My Health Experience: The fright of fever: convulsions that leave us all shaking

My two-year-old was looking a little peaky, all right. Ikea was stifling, coming in from the cold of January, and the two boys were wrapped up in too many layers. We were pushing a trolley through the maze of showrooms heaving with Saturday afternoon crowds. I had Oisín in my arms; he refused to walk. He didn’t even want to play in the toy area with its circus tent and slide.

He said something about being “high”. I took it to be one of his nonsense words. “Hi, pie, sky,” I said, teasing a laugh out of him even though he was clearly out of sorts.

Then I glanced back at him and he was shaking violently, his eyes rolled back in his head, drool coming from his mouth.

“Is that normal?” an American voice said behind me. I took a deep breath. I know what this is, I told myself. It’s happened before.

“It’s okay, I need to get him cool,” I said. Kneeling down, I struggled to pull his Liverpool jersey down his stiffened little arms with one hand, while holding his lolling head up from the hard floor.

“Should I call 911?” persisted the American voice, and other voices joined in.

“Can we do anything?”

“Call first aid.”

“Is he all right?”

“Call a doctor,” I said. “Water, anything to cool him down.” I lifted his T-shirt and vest and blew on his back. A whoosh of air beat on us as a staff member lifted some item from the shelves and used it as a giant fan. A bottle of water appeared and I trickled some on the back of his neck and blew.

It is a shocking experience to see your child have a seizure. Even this, the third time, shook me. He stopped convulsing after what seemed like an age, but was probably only a couple of minutes, relaxing into a black sleep of exhaustion.

Carrying his bare little body out to the ambulance seemed so wrong in the winter cold, but the medics insisted his temperature had to come down.

Short and harmless

Febrile convulsions, as the name suggests, are seizures brought on by a fever. While they may be frightening, the vast majority are short and harmless. Infants and toddlers can’t regulate their temperature in the same way as adults, so a rapid rise – caused by anything from flu to tonsillitis – can trip a switch in the brain and bring on the dramatic physical reaction.

They are very common in babies and children up to the age of five, occurring in about one in 20. In fact, the first time Oisín was brought into Temple Street after an episode, late on a Friday night, all three sets of bleary-eyed shellshocked parents in the observation area – waiting patiently for their little ones to produce a urine sample – were there for the same reason.

That was a year before the Ikea incident: I came straight to the hospital from a late work shift in a panic after a call which began: “Oisín is fine, he’s fine. But we’re in the hospital.”

I found my partner, Marty, pacing the waiting room, an exhausted little body draped over his shoulder like a slung jacket. Marty looked almost as wrung out. He had woken from a deep sleep to hear strange gurgling noises coming from Oisín’s cot.

Looking in, he got the fright of his life: at first he thought he was choking. The child had been in great spirits going to bed, and there was no sign he was sickening for anything.

The second time Oisín had a seizure, we were at home, and cooled him down gently, keeping him lying sideways in a foetal position on the couch. He soon stopped shaking, and fell into a calm sleep.

He hasn’t had an episode for 10 months, though I am still careful to watch for the signs, and take off layers if he looks hot and bothered. I’m also more liberal with the Calpol than with his older brother, Cathal, who has had very high temperatures without incident.

Even now, I can never go into Ikea without a little prickle of anxiety, though in the event, the staff were fantastic; and he trips in without a care.

Febrile convulsions: The facts Often it's a viral infection that brings a rise in temperature, or it can be any common childhood illness. However, it's important to get to a doctor or emergency department, particularly if this is the first time it has happened or if the fit lasts longer than five minutes.

In rare cases a seizure can be a sign of a more serious illness, such as meningitis, which requires emergency medical treatment.

It's easier said than done, but if your child has a febrile convulsion it does help to keep calm and remember that this is not the disaster it seems. Lie them on their side, to avoid any danger of choking. Try to get the temperature down, gently, but don't give them any medicine orally until the seizure is over. If you have the presence of mind, time the convulsion.

A febrile convulsion is a seizure brought on by a high temperature. They usually occur between the ages of six months and five years.

Symptoms may include: stiffening, shaking, eye-rolling movements, breathing difficulties, pallor or blueness around the lips, unconsciousness.

They usually last less than 15 minutes.

Some children become drowsy afterwards and will want to sleep.

Simple febrile convulsions do not cause brain damage.

Recurrence is most common within a year after the first convulsion, particularly if the child is under 15 months.

A child with a family history of epilepsy or febrile convulsions is more likely to develop one or other of these conditions.

Children with febrile seizures have a slightly higher risk of later developing epilepsy.

What to do if your child has a febrile convulsion:

Stay calm.

Stay with your child and lie them on their side.

Loosen tight clothing and remove excess clothing.

Do not restrain the child or put anything in their mouth.

Take measures to decrease temperature.

Call the GP or ambulance.

Advice from Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street

For more information, see iti.ms/1tAqmaj