Child Fever Seizures: What To Do If Your Child Has a Febrile Seizure | Sri Rama Children's Hospital

🏥 Sri Rama Children's Hospital · Pediatric Emergency Guidance

Child Has a Fever and a Seizure?
Here's Exactly What To Do

📅 Updated 2025 👨‍⚕️ Reviewed by Pediatric Specialists ⏱ 9 min read

Watching your child have a seizure is one of the most frightening moments a parent can experience — and when it happens alongside a high fever, panic sets in fast. The good news: most fever-related seizures in children, known medically as febrile seizures, look far more dangerous than they actually are and usually stop on their own within a couple of minutes. At Sri Rama Children's Hospital, our pediatric team wants every parent to know exactly what to do — and what not to do — in those first critical minutes.

What Is a Febrile Seizure?

A febrile seizure is a convulsion triggered by a rapid rise in body temperature, usually above 100.4°F (38°C), in an otherwise healthy child. They are most common between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, with the peak occurring around 12–18 months, and affect roughly 2–5% of children in this age group at some point.

Importantly, a febrile seizure is not the same as epilepsy. It does not mean your child has a seizure disorder, and in the vast majority of cases it causes no lasting harm to the brain. It's the sudden spike in temperature — not the fever's severity — that usually triggers the event, which is why a seizure can sometimes be the very first sign that a child is unwell, even before you knew they had a fever at all.

🔬 Quick Facts

Febrile seizures are the most common type of seizure in childhood.
They usually last less than 2–3 minutes and rarely more than 5.
Roughly 1 in 3 children who have one febrile seizure will have another during a future illness.
Children almost always outgrow the tendency by age 5–6.
A family history of febrile seizures increases the likelihood in siblings or children.

What Does a Febrile Seizure Look Like?

Recognising a seizure quickly helps you respond calmly instead of freezing in panic. Signs can vary, but the most common features include:

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Loss of Consciousness

Your child suddenly becomes unresponsive and may not react to your voice or touch.

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Stiffening & Jerking

The body, arms, and legs may stiffen and then jerk or twitch rhythmically on both sides.

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Rolled-Back Eyes

Eyes may roll upward or stare fixedly during the episode.

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Breathing Changes

Breathing may become irregular, and lips can look slightly bluish for a few seconds.

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Loss of Bladder Control

Some children may urinate involuntarily during the seizure — this is normal and not a cause for alarm.

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Post-Seizure Drowsiness

After it ends, your child is often sleepy, confused, or irritable for several minutes to an hour.

Step-by-Step: What To Do During the Seizure

If your child starts seizing, the most important thing you can do is stay calm and keep them safe. Follow these steps in order:

Stay calm and note the time

Look at a clock or start a timer the moment the seizure begins. Duration is the single most important detail you'll need to report.

Lay your child on their side

Gently place them on a flat, soft surface in the "recovery position" (on their side) to keep the airway clear and prevent choking if they vomit.

Clear the area

Move away any hard, sharp, or hot objects nearby so your child doesn't get injured during the jerking movements.

Loosen tight clothing

Loosen anything around the neck that could restrict breathing, such as a collar or scarf.

Do not restrain the movements

Let the seizure run its course. Do not hold your child down or try to stop the jerking — this cannot stop a seizure and may cause injury.

Never put anything in the mouth

Do not attempt to hold the tongue, give water, or insert any object — children cannot swallow their tongue, and this can cause choking or injury.

Stay with your child until it ends

Remain close, keep watching the clock, and reassure your child once the seizure stops and they begin to wake up.

Let them rest and check the fever

Once alert, comfort your child, check their temperature, and give fever-reducing medication as advised by your pediatrician if appropriate.

What NOT To Do

In the panic of the moment, well-meaning instincts can sometimes do more harm than good. Avoid the following:

✗Don't restrain your child's arms or legs

✗Don't put anything — including your fingers — in their mouth

✗Don't try to give medicine, water, or food during the seizure

✗Don't put your child in a bath of cold or ice water to lower the fever

✗Don't shake or shout at your child to try to "wake them up"

✗Don't leave your child unattended, even for a moment

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Call Emergency Services / Go to the Hospital Immediately If:

The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes
Your child has difficulty breathing, or their lips/face stay bluish after the seizure ends
This is your child's first-ever seizure
Your child is under 12 months old
A second seizure occurs shortly after the first, or it doesn't fully stop
Your child does not return to normal alertness within about an hour
There is vomiting, a stiff neck, unusual drowsiness, or a rash alongside the fever (possible signs of a more serious infection)
The seizure affects only one side of the body, or your child seems weak on one side afterward

When in doubt, always seek emergency medical care. Even if the seizure was brief, your child should be seen by a doctor the same day to identify and treat the underlying fever.

