Seizures in Children

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A seizure is like a short-circuit in the brain. Information in nerves in the brain gets mixed up. There are many forms of seizures.

Signs & Symptoms

General Seizure

This affects the whole brain. A convulsion happens with this kind. These are signs of a convulsion.

• The neck muscles or all the body muscles get stiff.
• The arms or legs jerk around.
• The eyes roll up and back in the head.
• The child falls down.
• The child blacks out.
• Wets or soils clothes.

Absence Seizure

A convulsion does not happen with this kind of seizure. Signs of this kind of seizure:

• Stares into space. It looks like the child is not paying attention.
• Smacks their lips.
• The child may blink over-and-over.

Causes

High fevers cause most seizures in children ages 6 months to 5 years old. This happens when the body’s own temperature control isn’t working right yet.

Sicknesses that make a child’s temperature go up fast can bring on seizures. These include:

• Epilepsy
• Poisons
• Infections that cause a fever
• Drugs
• Reye’s Syndrome
• Snakebites
• Some vaccinations

Most seizures last from 1 to 5 minutes. Short seizures don’t cause problems unless the child stops breathing and turns blue. A seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes can be a sign of a big problem. Let your child’s doctor know if your child has any kind of seizure.

Prevent Fever Seizures

Try to bring your child’s fever down fast:

• Dress your child in light, loose clothes or take off most of his or her clothes.
• Ask your doctor about fever-lowering suppositories.
• Put washcloths rinsed in lukewarm (not cold) water on your child’s forehead and neck. Don’t use rubbing alcohol.
• Give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Make sure you give the right kind and dose for his or her weight. Do this if the fever gets above 103°F. (Note: Do not give aspirin. Aspirin and other medicines that have salicylates have been linked to Reye’s Syndrome.)