Treatment

Most febrile seizures stop on their own within a couple of minutes. If your child has a febrile seizure, stay calm and follow these steps:

• Place your child on his or her side on a soft, flat surface where he or she won't fall.
• Start timing the seizure.
• Stay close to watch and comfort your child.
• Remove hard or sharp objects near your child.
• Loosen tight or restrictive clothing.
• Don't restrain your child or interfere with your child's movements.
• Don't put anything in your child's mouth.

Call for emergency medical attention if:

• Your child has a febrile seizure that lasts more than five minutes.
• Your child has repeated seizures.
• Your child's seizure lasted less than five minutes but your child isn't improving quickly.

More-serious episodes

A doctor may order medication to stop a seizure that lasts longer than five minutes.

Your child's doctor may hospitalize the child for observation if:

• The seizure is prolonged
• The child is younger than 6 months old
• The seizure is accompanied by a serious infection
• The source of the infection can't be found

But a hospital stay isn't usually necessary for simple febrile seizures.