There is no evidence to suggest that febrile seizures cause any lasting damage, such as brain damage or learning difficulties. However, a very small number of children who have febrile seizures go on to have epilepsy.
Epilepsy
The risk of a child developing epilepsy after a simple febrile seizure is 1.5%. However, the risk rises to 2.5% if the child was under 12 months old when they had their first seizure (in those who had multiple simple seizures).
The risk of developing epilepsy increases with each of the following factors:
- neurological abnormalities, or a developmental delay before the onset of febrile seizures
- a family history of epilepsy
- a brief fever (less than one hour) before the seizure
- complex seizures
