Parental response and understanding towards febrile convulsion

A questionnaire survey was conducted on parents of 58 patients admitted with febrile convulsion (FC) over a 4 month period to the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur to determine parental response towards febrile convulsion in their child and their understanding of home management of FC.
Results: The majority of parents (93%) were frightened or were in a panic state of witnessing FC in their child. Most (77.6%) of them were able to bring their child to medical attention within 30 minutes, with delays attributed to transport problems. Parental understanding on FC was deficient, particularly with regard to home management of acute seizures. The parents’ main source of information was friends and relatives.
Conclusions: Urgent intervention to counsel and allay fears of parents who have just witnessed an acute FC in their child is required. More effort must be made to educate parents about FC, with particular reference to home management of seizures.