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Watching your child have a fit can be a very frightening experience. You may even think that your child is dying. However fits are not as serious as they look.
A fit is a disturbance of electrical activity in the brain that causes messages to become mixed up. There are different sorts of fits (sometimes called seizures or convulsions). Often children become unconscious and are not able to respond to you. They may fall and there can be jerking (shaking) of the limbs.
A single fit does not mean your child has epilepsy, this may be the only fit that your child ever has. If your child has more fits they may require further investigation or treatment. Epilepsy is a tendency to have recurrent fits. Because your child has had a fit, they will be referred to a specialist who will assess whether any tests are going to be helpful.
If you have not called for an ambulance because the seizure is short-lived, they have not been injured and have completely recovered from it, please inform your GP or nurse specialist (if you have one) of the fit.
It can be helpful to keep a diary of when your child had a fit, how long it lasted for and what they were doing before the fit started. Please take this diary along with any video footage you may have of the fit to subsequent hospital appointments.
It is a good idea to let other people (who may be looking after your child) know that your child has had a fit. For example family, friends, your child’s school or playgroup, nursery or childminder.
Share the information in this page with anyone who is going to look after your child so they know what to do and what not to do in case your child has another fit while in their care.
It is important to let your child take part in all their normal activities and sports. However, they need to take extra care for some activities:
This list is not exhaustive but gives suggestions of some of the things to think about.
Your GP, school nurse, health visitor or other health professional.
Please note: this is a generic information sheet relating to care at Sheffield Children’s NHS FT. These details may not reflect treatment at other hospitals. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professionals’ instructions. If this resource relates to medicines, please read it alongside the medicine manufacturer’s patient information leaflet. If this information has been translated into another language from English, efforts have been made to maintain accuracy, but there may still be some translation errors. If you are unsure about any of the guidance in this resource or have specific questions about how it relates to your child, always ask your healthcare professional for further advice.
Resource number: ED45
Resource Type: Article
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