How to handle when the baby has a high fever convulsion?

The article was professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Ho Thi Xuan Nga - Cardiovascular Center - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

High fever is common in young children. One of the problems that mothers often worry about is that when their baby has a high fever, they may have a convulsion. So what do you need to do to be ready to handle this situation?

All mothers with young children should have a family medicine cabinet and keep it out of reach of children. In it, it is necessary to have a thermometer (mercury or electronic is fine - depending on mother's preference).

Antipyretics: Usually, mothers should have at home 4-5 "ammunition" (bullet-shaped anal suppositories) with different concentrations depending on the weight of their children.

Children usually have a fever at any time: Morning, noon, afternoon, evening or night; at home, at school, while traveling. Therefore, it is also advisable to carry medicine and thermometer with you.
Children have fever due to many causes: viral infection, bacterial infection, teething, after vaccination/vaccination,... But whatever the cause, mothers must first determine clearly: Does the baby have a fever or not? Not by touching, measuring the temperature with a thermometer.
Locations where the thermometer can be placed: Armpit, anus.
A child's normal body temperature ranges from 36.5 - 37.5 degrees Celsius depending on the weather, clothes, ... the child is wearing. When the thermometer is just outside the upper limit, mothers should pay attention to the child's onset of fever (> 38.3 degrees Celsius if the armpit is considered a fever).

Regardless of the cause, when a child has a fever, the thermoregulatory center in the child's brain (roughly an air conditioner) will work to increase heat loss, bringing the body temperature back to normal. The heat-dissipating activity of this apparatus will cause the child to dilate blood vessels, sweat, and lose water. If the temperature continues to rise beyond the control threshold of the apparatus, the child will be affected to the brain area, causing a state of convulsion when the fever is high (usually above 39.5 degrees Celsius).
When convulsing, the child completely loses control, the jaws tend to bite tightly. Therefore, in teething children, it is very easy to damage the tongue.

The first thing that mothers need to pay attention to is to calmly do the following steps:
Let the baby lie on his side, in a cool place, do not wear tight clothes, do not cover blankets. Use a tongue depressor when the baby has had a convulsion and has bitten his jaw tightly, do not put the tongue press too deep inside to cause vomiting, avoid rough movements that cause broken teeth, bleeding, and bruised lips. If the child is not biting his jaw, there is no need to do this. Absolutely do not pour any drinking water or medicine into the child's mouth while having a convulsion because the child will easily choke on the airway. Call the helper to get antipyretic medicine (ammunition) put it in the refrigerator (freezer), wait 1-2 minutes, remove the cover and stuff it for the child. Dosage by weight: 10 - 15 mg x body weight. For example: Children 5 kg, the highest dose can be given is 75 mg (Can take 1 tablet of 80 mg or 1/2 tablet of 150 mg). Ammunition has types of 80 mg, 150 mg, 300 mg, ... You should buy ready according to the weight of your child.
Cool wipe: In case the child has a fever as high as 39 degrees Celsius, the mother should combine putting medicine, wiping cool and giving the child water to drink (if there is no convulsion). When wiping, should use warm water about 34-35 degrees Celsius (do not use cold water, ice) dip a towel in water to cover the baby's forehead, armpits, and groin, change the towel every 5-10 minutes .

If the body temperature does not drop after the above movements, you can put the baby in a bath of warm water of 34-35 degrees Celsius, submerged in the body but always keep the head and neck dry, to avoid panicking and choking the child. Take a quick shower within 5 minutes, then dry your body, wear a light, airy shirt, absolutely do not cover the blanket too warm. This is safe and won't make your baby cold because it helps your baby's body exchange heat and lowers the temperature slowly so he doesn't go into heat stroke. After home treatment, the child's temperature may gradually drop. At this time, mothers should take their baby to the nearest medical facility to find the cause. Do not arbitrarily leave the child at home and continue treatment. The fever may return and the mother cannot repeat the second dose of antipyretic before 6 hours from the first dose. Do not panic carry the child to run when the baby is in a convulsion, calmly handle as instructed. There are some mothers looking for a doctor who absolutely does not give antibiotics to their children, which is completely wrong. Because the doctor is the one who will find the exact cause for treatment. If you have a viral infection, your doctor will not use antibiotics. But if once pneumonia, tonsillitis, upper respiratory tract infection, bacterial sepsis has been established, there should be no delay in using antibiotics, otherwise it will aggravate the baby's condition. Therefore, in any country, it is the doctor who will decide whether to use antibiotics or not and how much, not the mothers themselves. I do not recommend that mothers use more combination drugs such as Ibuprofen - a drug that has antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory effects but is harmful to the baby's stomach, so it must be prescribed by a doctor. So, after giving first aid, it is best to take your baby to the nearest medical facility and give the doctor an accurate medical history, the doctors will help you with the rest. Mothers need to clearly distinguish febrile seizures from epileptic seizures in their children because they are completely different from diagnosis to management. Children's fever > 39 degrees Celsius is an abnormal signal in the body. The baby needs a professional to find the cause and treat. Fever reducer is not a treatment, but only a solution to help your baby avoid the risk of convulsions, not after the fever subsides, you can rest assured to leave your child at home. Therefore, mothers do not give their children any second-hand antipyretic drugs according to experience, please take the child to a medical facility for monitoring and further treatment. The pediatric department at Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, otitis media, pneumonia in children ,... With modern equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread. Along with that is the dedication from the doctors with professional experience with pediatric patients, making the examination no longer a concern of the parents.