What are spasms at temperature. Causes of febrile seizures in children. Seizures and fever symptoms

Febrile convulsions in children appear due to high temperature - during pneumonia, middle ear pathologies, bronchial diseases, etc. The temperature of a healthy child should be 36.6 degrees. If the temperature is from 37 to 38 degrees - this indicates a condition called subfebrile condition, and above 38 degrees - fever.

Convulsions usually occur when the temperature exceeds 39-40 degrees - this condition is very dangerous for the life and health of the child. Body temperature exceeding 41.5 degrees can lead to damage to the proteins of nerve cells, which can even lead to death. In children, convulsions that appear at a temperature of about 38.5 may develop epilepsy in the future.

According to studies, febrile seizures in children occur in about 3-4% of cases, more often in boys than in girls.

Risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of seizures and relapses are:

• frequent infections in a child;
• the occurrence of febrile seizures among relatives (genetic factors);
• the complex nature of the first convulsions;
• the first attack of convulsions occurred with a slight increase in temperature.

It should be remembered that many other factors affect the increase in body temperature in a child, for example, strong emotions or prolonged crying.

Symptoms of febrile seizures in children

Febrile seizures are divided into simple and complex. Most often in children the first type occurs:

• attacks are short;
• there is numbness and tension of the whole body;
• instant loss of consciousness and contact with the environment;
• profuse salivation or foam in the mouth;
• short-term loss of breath.

As a rule, simple convulsions do not recur a second time in the course of the same illness.

Febrile complex convulsions can occur several times during the same infection, and the seizure lasts up to 15 minutes. At the same time, not the whole body is attacked, but only, for example, one limb or half of the body. In this case, a more accurate diagnosis should be carried out in the child, since this disorder may be the pathogenesis of epilepsy.

What to do with febrile seizures in a child

In the event of an attack of febrile convulsions, you should not panic. Whether this type is simple or complex, you need to remain calm. The child should be laid on a flat, soft surface - best on a carpet or bed. To prevent aspiration, the child's head should be placed on its side and preferably below the torso. During an attack, you should not put anything in your mouth, do not give any medicines or drinks. You also should not restrict or strongly restrain the child's torso - this can lead to relaxation of the sphincter and, therefore, urinary or fecal incontinence.

If a convulsive attack lasts more than 5 minutes, an ambulance should be called.

Attacks can be accompanied by vomiting, in this regard, it is important not to let the child choke on the contents of the stomach. After the attack stops, the child will be sleepy, he may not understand what is happening to him, so it is necessary to provide him with peace and rest.

In the event of an attack for the first time, you should immediately consult a doctor.

To reduce the risk of recurrence of seizures in the future, if a high temperature occurs, you should immediately lower it - it is necessary to introduce antipyretic drugs as soon as possible (best in the form of suppositories); lower body temperature with cold compresses or bathing in cool water (two degrees below the child's body temperature). The child should be dressed lightly, and in case of heavy sweating, it is better to remove the clothes. As follows from the studies conducted, febrile convulsions do not have any reflection in the future on the intellectual or physical health of the child.

Diagnosis of febrile seizures

In the event of complex febrile seizures and the first convulsive episode, it is necessary to conduct a full diagnosis to exclude concomitant diseases that could provoke convulsions. Consultations are best done by a neurologist. No later than 48 hours after the attack, an EEG study should be performed, which is aimed at diagnosing the functioning of the brain.

The study consists in applying a special cap with electrodes to the child's head, thanks to which the brain waves are read and recorded. An EEG study is usually performed at night, during sleep. Based on the results of this study, it can be determined whether the seizure was caused only by a high temperature, or whether it is the result of another disease. If the occurrence of seizures is not associated with meningitis, and the child's condition improves after seizures, hospitalization in the hospital is not required.

In the event of complex seizures, it is necessary to carry out medical intervention as soon as possible, as well as to do tests:

1. common and ;
2. analysis to determine the level of electrolytes, glucose, ammonia and other biochemical markers.

Also, sometimes a lumbar puncture (bone marrow sampling) is required for a deeper diagnosis. In addition, a CT scan or MRI may be ordered.

