Parent Support for Febrile Seizures

There is much information out there about febrile seizures. Basically, it is a type of undamaging seizure that occurs in infants that have high fevers due to illness. Febrile seizures can occur more than once, but the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke maintains that between 95 to 98 percent of children that has suffered febrile seizures do not go on to develop epilepsy. While this information is comforting to know, the entire situation is extremely unnerving to parents of other-wise healthy children and it is important for them to have others to turn to for advice and comfort.

The internet is what brings the world closer together, but it seems like there is not very much support out there for parents. That is, unless your child had the febrile seizure due to a fever caused by an extreme illness such as HIV or meningitis. For those parents, there is plenty of resources and support. For parents who have to suffer this terrible nightmare due solely to their child's pre-aptitude for the febrile seizures, there is little support to be found online.

Parents of an other-wise healthy child is not usually welcomed into a group of parents that suffer much more. The other parents tend to react with hate and disrespect, although this is probably due to the amount of pain and grief that they suffer everyday and not because they are 'bad' people. I'm sure it might feel like someone is complaining of a scratch while the rest of the people have stab or gun shot wounds.

Parents of other-wise healthy children that suffer reoccurring febrile seizures should consider speaking with a local counselor. The therapist could listen to not only the common fears associated with the febrile seizures, but could also lessen the parent's guilt. Most often parents realize that there was no way to know that a febrile seizure was possible, because most parents have never even heard of febrile seizures. However, after the first febrile seizure, most people feel that they are prepared to prevent another episode.

The sad truth is though that the febrile seizures cannot always be foretold. Many times a child gets sick with a middle ear infection and begins to run a fever before the parent or child care provider is aware of it. It is not the fault of any adult for not preventing a child's seizure. It is simply a game of bad timing and odds. Still, logic does not control the heart and it is better to seek the consolation of a therapist than to live with (or to make your child live with) undeserved guilt.