Febrile seizures – causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

Febrile seizures are seizures that happen
with a fever, and they typically occur in young children between six months and five
years of age. Now, neurons are the main cells of the nervous
system. They’re composed of a cell body, which has
the neuron cell body. Nerve fibers are either dendrites that receive
signals from other neurons, or axons that send signals signals called action potentials
along to other neurons. Where two neurons come together is called
or directly to the cell body of the next neuron in the series. Some neurotransmitters bind to the receptors
and tell the cell to open up the ion channels and relay an electrical message and these
are called excitatory neurotransmitters. But there are others which can close the ion
channels and prevent an electrical message from going through and these are called inhibitory
neurotransmitters. The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the
brain is glutamate. Glutamate binds to NMDA receptors which tell
the cell to open up calcium ions channels. Since calcium has a positive charge, it makes
the inside of the cell more positive and that helps triggers an action potential. On the flip side, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter
in the brain is GABA. GABA binds to GABA receptors, which tell the
cell to open up chloride ion channels. Since chloride has a negative charge, it makes
the inside of a cell more negative and that inhibits an action potential. During a seizure, large groups of neurons
become active synchronously, meaning all at the same time. And in a febrile seizure, the trigger for
that neuronal activity is a fever. So that makes you wonder, why? Well, we actually don’t know for sure, but
there are some possible explanations. The first is that a fever, raises the core
body temperature and it makes neurons more excitable than usual – meaning that action
potentials are more likely to happen. The second is that fever causes hyperventilation,
which is when you breathe faster and have a decreased level of carbon dioxide in the
blood. That leads to a respiratory alkalosis, or
an increase in blood pH, which also seems to make neurons more excitable. The third is that fevers are caused by cytokines
like interleukin-1β, that get released by white blood cells during the body’s innate
immune response. Cytokines are thought to also enhances the
activity of the NMDA receptors. Of course, most of the time, people have fevers
without having seizures, so these factors are just part of the story. While we don’t know for sure what causes febrile
seizures we do know there are certain risk factors. Genetics seems to play a role as children
whose parents had febrile seizures are more likely to also have them. Age seems to also be a factor, because although
febrile seizures happen in children between the age of 6 month to 5 years, the majority
happen in children that are 12 to 18 months of age. Generally speaking, febrile seizures happen
more often when the fevers develop rapidly or are higher in magnitude. Febrile seizures seem to be more associated
with some infections like human herpesvirus-6 which causes roseola. Febrile seizures can also develop after vaccinations
that really stimulate the immune system like the measles, mumps, rubella, varicella vaccine,
but the frequency is quite low and the benefits of vaccination outweigh this risk. Febrile seizures also always involve a high
temperature, or fever, of above 38 degrees Celsius or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and they
can be classified as either simple or complex. A simple febrile seizure lasts for less then
15 minutes, affects the whole body, and doesn’t repeat within 24 hours. A complex febrile seizure is one that lasts
for over 15 minutes or affects a specific part of the body which corresponds to a specific
part of the brain, or one that repeats within 24 hours. Basically, if a seizure doesn’t meet the
criteria for being considered simple, then it’s considered complex. Having said that, most febrile seizures are
simple febrile seizures that last a couple of minutes, and they’re tonic-clonic, which
means there’s a tonic phase when muscles throughout the body suddenly tense up and go rigid, followed
by a clonic phase, when muscles rapidly start contracting and relaxing, causing convulsions. After the seizure itself, there’s usually
a postictal state, which is when a child might feel confused and may not remember the episode. They can also have residual arm or leg weakness. Treatment isn’t needed for most febrile seizures
because they usually stop by themselves. During a febrile seizure, it’s a good idea
to lay a child on their side, and keep track of the time. It’s a bit more concerning if a seizure
lasts for a long time or if there are other serious symptoms — like vomiting, trouble
breathing, or a stiff neck. Oftentimes, it’s important to distinguish
febrile seizures from other underlying causes of fevers and seizures like encephalitis and
meningitis, which are infections of the brain and the tissue surrounding the brain. In young infants a lumbar puncture can be
helpful in identifying the underlying cause of the seizure. In some cases anti-seizure medications can
be used, but typically they’re not needed in cases of simple febrile seizures. Finally, the fever itself can be uncomfortable
for a child, so antipyretic medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used to
reduce the fever. All right, as a quick recap… Febrile seizures are seizures that happen
together with a fever in children. Whether it’s through an increase in body temperature,
the alkalosis of the blood, or the release of certain chemicals, like interleukin-1β,
fever seems to excite neuronal activity, which makes it easy for groups of neurons to start
firing simultaneously, over and over again. Most febrile seizures are generalized tonic
clonic seizures that cause stiffness, jerking and loss of consciousness. Thankfully, most febrile seizures resolve
themselves without any treatment and don’t cause long term harm.