Prevention of febrile seizures

Unfortunately, once a child has had a first attack, the risk of another is increased. There is no effective therapy that can eliminate seizures, but they can be prevented to some extent. In the event of a high temperature, care should be taken immediately to lower it immediately. In addition, in order to prevent the development of infectious diseases, which are characterized by the occurrence of high fever, it is necessary to complete all prescribed vaccinations.

A child with risk factors should avoid contact with sick family members. If a child shows a tendency to convulsions during a fever, it is necessary to protect him from infections. In infancy, breastfeeding is the best protection. In later life, a healthy and balanced diet that strengthens the immune system is effective.

Convulsions in children against the background of high temperature is a fairly common phenomenon. Many parents at these moments are lost and do not know: what is the right thing to do? Meanwhile, the main thing in such cases is to try to gather strength and help the child survive the attack. What actions to take during seizures, we will tell in our article.

The main causes of seizures in children at a temperature

Almost all viral infections occur in children, accompanied by high fever. Sometimes no means help bring it down, a fever begins, and against its background - convulsions.

Doctors are not yet ready to give an answer : what is the root cause of this phenomenon . There is evidence that one of the factors is the not fully matured nervous structures of the child, they inhibit the central nervous system, which is why the condition in question arises.

Among the causes that provoke convulsions, the following are distinguished:

1. Harmful effects on the fetus in the process of bearing a child.
2. Traumatic brain injury.
3. body intoxication.
4. . Such convulsions are called febrile. They can occur if the child is sick, teething, and even after DPT vaccination.
5. hereditary predisposition.

But in children 5-6 years old, the presence of seizures can be a symptom of a serious disease of the nervous system: by this age it should become more stable. So for the parents of such children, convulsions are an occasion for an immediate appeal to an experienced neurologist.

What do convulsions look like in a baby with a temperature?

An attack of convulsions against the background of heat can be different, although the main symptom is a complete loss of communication with the outside world: children stop hearing, seeing, reacting to the actions and words of dad and mom. The screaming stops, breathing slows down, and the child may even turn blue.

Other symptoms include:

• Clenched teeth.
• Stops breathing (apnea).
• Foam appears on the lips.
• There is a temporary loss of memory.

Treatment for seizures is prescribed only by a doctor, based on the overall clinical picture of the course of seizures.

Types of seizures in children at a temperature and their features

Doctors distinguish several types of seizures, depending on the nature of the external signs:

To establish exactly what type of seizures are, the following examinations help:

• CT scan.
• General analysis of blood and urine.
• Lumbar puncture that rules out (or confirms) encephalitis or meningitis.
• Electroencephalogram EEG - excluding (or confirming) epilepsy.

What to do if a child has convulsions at a temperature? First aid

Undoubtedly, convulsions against the background of temperature are not a phenomenon for the faint of heart. But panic in these cases is far from the best helper. It is important to calm down and focus on providing first aid to a sick baby.

What action to take first:

• Lay the child down on a flat, smooth surface . The child should lie sideways, and his head should be directed down. This measure is aimed at completely eliminating the risk of mucous secretions entering the child's respiratory tract.
• Listen to the breath . As soon as it seems to you that the child has stopped breathing, do artificial respiration.
• Provide fresh air to the room . The air temperature in the room should not exceed 21 degrees.
• Don't walk away baby until the attack is over.
• Bring down the temperature in all possible ways : wiping with water or vinegar, antipyretic candles, for example, "Cefekon" or "Panadol". Remember that it is impossible to give medicine to a child during an attack: he can choke on it.

In no case do not try to open the child's mouth, and even more so - to put a foreign object there. He might choke.

• Write down the entire clinical picture in detail - from the onset of the disease to the onset of seizures. Be sure to indicate all the details - how the attack went (with or without foam, the presence or absence of enuresis, respiratory arrest or trembling in the limbs) - then this data will need to be shown to the attending physician and the ambulance team.

