Heat Cramps
They are convulsions that occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, who have a high temperature (above 38°C), and occur most often between the ages of 12 months to 18 months, and usually last for less than a minute and do not cause brain damage or affects intelligence, the presence of a febrile seizure does not mean that the child has epilepsy, as epilepsy means the occurrence of two or more seizures without the appearance of fever.
Types of heat cramps:
- Simple seizures (most common): the child loses consciousness and has a convulsion or jerking of the arms or legs. Most seizures last no more than 1 to 2 minutes, although they can last up to 15 minutes. After the seizure, the child may be confused or sleepy. But he has no weakness in his arm or leg.
- Complex seizures (less common): They can last more than 15 minutes (or 30 minutes), and the child may have temporary weakness in an arm or leg after the seizure.
Reasons for Heat Cramps:
- Infection: Heat cramps can occur because of a fever that accompanies a bacterial or viral infection, especially the human herpes virus.
- After vaccinations: Fever can occur as a side effect of some vaccines, especially after vaccination against rubella, and fever usually occurs 8 to 14 days after the injection.
- Having a family history of febrile seizures increases the risk of them occurring in a child.
Risk factors for recurrent febrile seizures:
- The child is less than 15 months old.
- Recurring fever.
- One of the parents or siblings has epilepsy or has had febrile seizures.
- The time between the onset of fever and the onset of convulsions is short.
- The fever that triggered the attack, a low-temperature fever.
Symptoms:
Febrile seizures usually occur on the first day of the illness, and in some cases the occurrence of seizures is the first clue that the child is ill.
Treatment:
- During a seizure, a few steps must be taken to prevent harm to the child:
- During a seizure, place the child on the floor on one side and remove sharp or hard objects from around him.
- Calculating the seizure time, avoiding trying to stop his movement or spasms, and not putting anything in his mouth.
- The seizure should be timed and if it persists after 5 minutes, call for emergency medical assistance.
- Call the emergency room if the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, or if the child has a stiff neck, vomiting, or difficulty breathing.
- After the seizure stops, treatment of the fever usually begins with oral acetaminophen, suppositories, or ibuprofen, along with compresses with room temperature (not cold) water.
Protection:
In most cases, treatment is not recommended to prevent future episodes. The potential risks and side effects of daily medications that prevent seizures outweigh their benefits, and it is not recommended to give antipyretics (such as: acetaminophen or ibuprofen) to prevent fever in a child (for example, if a child has a cold but no fever, he should not be given an antipyretic).