A Very Scary Afternoon
By Leca
@lecanis (16647)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
June 10, 2007 7:08pm CST
This afternoon my 1-year-old started having convulsions while sleeping on my shoulder. He stopped breathing as well, and we wound up giving him CPR and calling 911. An ambulance trip and ER visit later, all seems well at the moment, but it was terrifying, and I'm still very nervous and don't want to let him out of my sight.
Most likely it was caused by a reaction to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine that he had on Tuesday, or was simply because of a fever spike caused by the vaccine. All the same, I keep wondering if he'll have more such episodes, and how long it will be before I can be sure he's okay. We're supposed to call his regular doctor tomorrow morning, and then take him in as soon as they can see him.
Has anyone else had a baby who had a seizure, or some kind of emergency situation? Any reactions to vaccinations? Any advice?
19 people like this
48 responses
@liana_pescarus (1168)
•
11 Jun 07
:( sorry to hear that. i can't give you any advice, i don't have kids. but i hope that your little one won't be having any more troubles.
take care of you and him.
all the best!
3 people like this
@liana_pescarus (1168)
•
11 Jun 07
hoping with you. i'll put in a nice word to the Man Above for your son before i go to bed :)
2 people like this
@FSCAries (881)
• United States
11 Jun 07
I don't have any kids, but I do have friends that have small children and one little girl did have a reaction to some of her vaccinations as well. I'm sure everything will be ok, as it was with her, just keep a look out for anything out of the way, but at least you got him taken care of today. Just thank goodness that he's okay!
3 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Thanks! I'm glad to hear that the little girl didn't have any further problems!
Yep, I'm very grateful that it happened while both my husband and I were home, and that help came quickly. He seems to be less shook up than I am right now, he's playing happily! So hopefully all will be well, we just have to keep an eye on him.
1 person likes this
@Bytemi (1553)
• United States
11 Jun 07
When my daughter was about 3 weeks out she stopped breathing in her crib. I picked her up and hit her on the back until she throw up. My now ex-husband told me that I imaged the whole thing and went to sleep. I called my father and he toldme to lay her on belly and stay up with her until I could get her to her doctor. The next moring I took her into the doctor and she was diagnosed with GERD. It seemed that no matter where I was in the house, if she was choking I knew it and came running.
I am very sorry to hear that you are going through this and you will be in my prayers.
2 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Oh wow, Bytemi, that must have been very hard for you. Glad to hear the guy who said you imagined it is now your ex-husband!! Your daughter is very lucky to have a mother with such instincts!!
Thanks very much for your kindness and your prayers, they are much appreciated.
@inked4life (4224)
• United States
11 Jun 07
WOW Lecanis I'm glad to hear that your little guy is doing better..hopefully that'll be the end of it until you see your doctor tomorrow. I've never had a situation that bad with any of my kids...the worst we had was when our daughter was 2 and she had a huge fever and wouldn't stop vomiting...she had to go to the emergency and stay in overnight with an IV attached...hope everyhting turns out OK...keep us updated
3 people like this
@dragonokiefly (862)
• United States
11 Jun 07
Very scary! I have never had a child that reacted to the shots like that but I know that it can be a rare side effect. I am so sorry you all have to go through that. I know the fear that comes with a child stopping brething, been there, done that.
How high did his fever get? I know when my daughter had her shots they told me to give Motrin every 6 hours because it works better to keep the fever down. My daughter seems to run high fevers for no reason so this was just in case they said.
I hope you can get some rest tonight and not worry too much (I know easier said than done). Take care and keep us posted please.
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
11 Jun 07
Lecanis, if it was because of fever, you and your child are all right. It happens I know that it is scary. If its because of his shots, he has to have them and some children react Not many but some do. Listen to me. Dusty is okay. Its scary. Its heart breaking. But Dusty is okay. you will have to keep a watch now closer on fevers, vigilant at keeping them down.
2 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Thanks, dragonokiefly! His fever wasn't all that high when I checked it this morning, and he didn't seem to have one at all right even just a couple minutes before it happened. Apparently it went all the way from normal to 104 in just a couple of minutes! Right now we're dosing him on Tylenol every four hours until we see his regular doctor, which should be tomorrow.
