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Febrile Seizures
What Is It?
Febrile seizures occur in children. They are caused by a high fever or by a sudden rise in body temperature. These seizures usually happen at the beginning of an illness, soon after the fever first starts. Febrile seizures affect about 3-5 percent of children. They are most common between ages 6 months and 5 years.
What is a seizure? The brain's nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other by giving off tiny electric signals. When someone has a seizure (convulsion), the way the brain's nerve cells give off signals suddenly changes, causing different muscles in the body to twitch or jerk uncontrollably.
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