Usually, convulsions against the background of temperature last from a few seconds to 15 minutes, after which the attack ends. But in any case, if a child has convulsions against the background of a temperature, it is better to play it safe and immediately call an ambulance.

emergency measures

If the convulsions last more than 15 minutes, ambulance doctors usually give the child intravenous injections with anticonvulsants. Usually these are drugs such as "Phenytoin" or valporic acid.

Remember, if an attack of convulsions has begun, then it is impossible to stop it - you can only let it pass on its own. Convulsions should not be taken as a distress signal: according to doctors, the condition under consideration against the background of fever occurs in every 20th child. At the same time, for most of them, they pass without a trace and do not harm health.

And if you encounter this phenomenon all the time, if your child is already over 6 years old, but the convulsions continue, it makes sense to be examined by a neurologist to exclude the possibility of serious disorders in the functioning of the nervous system. Health to you and your children!

Some children have a special reaction to fever - convulsions. Unprepared parents who find themselves in a similar situation may become confused and even panic. Why does a child have convulsions and how to act in critical circumstances? We will look at the causes of spasms in a baby and give step-by-step instructions for moms and dads who had to deal with this phenomenon.

Some children react to high temperatures with seizures.

Causes of seizures

Experts to this day have not been able to give an exact answer to the question of what is the cause of spasms. One of the hypothesized factors is the imperfection of the nervous system, the other is a genetic predisposition. According to some studies, seizures are more common in children whose parents showed similar symptoms in infancy. Also at risk are babies in whom one of the relatives suffers from epileptic seizures.

A decrease in calcium levels in the blood can also lead to spasms. In this case, accompanying phenomena are also possible - apnea, bloating. A good doctor, after conducting a series of tests, will be able to immediately suspect a lack of calcium in the blood of a small patient. To confirm the diagnosis, you will need to do a blood test.

Seizures in newborns

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Separately, it is worth mentioning such a phenomenon as convulsions in newborns. They do not necessarily occur as a reaction to a fever:

• Spasms on the background of birth trauma may indicate hypoxic damage to brain tissue. Such convulsions develop in the first eight hours of a newborn's life.
• Hypoglycemic spasms. They can occur against the background of a low level of glucose in the blood of an infant. As a rule, this phenomenon can be observed in the first 48 hours after the birth of the baby.
• withdrawal syndrome. Mothers who took alcohol or drugs during pregnancy have children who are accustomed to regular doses of the drug. After the birth, the baby stops receiving the toxin, which can cause him to “break”.

There are other causes of seizures in newborns. However, they are most often the result of serious diseases that are diagnosed during pregnancy or at the time of the birth of the baby.

Symptoms: general and individual

Each child may experience seizures differently, but there are common points for everyone. As a rule, febrile seizures have standard features:

• during spasms, the baby does not respond to external stimuli;
• convulsions can provoke a discoloration of the skin - pallor or even a slight bluing is possible;
• most often, muscle spasms last 5 to 15 minutes.

However, in reality, seizures can look different in each case. Often they have a different character:

• Tonic - the child stretches out to the string, throws back his head, the whole body twitches. These seizures are more common. As a rule, in this case, the child stretches his legs, presses his hands to his chest, throws his head back. The twitches are fading in nature and gradually disappear.
• Atonic - in this case, all muscles relax, even the sphincter. In addition, the baby may urinate. This type of seizure is much less common.
• Local - the muscles of the limbs tense and twitch, or only one part of the body.

Diagnosis and consequences

Experts believe that febrile convulsions in children under six years of age will not affect their health in the future. Most often, the child outgrows this nuisance and by the school age already tolerates high temperatures without any problems. According to neurologists, the children's brain has a high potential and quickly recovers from oxygen starvation, which provokes convulsions.

However, convulsions can transform into epilepsy, which happens only in two cases out of a hundred. It is imperative that a child prone to convulsions be seen by a neurologist. The doctor will give recommendations to parents and help stop the development of undesirable consequences. Moreover, even if the doctor is sure that febrile convulsions are taking place, it is better if the child undergoes a series of examinations. It usually includes:

• a general blood test, for calcium and glucose;
• general urinalysis;
• computed tomography of the brain;
• analysis of feces for worm eggs.