I'm trying not to worry, but yeah, it's not so easy! That's part of why I posted this, to get some advice from other parents, and just have something to be doing other than straight-up worrying!
@angelicEmu (1311)
•
11 Jun 07
Not being a parent myself, I can only imagine how traumatic that must have been for you. You have my sympathy, and my positive energy is winging its way to you and your family as we speak. As I understand it, MMR jabs can have an effect on some children - even adults often get ill afterwards. I think it's because it's a "live" vaccine, so quite a powerful mix. On the bright side, at least you know your son is highly unlikely to get measles mumps or rubella now, and having caught measles myself as a child, and having had to go to hospital for several weeks(my memories are rather hazy as you can imagine), I know from personal experience that these are life-threatening illnesses you've protected your son against, and I'm sure that your doctor and the hospital will know how to deal with such reactions. All the best, and my thoughts are with you all.
2 people like this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
11 Jun 07
I jumped in on a comment to anxious to get your attention. Mom chill please, your baby is okay, Its scary. There are are some children that can not handle fevers the way other children seem too. A fever induced seizure is quite the norm for some. They out grow it, You You and dad need to keep it together.
1 person likes this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
11 Jun 07
the beary is a good voice to listen to. I have seen so many mothers just totally have a nervous break down over a child that seizures because of fever. If I could have called you I would have been on the phone saying ... HOLD up..... if that happens again a cool bath before the fever climbs. Yes it would seem dusty might be prone now to fever induced episodes. Use Tylenol one time and motrin the next, during periods of fever. Whew glad its over. Scary stuff Mom... He is okay tho.
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
I was wondering if you would catch the beary reference. I agree, he is a good voice to listen to. =p
Oh those are all good ideas, Angel! Thanks for your advice! I'll have to make sure to always have both Tylenol and Motrin on hand so that I can switch them up.
I could definitely see how people have nervous breakdowns over such things! The poor child wasn't breathing! The convulsions were scary, but the not breathing was even more scary to me.
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
I wondered about the placement of your comment, Angel, but it all makes sense now. Thanks so much, I really appreciate your kind yet pragmatic tone. =p
Not long after I got back from the hospital I had a bit of a chat with a beary good friend of ours, and it was very comforting. So far Vorbro and I are mostly being able to hold it together, we make a pretty good team. Other than following Dusty around like a rather large annoying shadow, I think I'm doing okay. And Vorbro is staying home tonight with me, which also helps.
I think the fact that it could be the norm is also scary for me, though! I was so terrified today, I don't ever want to do it again! However, the ER doctor did tell me to be very careful about fevers in the future, and I'm sure Dusty's regular doc will have more info for me when we go there.
Again, thanks a lot, sweetie, you're very helpful!
@judyt00 (3497)
• Canada
11 Jun 07
My.nephew.had.similar.reactions.to.his.first.few.
needles.so.we.made.a.point.of.keeping.all.the.kids.
dosed.on.tylenol.for.a.week.after.their.shots.so.they.
didn't.spike.a.fever...Convulsions.are,.indeed,.very.scary.
for.any.parent.to.witness.in.their.children...Just.give.him.
tylenol.for.the.fever.and.make.sure.he.is.well.hydrated...
likely.the.same.thing.your.ER.doctor.told.you.
2 people like this
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
11 Jun 07
How scary. I'm glad he's feeling better now.
The only time my 16 month old has ever been to the doctor (besides well baby check ups) was when he was 3 months old. We had to leave him with a friend of ours for two hours because my husband had a meeting while I was at work (he was on nights at the time, so he was usually home with the baby). Our friend didn't feel comfortable giving our baby the milk I had pumped so she gave him formula. He had tried formula a few times before and never had any problems with it, but we always mixed it was nursery water. We sent some with him, but for whatever reason, she gave him tap water anyway. He kept throwing up. She called me and I left work early. He nursed, but he was still throwing up so we ended up taking him to the emergency room. We were so scared. They had to give him something like pedialyte, which he luckily drank without any problems, so he didn't have to have an IV.
It appears to have just been an issue with our nasty water. We waited until he was about 9 months old before we started even cooking any of his food with it, and even still we don't give it to him to drink. In the last two to three months we've been using our tap water (after it's filtered of course) to mix his juice, but for just plain water, he still gets nursery water.
