Febrile Seizures

Of all things to end our spring break. Everyone had been sick, but as
we were checking into our hotel before reaching home the next day, our
18 month old started seizing in the car. I knew he had a fever, but I
try not to overreact to childhood illnesses or other events so I didn't
even have tylenol with me, let alone a thermometer. Anyway, the seizure
stopped, but the insurance nurse wanted us to get him checked by the
emergency room. They suggested that we piggy back tylenol and ibuprofen
in large doses around the clock until the fever was down. They found an
ear infection as well. So we went home with a lot of medication for the
little boy. Waking a baby that age up in the middle of the night and
trying to get medicine into him was no picnic.

Two things:
For those of you that have had children with febrile seizures: What is
in your "kit"? I started carrying a thermometer in my purse
immediately. He ran 102.2 a few days later and I realized I didn't have
tylenol in my purse. Fortunately, I was able to divide a tylenol tablet
to get the proper dose. I gave it to him with a chocolate cookie.

For everyone, a carseat is a very safe place for a child to have a
seizure. My husband did not remove him immediately from the carseat so
that he could keep a type tab on our two daughters while he was waiting
for me to come back to the car. Also, in the event of a fever induced
seizure, there is a goal to cool the baby down quickly. A bath is a
good first step, but DO NOT use cold water as it can put them in shock.
I still cannot recall the temperature of the bath water that we put him
in, but I was surprised to find out that a cold bath may be dangerous.

All's well that ends well.
Karen

In article ,
Karen G wrote:
Of all things to end our spring break. Everyone had been sick, but as
we were checking into our hotel before reaching home the next day, our
18 month old started seizing in the car.

Ack, how scary!

Two things:
For those of you that have had children with febrile seizures: What is
in your "kit"?

We've been lucky never to experience febrile seizures, but I carry:
liquid tylenol and/or motrin, a few chewable benadryl tablets (useful
for bee stings or in case of any bizarre allergic reaction), bandaids,
a tiny tube of triple-antibiotic ointment, and tiny splinter tweezers.
This all fits into a very small "first aid" pouch and has covered us
for all sorts of issues.

Your ped may be able to give you a small sample size package of
tylenol or ibuprofen that is suitable for keeping on hand for
emergencies. Now that some of my kids are bigger and require
larger doses, I carry some chewable tylenol too. Even absent
high fevers, sometimes a child will be in pain for whatever
reason, and having tylenol or ibuprofen on hand seems to come
in handy often enough to warrant carrying it.


All's well that ends well.

Glad it all turned out well!

Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)
--
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to
work hard at work worth doing." -- Theodore Roosevelt

wrote:
Karen G wrote:
Of all things to end our spring break. Everyone had been sick, but as
we were checking into our hotel before reaching home the next day, our
18 month old started seizing in the car.

Ack, how scary!

No kidding -- for you and for your child!

Two things:
For those of you that have had children with febrile seizures: What is
in your "kit"?

I don't have a kid with seizures either, but I have one who has migraines,
pretty severe allergy reactions and a history of hives. We always carry a lot
of ibuprofin and benedryl. We have found that liquigels do indeed work faster
than tablets or caplets (a rare incidence where the hype seems to be at least
partly true). We have these two things everywhere -- in both glove
compartments, in my purse, in DH's briefcase and golf bag, in most jacket
pockets, etc. We learned these hiding places from back in the day when Henry
was lactose intolerant.

In my purse I also carry one of his heavy-duty migraine pills (they knock him
out, he rarely needs them) and one full does of all prescription drugs for all
family members. I also carry a spare of Henry's prescription nasal spray and
prescription eye drops as well as more bendryl for me (I tend to get heat rash
fairly easily, usually in my feet -- and it can turn me into a raving lunatic
in minutes).

All close family friends (places we tend to frequent, places Henry might be
without us) also have a supply of the preferred type of ibuprofin and bendryl.

I think your Dr. is the best person to advise you on actual meds, but we
parents are experts on where to stash 'em so that you can be reasonably sure
you have them when you need them.

So sorry about your vacation!

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 11