Febrile Seizures and Immunizations
A reader writes asking Dr Freeman about the problem of an 18-month-old boy with a normal EEG after a febrile seizure at age 1 year, who then had two seizures after only .25 ml of DPT vaccination at a later date. Dr Freeman's response was that this child's reaction may be due more to the pertussis vaccine than to the fever, and suggested that pertussis be dropped from subsequent immunizations and that the boy receive only DT. He commented more generally that a child who has febrile seizures can continue to have his routine immunizations. Such a child might be given aspirin for a day or two after the injection. Reaction to DPT is a problem unrelated to febrile seizures per se.