2 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Thanks! =)
Wow, that does sound scary, especially since it started at the babysitter's. It's good at least that you are sure of the culprit (the bad water) and can avoid it in the future.
With a baby that small especially, it seems like everything is scary. I'm only just now starting not to worry every time my son is even a little sniffly, but then I'm a first-time mom who didn't even have younger sibs or anything to practice on!
1 person likes this
@killahclaire (3665)
•
11 Jun 07
I myself used to take seizures and my family and friends have said it is a very scary thing and I was fully grown at the time so I can not even begin to understand what you are going through.
Hopefully the doctors will be good with him and the only advice I can give you is that make sure he has all the relevent brain scans MRI, CAT, EEG before they put him on medication if they choose to cos they diagnosed me as being epileptic and i was on tablets for 6 months and having problems with my liver before they done all the scans and realsied my brain activity was perfectly normal.
Hopefully though everything will be fine and it is just one of those one off things.
2 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
*nods* I had seizures before too, while I was pregnant. They never did find out the cause in my case, saying it was probably hormonal, and it was very scary for my husband and others around me who saw it.
Thanks for all the good advice, killahclaire! Sorry to hear you had to go through all that, I hope you're doing well now.
1 person likes this
@daycarepal (1998)
• United States
11 Jun 07
I've never had a child with seizures. But I wanted to say that I hope your baby is okay. I know it must have been very scary.
2 people like this
@mummymo (23706)
•
11 Jun 07
Oh Lecanis how awful for you and your family! Did they say if it was febrile convulsions? It sounds a bit like it - they are usually caused by a temperature and are the babies bodies ways of trying to control it! They are very frightening I remember the first time I seen it was with my niece when I was 9 and although my youngest has had this happen twice (both times due to infection induced temperatures) it didn't get any easier to cope with! Usually it is not a thing that continues to happen but your doctor will be able to let you know what caused this and whether it is likely to happen again. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers! Please let us know how he is - I know how worrying it is when your child is ill! xxxx
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
12 Jun 07
As far as we know right now it was febrile convulsions. The doctor doesn't think it was acctually caused by vaccination like we suspected, rather that it was a virus. We will have to be really careful about fevers in the future, but otherwise Dustin is doing well right now.
*nods* I really hope it doesn't happen again to us, as it was very frightening. However, if it does, we have a lot of information that our doctor gave us, so that we can be prepared.
1 person likes this
@mummymo (23706)
•
12 Jun 07
I knew it sounded like feb convulsions honey - but I didn't like to assume! I am a qualified nursery nurse (not medical but child care) and have grown up with my nieces and nephews around me, as well as my own 2! My niece only ever had this happen once , as do most kids! The best news is that even if it were to happen again , children usually grow out of this quite quickly! Will still keep you all in my prayers - if only to try to give you peace of mind! I meant to say earlier that you did a great job handling it so well! Hugs to you and Dustin xxxx
1 person likes this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
11 Jun 07
I am sorry, lecanis, that it happened but I am glad that it's over and he is doing well now. I hope, rather believe that he will keep doing well and there will be no problem. I havn't had this problem yet with my son but my nephew did have a seizure apparently after the vaccination around the same age (I wonder if it has anything to do with age) and I can well remember that how much scary that was. He was the first child in our family and much loved one as your son is. But he got ok afterwards and it never happened again. So It gives me a reason to believe that your son is not going to have it again anyways.
So, just take care of him as well as yourself (better for him as well) with an eye on him. Don't worry, it has passed never to come back again. Best of luck and love to your cute son:-)
1 person likes this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
11 Jun 07
on a more positive side, I just hope that this scary afternoon turns out to be an invitation to more blessings in terms of your strengthened and blissful relationship with your family. I hope that you see positives in this apparent negative and heart pounding time. I wish you the best of whatever life has to offer you and pray the little one never get it again.
1 person likes this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
11 Jun 07
Kids will have seizures if their fevor is to high. It's not necessarily because of the vaccinatuions.
