What should I do if my child has cramps due to high fever?

High temperatures in children are dangerous precisely because seizures may develop in its background. Why this happens and what to do if the child has a convulsive syndrome, we will tell in this article.

Convulsions that develop at a child's temperature are called febrile. It never happens to adults. Convulsive syndrome with heat is peculiar only to children and only at a certain age - from birth to 5-6 years. Doctors, based on the available statistics, estimate the risk of developing febrile seizures in one child with an illness associated with high fever, at about 5%. Of the twenty babies, one has a febrile convulsive syndrome.

Despite the fact that the phenomenon has been known for a long time and described in detail in the mid-twentieth century, the exact mechanisms that trigger the convulsive syndrome at a temperature remain unknown. The most likely version seems to be that the central nervous system, immature due to age, against the background of a general overheating of the body (hypothermia) begins to send erroneous impulses to muscles. In fact, it looks like cramps and cramps.

Dangerous is the temperature above 38.0 degrees. Sometimes convulsions appear at 37.8-37.9 degrees.

Quite often, the tendency to febrile seizures is inherited. If one of the parents had such symptoms in childhood, then with a high degree of probability they will appear during the illness and in the child. During temperature, the likelihood of developing seizures is affected by additional factors. According to scientists, the most likely causes are:

• viruses (with acute viral infection, especially with herpesvirus type 6, which is called a sudden exanthema, three-day fever or roseola, and also influenza viruses and parainfluenza);
• bacteria (with severe microbial inflammation of the respiratory and digestive organs);
• hypertrophied reaction of the child to the cutting teeth;
• calcium deficiency in the body;
• dehydration due to high heat and vomiting or prolonged diarrhea;
• DTP vaccine response (rare).

You should not assume that convulsions threaten the baby as soon as his temperature rises. Danger lurks for the first days since the temperature was established at febrile values ​​or higher. A child may develop a convulsive seizure in one of two possible scenarios:

• cramps are simple;
• convulsions difficult.

With simple convulsions, which are also called typical, convulsions shake the whole body evenly, all parts of the body are involved in them. The child loses consciousness. Spasmodic syndrome lasts about or a little more than five, but not more than 15 minutes. When the child comes to himself, he does not remember anything about the attack. Usually such convulsions are single, and more, at least in the next day does not repeat.

Complicated febrile seizures are called atypical, because their symptoms are completely different. Convulsions do not affect the whole body, usually only the limbs or one half of the body. The attack lasts a long time - more than 15 minutes. Such convulsions may well be repeated up to several times during the day.

The attack of febrile convulsions always begins with the fact that the child suddenly loses consciousness. Then, with cramp, he brings his arms and legs together, and only then his body. In this case, the child takes a very definite position - with his back arched and head thrown back.

The baby's skin turns pale literally in minutes, the nasolabial triangle becomes bluish, sometimes dark circles under the eyes appear (especially often in children with light and thin skin). Symptoms do not go away at the same time, but in reverse order. - first, the skin turns pink, then the child assumes a normal posture lying horizontally, then the body relaxes and, last of all, the arms and legs. After the attack is completed, the baby can be drowsy, lethargic, broken, apathetic for several hours.

Febrile cramps scare parents because they look really intimidating. But convulsions are not so dangerous against the background of high temperature, as sometimes people are far from medicine. Convulsive syndrome, occurring in a simple type, does not injure the brain, does not affect it, and does not cause in most cases epilepsy, as it was considered not so long ago. The risk of developing convulsive syndrome on an epileptic type after experiencing febrile seizures is estimated by experts at 0.5–1.5%.

The only real unpleasant consequence is probability of recurrence with this or subsequent diseasewhich will be associated with fever. However, they are not particularly afraid of them - the child does not feel pain at the time of the attack, does not suffer. The same can not be said about his parents. Doctors advise them to take a sedative for preventive purposes. A child with a history of febrile convulsive syndrome does not need medications for the prevention of a new attack.

Modern scientists and doctors are inclined to believe that the appointment of anticonvulsants in this case is gun shooting at sparrows. The side effects of such medications are much more harmful for the child than an attack of convulsions, which, by the way, is not a fact that it will happen again.

First aid for a child with febrile convulsions is quite simple. The action algorithm is simple and straightforward:

• after losing consciousness of the child quickly transferred to the prone position, to prevent vomiting, saliva, mucus, food debris, and stomach contents in the airways. The face of the child should be turned down. Everybody has seen this posture, it is considered a universal posture of “rescuing the victim”;
• all acute and potentially dangerous in terms of possible injury, clean as far as possible from the place where the child lies;
• necessarily follows call an ambulance and detect the time of the attack in order to communicate this information to the medical team that arrived;
• waiting for a doctor, parents or first aid people should notice the most important details of well-being baby - does the baby have a reaction to light, sound, people around, how limbs move during an attack. It is necessary to try to remember everything as much as possible or to make a video on a cell phone, this will greatly help the doctor quickly and correctly diagnose and eliminate such dangerous pathologies as meningitis, encephalitis or epilepsy.

This first-aid measures end. It should be remembered that in the event of a febrile convulsive syndrome, in no case should you try to wipe the child with cold vodka, put it in an ice bath or throw cold water on it, you should not also rub his skin with fatty substances. There is no good in it, but the harm is obvious.

From contact with the cold, the overheated body of the baby can react with vascular spasms, and this is very dangerous.Fats - badger or other folk remedies on an oil basis - impede heat transfer, the child’s condition worsens, and fever increases.

A lot of teeth, gums suffered in the process of such manipulations. There are even cases of dislocations and fractures of the jaw. Fragments of teeth can get into the respiratory system and cause mechanical asphyxia.

To swallow the tongue is impossible in principle! It doesn’t need to be proved, it’s enough to remember once and for all. Holding a convulsing child is also useless and rather traumatic. There is no sense in artificial respiration, because the child continues to breathe independently all the time while he is unconscious.

An ambulance crew arrives to assess the condition of the child, asking relatives in detail about the nature and clinical picture of the convulsive seizure. Parents of young children are offered hospitalization for a day. 24 hours - this time is more than enough for the doctors to monitor the little patient and see that the risk of recurrence is minimal. Also in the hospital, doctors will be able to carry out the necessary diagnostics to reassure mom and dad, who within a few minutes of febrile seizures have already decided that something terrible and difficult to cure happened to the child.

Prevent the development of febrile seizures is almost impossible. If there is a genetic predisposition to them, then neither the dose of the febrifuge, nor the constant control of the temperature will save. In children who were given Paracetamol every 3-4 hours at a temperature above 38.0 degrees, febrile convulsive syndrome was encountered with the same statistical frequency.

However, according to the established practice, and this is more important for parents and not for the child, doctors advise to monitor the thermometer readings and give money from the temperature. This is much more useful for adults because it helps them to calm down and create vigorous activities around the patient.

The best prevention is the vigilance of parents. If the child is sick and has a high temperature, it is imperative to follow the doctor’s recommendations, do not self-medicate, don’t pour mustard into his socks and do not put the banks. The antipyretic dose will be prescribed by the doctor. Plentiful drink and bed rest are important for as long as the temperature drops.

For a baby who was already suffering from febrile seizures, we need tighter controls. It is advisable to follow him even in his sleep, so that the attack does not take anyone by surprise, and the baby can immediately receive first aid in full. How to render it, you now know.

The fact that such convulsions in children, see the following video.