My Toddler had a Febrile (Fever-Induced) Seizure...Have You Experienced This?

By Alison Beaver May 15, 2008 - 1:10pm

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My toddler stopped breathing last night, his lips turned blue, he was shaking and his eyes rolled back into his head. It was the scariest 60 seconds of my life.

I called 911, as my husband ran my limp son into the living room. It took 20 RINGS for anyone to pick up the phone!

Within minutes, the paramedics and then EMT were at our house. By this time, our son was smiling and waiving at everyone. He thought it was funny that there were so many people (8 of us) in his tiny nursery.

After a SIX HOUR wait at the Emergency Room to see a doctor, we were told he had a febrile seizure. Common in toddlers who have a fever. The day before, my son had a temperature of 103 degrees. I gave him Tylenol as instructed, and the fever went down. I didn't realize that fevers can spike quickly.

I've found some great information on the Mayo Clinic website for Febrile Seizures. There is no long-term damage associated with them, when they last less than 10 minutes. (10 minutes?! Are you kidding?! I thought ONE minute was a lifetime!).

Here's the information I found on Febrile Seizures. It is very helpful. I'd love to hear from others who have experienced this extremely frightening condition!!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/febrile-seizure/DS00346

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Tina Tran

I really can't imagine, Alison. A friend of ours experienced the very same issue with her one-year-old daughter about six weeks ago. Her daughter's lips turned blue and her eyes rolled up in her head. My friend said while she was on the phone with 911, her husband gave her daughter mouth-to-mouth. After a trip to the emergency room, doctors said the cause of the seizure was an infection (which caused her temperature to spike) Needless to say, my friend had a difficult time heading to work for the next few days and lost a lot of sleep. I will definitely pass the Mayo information along to her. It may ease her mind a bit.

May 15, 2008 - 1:39pm

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AMOTHEROF2 (reply to Tina Tran)

My 3 year old nephew had this a few days ago. OMG! How scary it was for my sister and her husband and for the rest of our family! We had no idea that this even existed and now we’re are all afraid. I’m constantly watching him when I’m there. I just pray to god there’s not a next time. I will say always call 911 and always demand blood work as the doctors did not do any on my nephew which makes me mad! Demand all test just to be 100%!

August 24, 2010 - 4:44pm