Recurring febrile seizures

About a third of children who have had a febrile seizure will have another one during a subsequent infection. This often happens within a year of the first one.

Recurrence is more likely if:

• the first febrile seizure happened before your child was 18 months old
• there's a history of seizures or epilepsy in your family
• before having their first seizure, your child had a fever that lasted less than an hour or their temperature wasunder 40C (104F)
• your child previouslyhad a complex febrile seizure (more than one seizure during their illness)
• your child attends a day care nursery this increases their chances of developing common childhood infections, such as the flu or chickenpox

It'snot recommended that your child is given a prescription of regular medicines to prevent further febrile seizures.

This is because the adverse side effects associated with many medicines outweigh any risksof the seizures themselves.

Research has shown the use of medication to control feverisn't likely to prevent further febrile seizures.

However, there may be exceptional circumstances where medication to prevent recurrent febrile seizures is recommended.

For example, children may need medication if they have a low threshold for having seizures during illness, particularly if the seizures are prolonged.

In this case, your child may be prescribed medications such as diazepam or lorazepam to take at the start of a fever.

Children who've had a febrile seizure after a routine vaccination which is very rareare no more at risk of having another seizure than those whose seizure wasfrom illness.