Febrile Convulsions: Erica's Story

Febrile Convulsions, Fits, and Seizures

A febrile fit, febrile convulsions, a febrile seizure...the words strike fear into the hearts of parents. Even more than the words, watching your beautiful little girl start twitching, like my daughter did this morning, can be one of the scariest experiences that a parent can live through. Here's what happened to my daughter, what every parent should know about high fevers, febrile convulsions and febrile seizures, when to seek help for your child, and whether or not seizures in childhood mean epilepsy in your child's future.

What Happened to Erica?
My 21 month old daughter Erica has had a high fever, cough, and runny nose for about 3 days now. Living in England, this isn't uncommon due to the changes in weather and rain. However, this morning she was warmer than usual, and she asked me to take her pajamas off. She was sitting on me, watching a television show, when I noticed that her legs were twitching rhythmically. I thought it was odd, but may have overlooked the occurrence if it weren't for the fact that as she raised her hand to her mouth to suck her thumb, I noticed that her hands were shaking. I stood up, walked to the mirror, and realized that my daughter wasn't looking at me, was drifting in and out of consciousness, and wasn't responding to my voice. My usually bright, chatterbox of a daughter wasn't speaking, and couldn't be coaxed into making any sounds. This is when I called the ambulance. As I waited, she remained hard to rouse and difficult to engage in any chatter or eye contact.

What's the diagnosis?
When a high fever is accompanied by twitching, jerking, or rhythmic shaking, doctors refer to this occurrence as a febrile fit, a febrile seizure, or febrile convulsions. It is distinguishable from an epileptic fit or seizure because it is accompanied by a high fever. For my daughter, they suspected a viral infection (a cold) that caused both the high temperature and the convulsions.