Sometimes additional examinations are required - electroencephalography of the brain or specific tests. Also, the pediatrician may recommend consulting a vascular surgeon. All this will give a complete picture of the disease and help the doctor exclude the possibility of any serious disorders.

What should be feared?

Convulsions due to fever are most likely febrile and do not require treatment. There are other, not so harmless causes of convulsions during a fever:

• Infections that affect the brain - such as tetanus. Today, this disease is very rare, since most children are vaccinated.
• Drug poisoning. If a child has swallowed something from a home medicine cabinet - antidepressants or antipsychotics, the medicine may well give out a similar reaction.
• Poisoning by mushrooms or plants.
• Dehydration due to prolonged diarrhea, vomiting.

If convulsions occur without being accompanied by a high temperature, there is a possibility that epilepsy is manifested in this way (see also:). This disease has several forms and is not always diagnosed during the initial examination. Epilepsy attacks can be short-term, during which the baby's gaze stops and movement is inhibited. In other cases, the attack is accompanied by convulsions, foam at the mouth, and even swallowing of the tongue. People with epilepsy are under the care of a doctor. To reduce the number of seizures, they must take special medications.

How can you tell a febrile seizure from an epileptic seizure? For a number of reasons, this is quite difficult to do when it comes to a preschooler. However, there are several signs that may indicate the presence of epilepsy. Recall that the listed features are not the only and sufficient condition for making a diagnosis:

• stereotyping - seizures are associated with a certain time of day, they are the same in duration;
• the child may urinate during an attack;
• after the seizure, the baby falls asleep.

How to help?

As soon as the parents have determined that the child has started febrile convulsions, you need to act immediately. The right decision is to call an ambulance. However, until the doctor is nearby, it is important not to aggravate the situation. You won’t be able to stop the process, but parents are quite capable of trying to avoid the consequences:

• It is necessary that the baby lies on his back on something hard, and not on a soft feather bed. Make sure that the head is in line with the body, and a folded blanket lies under the neck.
• Try to cool the patient in order to bring down the temperature a little (more in the article:). Open a window or window, unbutton the clothes around the baby's neck and chest.
• Control breathing - if the baby holds his breath and exhale, artificial respiration is allowed, but only after an attack.
• Make sure that the child does not choke on vomit. If the baby has a gag reflex, it is worth turning it on its side.
• Remove toys and other objects that the child can catch on and get hurt.

As a rule, after five minutes (sometimes a little more), the spasms stop and the child comes to his senses. Now you can bring down the temperature with the help of medicines so that the convulsions do not recur. You can give an antipyretic syrup or use suppositories.

What can not be done?

Under no circumstances should you panic. Mom should act calmly and deliberately. It should be understood that convulsions at a temperature are a fairly common phenomenon, the doctor will quickly provide the child with the necessary assistance. The main thing is to wait for the doctor and make sure that the child is in the correct position. Do not make unnecessary noise, and also turn on bright lights. It is also not necessary to transfer the patient, it is better to try to arrange a comfortable place where he was caught by a seizure.

You can not try to open the baby's teeth with a spoon or other object, and also try to immobilize him. Some parents try to pour medicine into their mouths to bring down the temperature - this is strictly prohibited. The child may choke on the liquid. In this situation, it is recommended to use rectal suppositories to lower the temperature. In this case, it is still better to wait for the end of convulsions and only after that give medication.

Prevention of seizures

It is difficult to avoid a repetition of the situation when the baby has febrile convulsions. There is a high probability that such a nuisance will not happen again. Usually, only one in three children have seizures again, but some have to put up with them. You can only try to avoid too high a temperature by knocking it down in time. It is even better to act in a complex way - to strengthen the child's immunity so that he gets sick as little as possible, and his body easily copes with all kinds of respiratory infections.

Febrile seizures (FS) are seizures that occur in children under the age of 5 years in response to a rise in body temperature above 39 C.

FS account for up to 85% of all convulsive syndromes observed in children. More than half of all seizures occur during the second year of a child's life, most often between the ages of 18 and 22 months. Boys are affected 4 times more often than girls. A genetic study of families with children with febrile convulsions has proved the possibility of inheriting a predisposition not only to FS, but also increased sensitivity to acute infections accompanied by fever.

