Key takeaways: Febrile seizures happen with fever in about 2 to 5 out of 100 children between 6 months and 5 years. Simple febrile seizures last less than 15 minutes and usually don’t cause lasting harm. During a seizure, place your child on their side on a safe surface and time it. Call 911 if it lasts more than 5 minutes or your child has trouble breathing. Fever medicine doesn’t prevent them.
Watching your child have a seizure is terrifying. Knowing what to do helps.
What Is a Febrile Seizure?
A seizure triggered by fever, without an infection of the brain or another cause. It often happens on the first day of a fever, sometimes before parents notice the fever.
What It Looks Like
- Stiffening, then rhythmic jerking of the arms and legs.
- Eyes rolling back.
- Unresponsiveness.
- Sometimes just staring or going limp.
- Sleepiness or confusion afterward.
Simple vs. Complex
- Simple: lasts less than 15 minutes, involves the whole body, and doesn’t recur within 24 hours. Most are simple.
- Complex: lasts longer than 15 minutes, affects one side of the body, or happens more than once in 24 hours.
From the author
From First Breath to First Birthday is my month-by-month guide to your baby’s first year, written as a NICU and postpartum nurse. My book covers common first-year illnesses and the warning signs that mean it’s time to call the doctor, explained the way I’d explain them at the bedside.
What to Do During a Seizure
- Stay calm and note the time.
- Place your child on their side on a safe surface, such as the floor.
- Move objects away.
- Don’t put anything in the mouth.
- Don’t try to hold your child still.
- Don’t put your child in a bath to cool them.
Call 911 if: the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, your child has trouble breathing or turns blue, doesn’t wake up afterward, or has a stiff neck. Any seizure in a baby under 6 months needs immediate medical evaluation, since febrile seizures are uncommon at that age.
After the Seizure
Call your child’s doctor, even if the seizure was brief. The doctor will look for the cause of the fever. The AAP guideline says routine brain imaging, EEG, and blood tests aren’t needed after a simple febrile seizure in a well-appearing child.
Will It Happen Again?
About 1 in 3 children have another febrile seizure. Most children outgrow them by age 5. The risk of epilepsy after a simple febrile seizure is only slightly higher than in other children.
Does Fever Medicine Prevent Them?
No. A Cochrane review found that giving fever reducers doesn’t prevent febrile seizures. You can still give them for comfort.
The Bottom Line
Febrile seizures are frightening but usually harmless. Keep your child safe, time the seizure, call 911 for seizures over 5 minutes, and follow up with your doctor.
Want more support for your baby’s first year? My book, From First Breath to First Birthday, is available on Amazon.
Related Articles
- Roseola: High Fever, Then a Rash
- Breath-Holding Spells
- ER, Urgent Care, or Call the Doctor? How to Decide
- Fever in a Newborn: Why 100.4°F Means Call Right Away
- BRUE: When a Baby Briefly Stops Breathing or Changes Color
Sources
- Subcommittee on Febrile Seizures. Febrile seizures: guideline for the neurodiagnostic evaluation of the child with a simple febrile seizure. Pediatrics. 2011;127(2):389-394.
- Offringa M, Newton R, Nevitt SJ, Vraka K. Prophylactic drug management for febrile seizures in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;6(6):CD003031.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Febrile seizures. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
