Discharge Instructions - Febrile Seizure

As discussed in the Emergency Department prior to discharge, your child has been diagnosed with a febrile seizure.  Seizures are waves of abnormal electrical activity in the brain.  They can make you pass out, or move or behave strangely.  "Febrile" means that the seizure is caused by a fever.  Febrile seizures occur in children ages 3 months to 6 years old.  They often run in families.

To find out if your child has a fever, take his or her temperature.  The most accurate way is to take a rectal temperature.  A rectal temperature higher than 100.4°F (38°C) is a fever.

During a febrile seizure, the child usually passes out and has jerking movements of the arms, legs, or face.  Most febrile seizures last less than 5 minutes. After a seizure, the child might be confused or sleepy for a short time.

Although not as common, some febrile seizures last more than 15 minutes.  After a longer seizure, a child can have short-term weakness in his or her arm or leg.

During a seizure, you should:

    -Put your child on his or her side

    -Not put anything in your child's mouth or try to stop the jerking movements

    -Keep track of how long the seizure lasts – If it lasts more than 5 minutes, call for an ambulance.

If a febrile seizure stops on its own, it does not need to be treated.  If a febrile seizure lasts more than 15 minutes, a doctor might need to use anti-seizure medicines to stop it.

Your child might also get other treatments, such as:

    -Medicines to bring down his or her fever

    -Medicines to treat the infection that is causing the fever (if the fever is caused by an infection)

    -Fluids to treat dehydration (if the infection is causing vomiting or diarrhea)

It's possible. Children who have 1 febrile seizure have a higher chance of having another.  Talk with your doctor or nurse about how to treat any fevers that your child gets in the future.

If your child keeps having febrile seizures, your doctor might prescribe medicine so that you can treat your child's seizures at home.  A febrile seizure does not cause brain damage. It also does not mean that your child will have a life-long seizure condition.

Return to the Emergency Department for a recurrent fever lasting longer than 5 minutes, prolonged confusion or lethargy after an episode of seizure, or any new or concerning symptoms.