Medical Questions » Epilepsy Questions » Question No. 311
| Question: | I am terribly concerned about my two year old daughter, who has had several fever fits. Do febrile convulsions in children lead to epilepsy later in life? |
| Answer: | Convulsions in children due to a high fever are not true epilepsy, and do not lead to epilepsy in later life. They are caused by a temporary short-circuit in the brain when it is overheated.
Children who develop febrile convulsions are normally given medication for a few months or years to prevent any further attacks, and any fever that develops must be treated aggressively with paracetamol, fanning and tepid baths.
Prolonged fits may cause damage, but the majority of children can be readily managed by the appropriate medication.
If a child starts fitting for any reason, he or she must be attended to by a doctor immediately, and the correct cause determined. For this reason, a child who has a febrile convulsion will be put through a complex series of tests to ensure that there is no other cause.
|
See related information here.
|
|