  1. I appreciate the fact that you added the tidbit about the benefits of vaccination outweighing the risks, just in case. Kudos.

  2. so interesting! I noticed you haven't done a video on hereditary angioedema before, if you're ever running out of ideas, then that should be very interesting :))

  3. Please help me understand this problem: blood alkalose should lead to reduction of free Ca in the blood and so probably in the intercellular space. If free Ca is reduced shouldn't that reduce excitatory stimulation?

  4. What about incomplete myelination and demyelination (MS) as factors that precipitate seizure in fever? Myelination is complete in the 2nd year of life for the average child. I think myelination plays a great role.

  5. you​ say at 0:57 that inhibitory neurotransmitters close ion channels and that is not true, like the example in the video, GABA binds to GABAA receptors and opens up negative chloride ion channels but does not close any channels


  7. My doughter is 14 mounts and she had 4 seizures in 24 hour, with 37,1 – 37,5 temp. Seizures last only 3-10 sec then she go into slipping for 5 -10 min. Reason was virus infection. Does this febrile seizures are simple or complex? and does they dangerous for brain?

  8. My 22 biological test tube babies beat brittle bone morrow sin you seizures hombre now when i get paid my checks be looking like phone numbers moms rent assistance minimum wage allowance from my savings account is sigh pancreas agriculture tadpoles due weirdo huh lil bitch ??? I DON'T glaze munch Hoosiers syndrome in law removed biological relative SHEESH …

    1937 rare bugatti silent auction to who can frontal lobe tell sweetpea rocket not 6 feet under like c.m.c in my life- cloud vs sephiroth mayne mayne

    This is so bad for grandparents business like seriously height kilmer there was this hugo boss ass spider..what??? STAY REEKLESS

    NEW counterfeit products withdrawals to pay – rv luxury camper

    Ranch condominium loft attic homestead in WYOMING

    Military college delafield wi room and board

    Okay ill write a letter later i love you 😍😂🤔😘😭😴🤘🔫🛑🚀🍼🔪🙄😏🤔😶🤞💸😒

  9. “We don’t know for sure”, “vaccination benefits outweigh the risks”, “ibuprofen and acetaminophen” for a child with seizure… is this really what conventional medicine is all about? Making assumptions, while passing dangerous procedures as safe? Welcome to the 21st century, with medicine stuck 100 years back.

  10. Didn't talk about febrile seizure prophylaxis and… Management!! Tepid sponging… Left lateral position… Antipyretics.. Diazepam

    Prophylaxis include.. Intermittent and continuous.. Dose n regime required

  11. My child has sieszure without fever and she feels sleepy and tired after the attack,we went to the hospital for an EEG but she hasn't epeliptic result..what shall we do with her condition? ANYONE PLS..

  12. My little brother just had this kind of seizure just a while ago he's in the hospital rn because he also had a high fever, we suspect it might be measles..

  13. word count:

    Feebrill: 22
    Febrile: 0
    Roseela: 1

    "GO FEEBRILL!! USE FEVER ATTACK!!!!!" It's super effective…

  14. moree videosss PLEASSSEEEE. already a member, but i feel you guys could make more <3 please and thank you !!!

  15. Thanks for posting. I'm a parent of a child who gets these type of seizures. Great materials to send to family members.

Leave a Reply

(*) Required, Your email will not be published