My Toddler had a Febrile (Fever-Induced) Seizure...Have You Experienced This?
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!!
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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.
I know of two people who had this happen to them. Similar stories to your. Very scary! I am so glad he is doing better now.
I'm so happy to hear your son came out of the seizure! Our older son had a number of high fevers when he was a toddler, that came on without warning, and we made a few trips to the emergency room to have him iced down. To this day, even though he had a few repeats during adolescence, we still don't know what triggered the spikes.
It's very scary when your child is going through something traumatic and you feel totally helpless. That helpless feeling doesn't go away any time soon, either!
I hope all in your family are resting well, now.
How frightening. I am so glad to read he is ok now. As a parent of toddlers, I would have been frozen with fear. And 20 rings for 911? Unacceptable.
I was unaware that these seizures could be caused by a spike in fevers with children. I'm glad I read this. I hope none of my kids ever experience this but it's good to have in the back of my mind.
I hope all is well again!
I experienced this a few times, according to my parents, when I was younger. I've always been a "fainter" whenever I'm sick with a nasty virus or have a high fever, even as an adult. But the last time I actually had a seizure caused by fever, I was about 12 years old.
I'm so thankful that I haven't had my kids experience this -- don't know what I'd do. I'm sure I'd be out of my mind. Please let me know how your son is doing (and you too!).
As I read your story, I felt it was me telling it. I went through the exact same thing with my 14 month old daughter. It took 10 rings for 911 to answer and when the ambulance arrived, my daughter was crying. I was at the emergency room several hours before I was told it was a febrile seizure.
The whole experience was very frightening and I don't care how common they say it is, I don't want to ever go through that again with my daughter.
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