Simple vs. Complex Febrile Seizures

Doctors classify febrile seizures into two categories, which helps guide how much further evaluation is needed:

Feature	Simple Febrile Seizure	Complex Febrile Seizure
Duration	Less than 15 minutes Common	15 minutes or longer Uncommon
Body Involvement	Generalized (whole body, both sides)	Focal (one side or one limb only)
Recurrence	Does not recur within 24 hours	May recur within the same 24-hour period
Frequency	About 70–75% of febrile seizures	About 25–30% of febrile seizures
Follow-Up Needed	Routine pediatric review	Further evaluation, sometimes including EEG or imaging

Even a "simple" febrile seizure should always be evaluated by a doctor afterward — this classification only describes the seizure itself, not whether your child needs medical attention.

How Is a Febrile Seizure Diagnosed?

At Sri Rama Children's Hospital, our pediatric team focuses first on finding and treating the source of the fever, since the seizure itself is a symptom rather than the underlying problem. This typically involves:

Detailed History

We ask about the seizure's duration, appearance, what the fever was caused by, and any family history of febrile seizures or epilepsy.

Physical Examination

A thorough exam to identify the source of the fever — commonly a viral infection, ear infection, or throat infection — and to rule out signs of meningitis or other serious illness.

Further Tests (If Needed)

Most children with a simple febrile seizure and an obvious feverish illness need no additional testing. However, blood tests, urine tests, or in rare cases a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) or EEG may be recommended — particularly for infants under 12 months, first-time seizures, complex seizures, or if the child appears unusually unwell.

Managing Fever & Preventing Future Seizures

✅ Practical Tips for Parents

Use paracetamol or ibuprofen (as dosed by your pediatrician) to keep your child comfortable — note that fever reducers do not reliably prevent febrile seizures, but they help your child feel better
Dress your child in light clothing and keep the room comfortably cool during a fever
Offer fluids frequently to prevent dehydration during illness
Keep a simple seizure diary noting date, duration, and appearance if your child has had one before
Share your child's seizure history with school staff or daycare providers
Avoid tepid sponging or cold baths to "break" a fever quickly — gradual fever reduction is safer
Schedule a follow-up with your pediatrician after every seizure, even if your child recovers quickly
Remember: routine childhood vaccinations are safe and do not need to be delayed because of a past febrile seizure — discuss any concerns with your doctor

Frequently Asked Questions

Our pediatric team at Sri Rama Children's Hospital answers the questions we hear most often from worried parents.

No. Extensive research shows that simple febrile seizures do not cause brain damage, learning problems, or developmental delays. They are frightening to witness but are generally harmless events tied to a rapidly rising temperature.

No, a febrile seizure is not epilepsy. Epilepsy involves recurrent seizures that are not triggered by fever. Only a small percentage of children who have febrile seizures go on to develop epilepsy later in life, and most simply outgrow febrile seizures by school age.

About 1 in 3 children who have one febrile seizure will have at least one more during a future fever, usually within the following one to two years. Risk factors include a young age at the first seizure, a lower fever at onset, and a family history of febrile seizures.

Yes, once the seizure has ended and your child is alert enough to swallow safely, you can give a dose of paracetamol or ibuprofen as directed by your pediatrician to help them feel more comfortable. However, medicine should never be given during an active seizure.

Yes, your child should be medically evaluated after every febrile seizure to identify the cause of the fever, even if the seizure was brief and they've had one before. Go immediately if it's the first seizure, lasts over 5 minutes, or any red-flag signs mentioned above are present.

There is no guaranteed way to prevent a febrile seizure, since it's triggered by how quickly the temperature rises rather than the fever's peak. Giving fever-reducing medicine at the first sign of illness may help with comfort, but it has not been proven to reliably prevent seizures.

Has Your Child Had a Seizure With Fever?

Even if your child has recovered and seems fine, every febrile seizure deserves a medical evaluation. Our pediatric emergency and neurology team at Sri Rama Children's Hospital is here around the clock to help you understand what happened and how to keep your child safe.

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