I know my daughter had a high fevor in daycare and they didn't call me to tell me and she did the same thing by the time I had picked her up from her classroom. We rushed her to the ER and they got her fevor down and she was fine after all that. I was told that high fevors can cause seizures. We could of caught it in time and gave her tylenole, but her daycare teachers never called.
Everything is fine now, she will be 5 soon. This all happened when she was about 8 months old.
In your case, vaccination does bring on fevors, I would make sure you give him tylenol before and after the next time he has a vaccination.
I'm sure all will be fine.
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Thanks for sharing your story, Foxxee! I really appreciate it!
His vaccination was Tuesday, we had given him some then. And I gave him some Tylenol this morning when he started with the fever too, and it came down once. It pretty much spiked from normal temperature to a really high fever within just a couple of moments, right before the seizure. So it's kind of hard to think I could have stopped it, given those circumstances.
I'm really happy to hear that your daughter is doing well now! I think if I were you I would have been pretty upset at that daycare. My son hasn't been to one yet, because my husband and I work opposite schedules so one of us is always home, so I haven't had to worry about that!
@SheliaLee (2736)
• United States
11 Jun 07
Bless your heart, I know that was a horrible thing for you and your son to go through. I'm glad he is doing well now. I have never had one of my children to have seizures but when you mentioned he had had a vaccination shot it reminded me that a friend of mine had her little given a Hepatitis B shot a few months ago and a few days late she had a seizure. The only thing that the doctor said that worried my friend is that once she has had a seizure she will more than likely continue to have them in the future. I hope that isn't the case and I hope that isn't the case with your son either. I don't blame you one bit for being nervous and keeping a watchful eye out, I would have done the same, or still would, if it happened to one of mine. I hope the rest of the night is peaceful for you and your family. Please keep us posted on how he is doing. :)
SheliaLee
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
It was very scary. I heard that could happen too, that we have to be more careful about fevers in the future. I'm sure his regular doctor will give us more information about precautions to take. I hope this is a one-time thing, though, because I can't imagine going through it on a regular basis!
Thanks for much for all your kind words, and I will be sure to keep everyone posted. Thankfully my husband, who works nights, is staying home tonight, so at least we'll both be here to keep watch!
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
11 Jun 07
I hope he is okay. How terribly terrifying that must have been. I have no advice, I'm sorry to say but I do wish you well.
Great discussion as other mother's need to read this.
1 person likes this
@scammerwear (1433)
• Singapore
11 Jun 07
I don't have any children (that I know of...) and have very little experience with them, so I can't offer any good advice. This earlier post I made is the best I can offer. http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1113562.aspx
I'm pretty sure it works, but it might be best if you do it yourself.
May that which you hold divine, watch over you and your child. Holding you close, keeping you safe.
(Keep us updated about your child ya?)
@scammerwear (1433)
• Singapore
11 Jun 07
p.s. you might wanna reword it a bit to suit your situation (Sorry, I'm so wore out that I forgot that weaving was originally created for an unborn child :( )
1 person likes this
@frecklelip334 (1668)
• United States
11 Jun 07
we haven't had to go thru anything like that after all his shots, my goodness, i would have freaked out. oh my, your family is in my prayers. how scary indeed. hope all is better now. i wish i had advice. all we did was RIGHT after he was given a shot, i gave him some tylenol RIGHT there in the doc's office. and just watched him all night to make sure he didn't have a reaction. oh bless your hearts, how scary!
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 Jun 07
Thanks, frecklelip, I really appreciate it!
He always gets Tylenol after the shots and everything, but the shot was on Tuesday and he didn't have any signs of a reaction until today. So I guess there just wasn't any help for it, but thankfully he seems to be doing okay now, and hopefully tomorrow his regular doctor will be able to see him.
1 person likes this
@frecklelip334 (1668)
• United States
11 Jun 07
well let us know if the doc says it WAS caused from the shots. it may be something else? oh man.
1 person likes this
@protectorate (185)
•
16 Jun 07
howdy lecanis. i'm truthfully sorry to hear such dreadful ordeal that diseases have put you and your dearly beloved sun through. i do know anything about such these cases of illness however there is my best wishes for your sun's health and i'd show my gratitude with these spiritual support as a return cause of your kindness.
wish your sun at a speedy recovery and no more episodes like this ever again. good day
1 person likes this
