Choosing a method of treatment is necessary because of how long the cramps last. If the seizure time does not exceed fifteen minutes, you can simply knock down the temperature with various antipyretic agents, and then monitor the external state of the child. If the cramps persist for more than fifteen minutes - should use anticonvulsants.
With febrile convulsions often confuse an attack of epilepsy.Poetomu should distinguish them from each other. If you find seizures in a child under six years of age, then, with absolute certainty, he has epilepsy.
Febrile convulsions are observed in five percent of children who have not reached six years of age. Mostly they are exposed to children aged from one and half to two years.
What is the cause of the appearance of febrile seizures?
To date, the cause of the appearance of febrile seizures is still unknown. However, it is known that one of the reasons is the weakness of the inhibitory processes and an insufficiently developed nervous system. That's why the convulsions are manifested most.
Cramps occur only when the child has an extremely high fever. Provoke the manifestation of the most common cold, incising teeth, acute respiratory viral infection, as well as various vaccinations.
Hereditary predisposition is one of the main factors in the development of febrile seizures. This means that the child can suffer if the mother and father or other relatives suffer from epileptic seizures.
Symptoms and signs indicating the presence of seizures
As mentioned above, febrile convulsions have no relation to epilepsy, but they have similar symptoms.
Convulsions are divided into:
Convulsions of the tonic - the child strains all parts of the body. (He rolls his eyes, tilts his head back, bends his hands in the direction of the crook and often bends his legs). They are replaced by jerks or twitches, the same in amplitude, which eventually become less frequent, until they die.
Atonic cramps - all the muscles of the body instantly relax. There is an involuntary emission of urine and feces.
Convulsions local - eyes roll up, twitch the extremities.
Most often, after the onset of seizures, the child stops reacting to the words of the parents, loses contact with the surrounding world, ceases to roar, can suddenly turn blue and stop breathing.
Cramps rarely last more than fifteen minutes. In these cases they last in whole series.
Every third child, after the first attack of febrile seizures, in the future, the deviations are repeated.
How is the diagnosis made?
If the child suffers from febrile convulsions, it urgently needs to be shown to the children's neurologist. The doctor can prescribe a certain treatment, after which the cramps will stop. In addition, he will appoint appropriate treatment for epilepsy.
Diagnosis of children with febrile seizures includes:
- The analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and spinal puncture for the prevention of inflammation of the brain and its membranes.
- General and biochemical analysis of blood and urine;
- Computer or magnetic resonance tomography.
- Electroencephalogram.
Complex treatment of febrile seizures
If the child has started an attack of febrile seizures, urgently call for an ambulance. Before the ambulance arrives, a complex of measures should be carried out to provide first aid.
- If you are alone with the child, call for help passing people passing by. It is possible that they will be able to help something.
- After the onset of seizures, lay the child on a hard surface and turn his head to the side.
- Carefully follow the rhythm of the child's breathing. If he is very tense and not breathing, wait until the convulsions are over, and then begin artificial respiration. During the seizure, artificial respiration will be useless.
- Do not try to open your mouth to a child and put your fingers, a spoon, or other interesting objects there. This you will not achieve anything, but only harm the baby.
- Remove clothes from the child and open the windows for airing the room. The temperature of the air in the room must be at least twenty degrees. High humidity can lead to bad consequences. The child stops breathing or breathes barely noticeably. Humidity in the room will worsen the process of oxygen exchange, so the child will have much harder.
- Rinse the skin with water and vinegar, use physical methods to reduce heat. You can apply a cold compress to your head or wrap your child in a cold sheet.
- Take antipyretics and give the baby. For these purposes, candles with paracetamol are best suited.
- While the cramps are not over, do not try to leave the baby alone, much less try to pour water in his mouth or put medicine.
If the seizures do not last more than fifteen minutes and pass fairly quickly, no other treatment should be used.
If the convulsions occur continuously and last for a long time, you will have to make an intravenous injection. For her use vasoconstrictive drugs, such as phenobarbital, phenytoin. Injection should be done by doctors of haste.
Prevention should be done only when convulsions often appear and last for a long time. The decision on whether preventive measures are needed is applied only by a neurologist.
Can a child who has febrile convulsions have epilepsy in the future?
The risk of epilepsy is small, however, it is. Only two percent of children can get sick in the next.