Why is a prolonged rise in temperature dangerous for the brain of a child?

The level of products of lipid peroxidation increases in a child, microcirculation is disturbed. Hyperthermia of the brain is accompanied by edema. In the child's brain, the connections between the cells responsible for the constancy of body temperature are still being established. With the underdevelopment of the inhibitory systems and impaired microcirculation, hyperexcitability occurs, leading to paroxysmal excitations and the appearance of convulsions. Heat production and heat transfer are two important physiological mechanisms for maintaining temperature in the optimal range for the body. But it is precisely these mechanisms in a child that are immature and cannot stop the growing fever.

For the reasons described above, convulsions often occur with white fevers (the arms and legs of the child are cold, chills are pronounced).

FS seizures are divided into 2 types: simple febrile seizures (which generally last no more than 15 minutes and do not recur within 24 hours) and complex febrile seizures (long-term, recurring several times within 24 hours). Complex FS may indicate a more serious nature of the disease. Febrile status epilepticus is a serious type of complex febrile convulsions, consisting of one or a series of seizures without intermediate recovery, lasting at least 30 minutes. Such conditions require a serious neurological examination of the child.

Another cause of febrile seizures is viral diseases. According to the latest data, the influence of the herpes simplex virus type 6 (causes herpetic sore throat, roseola), the influenza virus, the causative agent of dysentery and rubella on the development of febrile convulsions has been confirmed.

Case-control studies indicate that iron and zinc deficiencies may also be risk factors for febrile seizures.

Every child with febrile seizures should be examined.

CHILD EXAMINATION:

1- Determine the cause of the fever. Parents are asked if anyone in the family had febrile convulsions in childhood, how the child endured a high temperature before, the immunization schedule, whether antibiotics were recently used, how and how long the FS were.

2- General clinical examinations (clinical analysis of blood, urine). According to indications, the doctor may prescribe blood glucose, acid-base balance, examination for certain infections.

3- Doppler neurosonography is not included in the mandatory study, but may be recommended for young children who have not yet closed a large fontanel.

3- If meningitis or other intracranial infections are suspected, a lumbar puncture is performed

4- Electroencephalography is indicated for recurrent FS, complex FS seizures, or febrile status epilepticus.

5- Neuroimaging (CT or MRI) is carried out only under strict medical indications.

PREVENTION OF FEBRIL CONVERSIONS

“The committee decided that simple febrile seizures are benign and common in children aged 6 to 60 months. Almost all children have an excellent prognosis. The Committee concluded that although there is some evidence that continuous antiepileptic therapy with phenobarbital, primidone, valproic acid, or intermittent diazepam therapy is effective in reducing the risk of relapse, the potential toxic side effects of these drugs outweigh the relatively small risks associated with simple febrile seizures. Thus, long-term therapy is not recommended. In situations where parental anxiety associated with febrile seizures is significant, intermittent use of diazepam may be recommended to prevent relapse at the onset of a disease that occurs with fever. Taking prophylactic antipyretics may improve a child's comfort, but they do not prevent febrile seizures."

***IT IS INTERESTING***

EPILEPSY OF "HOT WATER"

A case of epileptic seizures while washing hair with hot water was first described in New Zealand in 1945.

Sick people, when washing their hair with hot water at a temperature of 45-50 ° C, experience an aura, hallucinations, which can result in convulsions with loss of consciousness (men are 2-2.5 times more likely than women). The brain temperature was measured as close as possible to the patients by inserting a special electrothermometer inside the auditory canal close to the tympanic membrane. It turned out that in patients, the temperature at the beginning of washing their hair increased very quickly (every 2 minutes by 2-3 ° C) and very slowly decreased after washing was stopped, while in healthy volunteers, the temperature returned to normal almost instantly after the process was stopped.

The true cause of the disease was revealed by twin studies and family analysis data. It turned out that in India, up to 23% of all cases of "hot water epilepsy" recurred in the following generations. In southern India, traditions of closely related marriages have been preserved, which, apparently, can explain such a high percentage of patients.

