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Children under 6
Febrile seizures are seizures that are triggered by a high temperature. They happen to around 3 or 4 out of every 100 children under the age of 6. They are usually linked to a childhood illness, such as tonsillitis.
Febrile seizures are not epilepsy. But children who have had febrile seizures have a higher chance of developing epilepsy when they are older, than children in general.
You can find more information about febrile seizures on the NHS website.
Children aged 6 and over
It’s unusual for a child over the age of 6 to continue having febrile seizures. If they do, they might have a form of epilepsy, and your doctor may want to do some tests to look into this.
The link between febrile seizures and epilepsy
The more febrile seizures a child has had, the more likely it is that they will develop epilepsy.
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