Baby
Febrile Seizure First Aid: What UK Parents Should Do
By Emma Whitfield · Pregnancy & Baby Writer
A febrile seizure looks terrifying. Most are short and not dangerous long-term — but first seizures need medical assessment, and some patterns are 999 without debate.
What is a febrile seizure?
A fit linked to a high temperature, usually in children between about 6 months and 6 years. NHS: they often last 2–3 minutes and rarely more than 10.
What should you do during the seizure?
Do
- Check the clock (start and end)
- Protect the head with your hands or something soft
- Move dangerous objects away
- After it stops: recovery position; check nothing is blocking the mouth/throat
Do not
- Hold them down
- Put anything in their mouth
- Sponge with cold water or undress to “cool” them mid-seizure
When should you call 999 or go to A&E?
Call 999 / A&E if your child:
- Has a seizure for the first time
- Has a seizure lasting more than 5 minutes
- Is having difficulty breathing
- Has stiffness/twitching on only one side
- Is more sleepy than usual for more than 1 hour after
- Has more than one seizure within 24 hours
Do not drive while they are still seizing or unconscious — call 999.
What about the fever itself?
After emergency care is sorted, use NHS fever rules: when to take a baby with a fever to A&E. For home monitoring later, a digital armpit thermometer beats forehead strips.
What do UK parents actually say about this?
Parents describe the first febrile seizure as the scariest 90 seconds of parenthood — and nearly all who called an ambulance say they were glad they did not wait to “see if it stopped”.** Timing it on a phone lock screen is the tip that gets passed on most.
Who should skip “wait and see if it ends”?
Skip waiting if it is the first seizure, hits 5 minutes, breathing looks wrong, or they will not come round properly afterwards. Recurrent short seizures still need a medical plan — do not normalise them without clinician advice.
What we’d change: myths about putting a spoon in the mouth — dangerous and useless.
What questions come up most?
Are febrile seizures epilepsy?
No. They are not the same as epilepsy. There is a slightly increased chance of epilepsy later, but that remains uncommon.
Should every febrile seizure go to hospital?
A first febrile seizure needs medical assessment. Call 999/A&E for the red-flag timings and breathing issues listed above; follow clinician advice for any further episodes.
Sources & further reading
- Febrile seizures — NHS
- High temperature (fever) in children — NHS
Keep reading
When to Take a Baby with a Fever to A&E (UK)
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