Convulsions in a child with a high temperature occur suddenly, confuse parents. This is a dangerous complication that requires a quick response, correct elimination of the cause and consequences. The article discusses the main signs of convulsions and the rules for providing first aid at home.

The mechanism of development of seizures

According to pediatrician statistics, the appearance of convulsive syndrome occurs in 5% of babies under the age of 6 years. This is a frequent occurrence with an increase in body temperature above 38.5–39 °. It develops rapidly, requires the help of a specialist. The problem may appear against the background of the flu, a cold, or a prophylactic vaccination. This condition is called "febrile convulsions". Related video from Dr. Komarovsky:

The reason for the appearance of a dangerous condition is hidden in hyperthermia. With an increase in body temperature, the blood and lymph that bathes the cerebral cortex gradually heats up. Nerve impulses stop working smoothly, starting to send erroneous signals to the limbs and internal organs. As a result, short-term convulsions occur, which in most cases pass after a few minutes.

Recent studies have shown that babies from 6 months to 6 years old have a special hormone in their brain cells. Under certain circumstances, it lowers the convulsive threshold, removing the obstacle to the appearance of convulsive muscle contractions. In adult patients, such substances are not observed.

Causes of the convulsive syndrome

Despite the prevalence of complications, doctors still do not have a consensus on what causes a convulsive state in children:

Imperfect development of the nervous system in preschool children, uncoordinated work of axons, spinal cord and brain.

Some types of bacteria and viruses that affect the fibers of the nervous tissue during an exacerbation of influenza, diphtheria, rubella, roseola rosea.

Rickets or a critical decrease in the level of calcium in the bones of a child.

Individual reaction to multicomponent vaccines (DTP, MMR, Pentaxim).

Dehydration of soft tissues with prolonged diarrhea, severe vomiting.

Convulsions from high temperature in 30% of cases are transmitted at the genetic level. When collecting an anamnesis, it is revealed that in infancy such problems were observed in one of the parents, close relatives of the crumbs. Each situation must be carefully studied: if you get a cold or flu, it will recur in 50% of children.

Types of seizures

Febrile convulsions are muscle spasms that do not actually affect the further functioning of the brain and all vital systems. They are distinguished from the more dangerous epilepsy by the occurrence only against the background of high temperature and a feverish state. Sometimes the inflammation develops quickly or at night, so it is difficult for parents to determine the cause of the fever. How seizures manifest in babies depends on their type:

Simple. Lasts several minutes, affects almost the entire body, arms and legs. During the next day they are not fixed.

Complex. The problem repeats an unlimited number of times per day. They last at least 15 minutes, affect the upper or lower limbs in turn.

In the second case, the cause of seizures may be hiding in the appearance of fever against the background of viral encephalitis, meningitis. That's why in case of repeated convulsions, an ambulance should be called immediately, take the baby to the hospital for examination and constant monitoring.

Risk factors

Doctors are constantly studying the problem, looking at predisposing causes. This helped to identify several groups of children most susceptible to pathology. Main risk factors:

cerebral palsy;

reduced immunity.

It has been noted that exacerbation is more common in babies who have birth injuries, were born with low body weight during premature birth. They have a long time, increased excitability and irritability. With prevention and taking sedatives for school, the child is able to outgrow the problems without health consequences.

Symptoms

The most dangerous period for the appearance of seizures is the first day of fever, which is accompanied by high body temperature. This is an acute time of the course of the infection, when the drugs do not cope well with the normalization of the condition. Therefore, parents should always be present next to the baby, carefully monitor the well-being.

If the baby is at risk, adults should be able to recognize seizures in a timely manner:

unconsciousness or sudden loss of consciousness;

a cramp binds the limbs, does not allow to straighten the leg or arm;

the body arches, the head throws back;

the skin becomes pale;

the zone of the nasolabial triangle becomes blue;

reduces the jaw;

eyes are closed or roll up.

In children with light skin type, blood vessels may show through from excessive overexertion, dark circles appear around the eyes. Often the attack is accompanied by urination, intermittent and very noisy breathing. This state lasts from 1 to 15 minutes. The child may scream hysterically from fright or remain silent, resembling a sleeping person. In a difficult situation, he stops responding to the voices of his parents and other irritants.

