Childhood convulsions
Fever. Between 1 and 6 years, the main trigger is fever, hence their name febrile convulsions. This sudden rise in body temperature can occur after vaccination or more often during sore throat or ear infection. It causes ‘brain overheating’ which results in seizures.
An intoxication. Your child may have ingested or swallowed a maintenance product or medication A lack of sugar, sodium or calcium. Hypoglycemia (a significant and abnormal decrease in blood sugar level) in a child with diabetes, a significant drop in sodium caused by dehydration following severe gastroenteritis or, more rarely, hypocalcemia (too low calcium level) Vitamin D deficiency rickets can also cause seizures.
Epilepsy. Sometimes seizures can also be the start of epilepsy. The development of the child, additional examinations as well as the existence of a history of epilepsy in the family guide the diagnosis.
How you should react
Call the emergency. This is an emergency and you should call your doctor or the Samu (15). While waiting for their arrival, lay your child on his side (in the lateral safety position). Keep anything that could hurt him away. Stay by his side, but don’t try anything. No need, for example, to hold his tongue “so that he does not swallow it”.
Lower your fever. When the seizures stop, usually within five minutes, find out and give him Paracetamol or Ibuprofen; prefer suppositories, it is even more effective.
What the doctor will do
Lui manages Valium. It will be used to stop the seizures if they have not already disappeared on their own. In the event of a new attack, he will leave a prescription for you to have at home and he will explain to you under what conditions and how to use it.
Identify the cause of the fever. Objective: to rule out a potentially serious disease such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid). If there is any doubt, he will have the child hospitalized and ask for a lumbar puncture to confirm his diagnosis. (Read our file: “Childhood meningitis: don’t panic!»)
Treat any infection. You may need to treat the infection that caused the fever or the metabolic disorder that caused the seizures. If the seizures are repeated or if the first episode of the seizure was particularly severe, the child will need to take a long-term antiepileptic drug, every day for at least a year, to prevent recurrence.
Your questions
Is it hereditary?
No, of course, but a family history among siblings or parents does represent an additional risk. Thus, a child whose one of the two parents and a brother or a sister has already had febrile convulsions has one in two risk of having one in turn.
Are recurrences frequent?
They occur in 30% of cases on average. Their frequency varies according to the age of the child: the younger the child, the higher the risk of recurrence. But this is nothing to worry about: some children may have several episodes of febrile seizures during their first years without this affecting their general condition and their development.
Can these convulsions leave sequelae?
Rarely. This happens especially when they are a sign of an underlying disease (meningitis, encephalitis or severe epilepsy). They can then cause psychomotor, intellectual or sensory disorders, in particular.