A convulsion, basically, the child will normally go slightly rigid, and then they will start to shake, perhaps, they might foam at the mouth. Their jaw might become very, very rigid. There was old wives' tales about putting spoons into their mouths and things, it's not a good idea. The only that happens when you put a spoon in the child's mouth is you might brake their teeth or cause problem.
They look as though they're not breathing, they become very low, but they are breathing, you just need to control the fear, so they don't hit the head. Don't worry about their arms, I mean, they won't injure themselves dramatically. Just make sure their head doesn't bang on out on the floor, control it, keep them nice and calm, try and keep calm yourself and call an ambulance.
Convulsions are very frightening for the child and the parent. There is lots of hidden fears, the parents think there is a problem with their brain, they might become epileptic with the rest of it. It doesn't mean that is so. What happens is, when you're young, you haven't got thermostat if you like, as we have when we get older. The thermostat is immature and when you get hot, it doesn't work.
So what you need to do is when the temperature starts to rise, we need to cold them down. Now we tend to give paracetamol, liquid paracetamol, but we also need to do things like removing their clothing. Now we tend to, as parents, put too many clothes and bedding on children. You need to just feel at the back of their neck, and you can feel whether they're too hot or not. It doesn't matter whether they've got cold hands, immaterial, feel at the back of their neck, if that's warm, they are fine.
So, if they are too hot, remove their clothing, especially the nappy. Sponge them down with heavy water, keep their temperature low, so the thermostat doesn't cut out, because when the thermostat cuts out, that's when they have a little febrile convulsion, very, very frightening.
When they come around from the febrile convulsion, mum and dad, whoever, are having the same reactions though they have just plenty to cry all over the bedroom wall. So it's frightening all around. It's a vicious circle which doesn't stop, and it's all because the child's temperature has risen.
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