Has your child ever had a febrile convulsion? If so (or even if not), maybe you can help me....
A febrile convulsion is something that happens to about 3% of children under the age of 6 years....it is basically a violent shaking fit of their entire body (like epilepsy) that some children get when they have a high fever.
It's not epilepsy and is actually totally harmless, but it can be pretty scary for parents.
Next week one of my exams is a paediatrics exams, and one part of the questions requires me to explain about febrile convulsions to parents .
So I was wondering maybe you can help...if your child has ever had a febrile convulsion (or imagine if they had)...what sorts of questions would you, as a parent, have for a doctor?
Picture this...your young child (under 6yrs) is at home with a fever not feeling too well, then all of a sudden they start violently shaking, they stop breathing, go white and then go blue, they look like they are going to die...it lasts for about a minute....and then the child recovers and goes back to normal.
Terrified you rush them off to the emergency department at the hospital....
what sorts of things would go running through your mind...
what kinds of information would you want from the doctor...
what questions would you have..?
Nb: I'm not cheating here! In the exam I will be assessed on how well I can convey information to parents, how good my communication skills and knowledge is. We have already been given the exam question in advance to prepare and are expected to think of some of the questions that parents might ask so that we can prepare ourselves with any neccessary info we need!
any help is much appreicated!
thank yoooo
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8 comments:
Thanks be to God none of my 10 had one. it must be very scary for the parents...
It has never happened to my daughter, but here are some of my questions I would ask,
1)Is she going to be brain damaged from the high fever?
2)Will this type of thing happen again?
3)How could we have prevented this from happening?
4) Are you SURE she is ok and there will be no consequences of this episode.
Lastly, and most important, speak in a soothing, calm voice. I love my pediatrician because she is so down to earth and calm.
Good luck and prayers. I hope this helps.
No children myself, but I can imagine that I'd want to know the following if it happened to my nephew...
1. Will it happen again?
2. If it does, could it be fatal?
3. Does it cause brain damage?
4. Are there any long-term effects?
5. Was it my fault?
As a parent, relative, or involved party, here are the things I would want to know without any prior knowledge of the disease/situation:
- What happened?
- Why did it happen?
- Can it happen again?
- If it happens again, what can I do before/instead of coming to the hospital?
- Does it have any serious side effects?
- What is the cause? (genetic? contagious? environmental?)
- Does this happen to a lot of kids?
- Is my child normal?
I think that'd be where I'd start.
Best of luck with the next two exams. I get to see you in - oh my word, in two weeks! Can't wait!
Hello! Thank you so so much for your suggestions!
I will write them down and make sure I have a good answer to each of them!
Thanks a lot again for taking the time to help me out!
This has not happened to my daughter thank God, but if it did, I would be in a serious pannick and rush my daughter to the hospital, I would ask the doctor,
1)why this has happened all of a sudden,
2)will it stop?
3) what can I do to prevent it, like diet etc?
4) If it happens again, what things am I supposed to do?
5) Is it treatable, are there medicines for this?
6) Could this be fatal and has it been in the past?
7) tell me all the risks
I would get a second opinion in something that would worry me so much about my daughter.
Isn't it interesting that all parents ask the same questions?
Hi, Antonia, I know it's probably too late to post questions, but thought I'd tell you of my experience. Both my daughters had febrile seizures at exactly 1 year and 1 mo. of age, 4 yrs. apart. They were each, coincidentally, sick at that age - 1 with the flu, the other with an unsuspected ear infection (they were rarely sick). Fortunately their pediatrition was knowledgeable, asked if anyone in our family ever had one as a child, and did NOT order spinal taps. Out of my five siblings, only my oldest brother had had one as an infant. The ped said that was all that was needed for a family history. It is VERY scary, but did not cause any damage and never reoccurred. It's good to be aware for the next generation!
Good luck with your exams!
Kate O'Toole
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