How Isabelle Daza handled scary episode of her son Balthazar having a seizure

Shares parenting tips on what to do if it happens to your baby

From Isabelle’s first animation video on “Tralala the Tiger,” which was her attempt to explain Covid-19 to her son Balthazar or Baltie, she launched her second animation on her Instagram TV on a scare that happened last year. 

The video was made by Tristan Yap Chiongco with illustrations by Jewie Art Space. It was titled Benign Febrile Seizure. She further explained in the caption that “I created this video to tell the story of what happened to Baltie in one of the scariest experiences we have had when he had a really high fever.”

Isabelle recounted how her son was feeling okay, then suddenly timid, and burning up until his body temperature reached 39.6 degrees Celsius. She was holding Baltie when the seizure happened. “His body stiffened. His eyes were shut, and it almost looked like his eyes were rolling back. He was biting hard on his teeth,” says Isabelle. 

Good thing her husband Adrien called their pediatrician Dr. Ayen Nuguid who instructed them to put Baltie in the shower. That’s when the baby started crying, a good sign, according to Dr. Ayen. 

Isabelle was generous enough to share the lesson she learned from this experience. “Babies less than five years old are prone to going to a seizure because the brain is not mature enough to handle the fever. This is called a benign febrile convulsion. It's not harmful and doesn't indicate any serious health problem," she says. "This experience is one of the scariest I had because I had no control over my son's reactions and his body. One thing I learned is to stay calm and have the presence of mind to be able to lower the fever.”

So what should a parent do? “Stay calm. Lower the fever with a bath or wet towel wrap. If you haven’t given a dose of paracetamol, call your doctor immediately. Hydrate the child. Let the baby sleep after.”