High fever convulsions in children: Doctors guide proper treatment at home
Febrile convulsions are quite common in young children, but not all parents have the knowledge to handle them properly.
When to take fever reducer
According to doctors, fever is just a symptom, not a disease. This is the body's reaction when it is unfortunately infected with viruses, bacteria, parasites, autoimmune diseases or malignant diseases...
If the fever does not cause loss of appetite or restlessness or discomfort, then leave it alone. The fever will go away naturally and most infections will heal quickly.
A child is considered to have a fever when it is over 37.5. From 37.5 - 38 degrees Celsius is considered a mild fever; moderate fever (38-39 degrees); high fever (39-40 degrees), very high fever when it is over 40 degrees Celsius. When measuring a child's temperature, it should be measured in the armpit for the highest accuracy.
Doctors also note that parents should not give their children fever-reducing medicine when the temperature is still below 38.5 degrees.
When your child has a mild fever of 37.5-38.5 degrees, just take off some clothes, give your child more water or breastfeed more.
Do not take anti-epileptic drugs when having high fever or convulsions.
High fever and convulsions are common in children from 6 months to 6 years old, accounting for 3-5% because the child's brain is not fully developed and is sensitive to temperature disorders in the body.
When having a seizure, the child may also have symptoms of vomiting, foaming at the mouth, and the pupils turning up, making the eyes white. However, the characteristic of most cases of high fever seizures in young children is that they last less than 5 minutes. And high fever seizures usually do not cause brain damage.
With benign febrile seizures, they usually stop after a few dozen seconds, and the child returns to normal without any sequelae. Therefore, there is no need to give the child any medication.
To avoid seizures when children have high fever, parents need to monitor their child's body temperature regularly.
3 steps to deal with high fever and convulsions
Step 1:Parents should hold the child lying on its side (do not bend the child's head because it cannot breathe) to clear the airway because when having a seizure, the child cannot swallow, phlegm can easily cause airway obstruction, especially if it falls into the lungs, it can cause dangerous suffocation.
While lying the child on his side, loosen his clothes. Adults should not surround the child to allow him to breathe, pay attention to open the room to cool.
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| When children have high fever and convulsions, parents need to stay calm. Usually, benign high fever and convulsions will stop after a few dozen seconds or 1-2 minutes. |
Step 2:Parents should never put their fingers or chopsticks in their child’s mouth while he or she is having a seizure, as this can damage the child’s teeth and jawbone. Also, do not let the child eat or drink anything during this time, as this can cause airway obstruction.
After the first seizure, wait until it ends, then parents can put a thin cloth between the child's teeth to prevent another seizure and then take the child to the hospital.
Never try to hold the child's legs or arms because it can cause musculoskeletal injuries.
Step 3: After the convulsions have stopped, the child's fever should be reduced orally or rectally. The safest dose is paracetamol at a dose of 15mg/kg body weight. When using paracetamol, never let the child use it alternately with other fever-reducing drugs.
With suppositories, note that the dose is fixed, do not break or insert 2-3 tablets at a time. Currently, the common dosages of suppositories are 80mg, 150mg, 300mg. Depending on the child's body weight, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate dose because the possibility of drug poisoning through the suppository route is much higher than the oral route.
In addition, to reduce fever, parents should use a warm towel to wipe the child's whole body, especially the forehead, armpits and groin, changing the towel every 2-3 minutes to cool the child down. Do not use physical measures such as cold compresses, oil, fever-reducing patches...
When to go to the hospital
According to statistics, about 1/3 of children with high fever still have complex convulsions, often lasting more than 15 minutes and having 2 or more seizures within 24 hours, even in cases of post-seizure cognitive disorders, in which case parents need to immediately take their children to the hospital.
Or in cases where fever reducers do not help, the child may have other illnesses and should be taken to the hospital immediately for examination and early detection.
