Fever and Infection:
Do you know that getting feverish is the most common cause of seizures in children?
Febrile seizures usually occur before the age of 6 with the peak age of 2. Seizures in children are usually simple and last for less than 5 minutes and not more than 15 minutes. Most of the time, they involve one part of the body in simple cases. When they last for 15 minutes and involve the whole body, they are now a complex febrile seizure that requires a physician visit to exclude epilepsy or other complicated etiologies of seizures.
Febrile seizures might occur after an infection like an infection of the upper respiratory tract or ear infection. The infection could be viral or bacterial. Vaccination like diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, or MMR can also elicit febrile convulsions, but convulsions related to vaccination are due to the fever produced after giving those vaccinations to the child, and not because of the vaccinations themselves. What is the good news regarding the febrile seizures? The good news is that febrile convulsions do not leave any residual brain damage. The child returns his full activity and reactivity with normal developmental functions and learning capabilities. The child may be subjected to another episode of seizure whenever he/she becomes feverish again or it might never happen throughout the child whole life (3)(4).
