A child’s fever is headache enough, but who knows that the fever process and suddenly convulsions, eyes rolled up, teeth closed, the symptoms look so much like epilepsy! What is going on when a child has a fever and convulsions?
A. Why does a baby convulse with fever?
Fever is arguably the most common sign of a baby. According to statistics, children who go to the hospital with fever generally account for 10%-15% of children’s outpatient visits, and many of them are admitted to the hospital in an emergency because of fever and convulsions.
There are many reasons for children’s convulsions, including febrile convulsions, epilepsy, electrolyte disorders, etc. Among them, febrile convulsions are the most common cause of children’s convulsions.
What is febrile convulsion?
Febrile Seizure, also known as “convulsion”, does not simply mean “convulsion” (twitching) when “fever” occurs.
A febrile convulsion is a condition that occurs in infancy (often between the ages of 3 months and 6 years) when a sudden rise in body temperature causes abnormal firing activity in the brain, resulting in a generalized muscle spasm. Moreover, febrile convulsions can only be diagnosed after intracranial infection or other definite causes have been excluded.
If you have had convulsions without fever before, you cannot be diagnosed with febrile convulsions.
Is there a relationship between febrile convulsions and epilepsy?
Although the symptoms of febrile convulsions and epilepsy are similar, they are not the same disease.
Febrile convulsions can be divided into simple and complex types. Simple febrile convulsions are most often seen in children 6 months to 3 years of age and tend to occur within 24 hours of fever. The duration of the convulsion is usually less than 5 minutes and does not recur within 24 hours. After a convulsion, the child has a normal EEG and normal physical and mental development.
Most children who have febrile convulsions are simple and generally have a good prognosis with few sequelae. The chance of seizures decreases with age.
Convulsions can really turn into epilepsy, but the probability is very low. Complex febrile convulsions can occur in children younger than 6 months or older than 6 years of age, may occur with a low-grade fever <38°C, have seizures lasting more than 15 minutes, have 2 or more seizures within 24 hours, and recur more than 5 times. Complex febrile convulsions may partially turn into epilepsy and may require long-term treatment. Febrile convulsions that are repeated or last too long may cause damage to the brain and leave sequelae.
However, parents do not need to be overly stressed because the chance of febrile convulsions turning into epilepsy is low. Studies have found that only 2-10% of children with febrile convulsions evolve into epilepsy. With careful parental care and regular treatment by doctors, most babies will not have sequelae after febrile convulsions.
When you see this, moms and dads may have questions: Do all babies have febrile convulsions? Of course not.
Studies have shown that about 2-8% of the population will have one or more febrile convulsions during infancy and early childhood. So which babies are prone to febrile convulsions? At present, there are mainly the following cases.
1, genetic factors: about 33.7% of the affected children have a family history, and research has also confirmed the genetic location, in other words, the mother and father had febrile convulsions as a child, the child often may also occur febrile convulsions;
2, delayed development of the nervous system: the child’s brain development is immature, too sensitive to the response to hyperthermia, easy to cause convulsive seizures;
3, the immune system function is low: research found that children with febrile convulsions have low immunoglobulin.
What should I do if my baby accidentally has febrile convulsions? Mom and dad should not be too alarmed, try to stay calm and follow the following steps.
1. Lay the baby flat on the bed or a flat place to prevent falling or bruising;
2.Turn his head to the side to promote the discharge of saliva or vomit;
3, do not put anything into his mouth, because there is very little tongue bite;
4. Do not pinch or force a straight bent limb, as this will not end the seizure and will only increase the damage;
5, timely access to the hospital. Most children have short seizures, usually no more than 10-15 minutes, if the seizure continues, you should go to the hospital in a timely manner.
To prevent recurrence, it is important to know these.
After the first occurrence of febrile convulsions occur, 30-40% of babies are likely to have another seizure, 75% of babies have another seizure within 1 year and 90% within 2 years. So do a good job of prevention and control to prevent another seizure is what parents have to do.
1. Strengthen nutrition and do more outdoor activities
Cold is the most common cause of fever in babies, so it is necessary to strengthen nutrition, regular outdoor activities to strengthen the body and improve resistance, in addition to avoid catching cold, less crowded areas, etc.
2.When the body temperature reaches 38℃, you should actively reduce the fever
The methods of fever reduction include physical fever reduction and drug fever reduction. Mom and dad should not wait for the temperature to reach 39 ℃ or already convulsions before remembering to reduce fever.
3, there are 2 febrile convulsions, or a convulsion lasts more than 15 minutes, hurry to use drugs
Children with two febrile convulsions, or a single convulsion lasting >15 minutes can take a short course of intermittent medication, that is, the use of anticonvulsant drugs when the body temperature exceeds 37.5 ℃, the body temperature is normal after the discontinuation of drugs.
4, long-term use of anticonvulsant drugs, more than 2 years after the cessation of convulsive seizures and then slowly reduce the amount of drug discontinuation
This method is mainly suitable for babies with the following conditions: the use of short intermittent medication is ineffective; ≥ 4 times history of febrile convulsions; ≥ 2 times history of hypothermic convulsions <38℃; no history of febrile convulsions; single convulsion duration >15 minutes or persistent status; epilepsy risk factors, such as a family history of epilepsy, intracranial infection, etc.