The seizures terrify parents but do not cause brain damage in the children.
Parents witnessing a febrile seizure usually think that their child is dying.
Until recently, it has not been possible to identify a group of infants at sufficiently high risk to justify counseling before they have a first febrile seizure. If guidance is given, it seems important not to enhance fever phobia by excessive attention to control of temperature. Instead, the benign nature of febrile convulsions should be emphasized, including continued attendance at day care. A rare child with meningitis may be initially seen with a seizure. At one time, some insisted that this risk mandated a lumbar puncture for every child with a febrile seizure.