Gradually, the attack recedes, the symptoms of muscle paresis become less pronounced. The convulsions practically stop, the body becomes limp, the natural pink shade returns to the skin. After convulsions, the child becomes lethargic, he is drawn to sleep, he refuses to communicate, play, eat. At the same time, the reaction to stimuli is standard, breathing is calm and even.

Doctors divide convulsions at elevated temperatures into several types:

Tonic. The tone of smooth muscles begins, in which the body resembles an elongated string, it is very tense. Hands spontaneously pull up to the chest, shudder or shake a little.

Atonic. The baby seems to go limp, all parts of the body are so relaxed that it is impossible to clench the fist, bend the arm and leg.

Local or focal. Convulsive twitches are noted only in the upper or lower part of the body, affecting one limb.

Convulsions of tonic type are diagnosed in the vast majority of cases. It is more difficult to figure out what the signs of focal convulsions look like: sometimes it's just increased blinking, involuntary movements of the lips or fingers. If adults miss these dangerous symptoms, a massive attack begins after a few hours.

First aid if the child has convulsions at a high temperature

Often the first convulsions occur during sleep, so the child wakes up anxious, and it is difficult for parents to understand the cause of anxiety. Doctors recommend trying to remain calm, immediately call a team of specialists, explaining the situation.

First aid to the baby is provided according to a certain algorithm:

It is better to leave the baby on a bed or a hard surface, put a folded towel under his head.

Unbutton or take off your pajamas, T-shirt, open the window to provide fresh and cool air.

Remove any objects around the child that can injure or scratch: toys, dishes, books.

Turn the baby on its side so that saliva or vomit does not get into the larynx. Otherwise, the risk of reflux of stomach contents into the respiratory tract increases significantly.

First aid when a complication occurs is not an attempt to stop the attack. It is aimed at ensuring safety so that an unconscious child does not injure himself, does not suffocate with saliva. Important points that adults should remember, despite the excitement and the presence of panic:

Be sure to monitor the frequency of breathing, movements of the chest. In the event of a stop, resuscitation measures are immediately carried out, an indirect heart massage is performed.

It is necessary to record on the clock how many minutes the convulsions last.

Carefully monitor the child's condition during an attack: monitor reactions to stimuli, voices, light, which parts of the body are involved in paresis, whether the spasm causes pain.

All collected information should be subsequently discussed with a pediatrician or neurologist. Febrile seizures themselves for 99% of children do not pose a serious danger, but may mean that there is a risk of developing epilepsy, problems of brain functionality. Sometimes this helps to suggest a diagnosis in a timely manner, to start preventive treatment.

Another useful video about convulsions from Komarovsky:

With convulsions at night, the parents get lost, making many wrong movements. During an attack, it is not recommended to carry out the following manipulations:

Try to shake or wake the baby.

Unclench your teeth forcibly with a spoon or other object.

Pour water into the mouth of an unconscious baby, medicine for fever.

Light up a bright light

Further recommendations on what to do to prevent a new attack are given by the doctor. In most cases, the child is taken to the hospital for observation, drugs are selected to reduce the temperature. A neurologist may prescribe a sedative to reduce irritability. Treatment consists in the simultaneous administration of drugs based on ibuprofen (paracetamol) and Diazepam.

Prevention

Doctors explain that it is almost impossible to prevent seizures, especially with a genetic predisposition or birth trauma. But parents can reduce the risk of seizures by following a few rules:

The attack often begins in a dream, therefore, at a high temperature, it is necessary to constantly be nearby, to monitor breathing.

Regularly measure the temperature, be sure to use antipyretic drugs with an increase in indicators above 38 °.

Do not use folk methods that can increase blood circulation and fever (mustard plasters, banks, attempts to soar legs or lubricate the chest with fat).

The only prevention is the attention of adults surrounding the child. In most cases, the prognosis for children who have had a dangerous condition is favorable. But on the recommendation of a doctor, some babies will have to undergo a comprehensive examination, which includes electroencephalography, a blood test for calcium levels, and a CT scan of the brain.