What should you do during a child’s febrile seizure?

What does the evidence show for febrile seizures in children?

• Febrile seizures most often occur in young children around an illness with fever, sometimes before a caregiver notices the temperature. A seizure in a newborn or a child outside the usual age range needs its own assessment rather than being assumed to fit this pattern. 1
• Stay with the child, clear hard or sharp objects, turn them onto their side and watch the time. Do not hold the limbs still or place fingers, food, liquid or objects in the mouth. Calling for help should not wait while someone searches for fever medicine. 2
• Emergency help is needed for a first seizure, an episode reaching five minutes, breathing difficulty, back-to-back events without recovery or a child who is not waking afterward. A previously prescribed seizure action plan may add specific instructions for that child. 2
• After the event, clinicians assess the cause of fever and the seizure’s features. Fever medicines may improve comfort but do not reliably stop future febrile seizures from occurring. Do not repeatedly dose a child to try to guarantee another event cannot happen. 3
• A fever in a baby younger than three months requires immediate medical advice at a rectal temperature of 100.4°F or higher. This newborn fever rule still applies independently of seizure information. Young infants should not be managed using general toddler fever reassurance. 4

When should I call my provider about febrile seizures in children?

Call emergency services for a first seizure, breathing difficulty, an episode reaching five minutes, repeated seizures without recovery or failure to wake afterward. Keep the child on their side in a safe place and put nothing in the mouth. A seizure in a newborn is an emergency.