep more, or can not make contact well, the doctor will perform investigations to look for other causes of seizures, especially meningitis or encephalitis. Further evaluation is also needed if the child has a seizure without a fever.

Although it looks scary, generally febrile seizures are harmless, do not damage the brain, do not interfere with the intelligence of children, and will disappear by itself. Thus, the father of the mother should not be too worried if the baby had a febrile seizure.

Source: idai.or.id