section 8
Treating fever
3 years
46 meeting
Let’s review:
Once the meeting starts, welcome everyone and ask the participants: • Who can help us remember what we talked about in our last meeting? • Who was able to do the activity at home that we asked you to do at the end of the meeting? How did it go? • Does anyone have questions or concerns after doing the activity?
What are we going to learn?
Families and communities learn how to provide first aid when a child has a high fever and when to seek medical care to help diagnose the child and provide proper treatment for a fever. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT! We are going to look at some pictures, so we can talk about what we all know about this topic.
In your experience, what things have been the most effective in helping lower a child’s fever? Why do you think it’s important to treat a child with a fever?
How do you detect that a child has a fever and what do you when he or she has a fever?
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Activity:
“Fever go down” We are going to practice how to lower a child’s temperature.
What we’ll need: • • • • •
Thermometer A wash cloth A basin filled with water A light blanket Ibuprofen for children
WHAT WE’LL DO: Start by asking what are some of the customary ways in the community to lower a child’s temperature. If necessary you can talk about how some of these may be dangerous and why (for example, using alcohol to cool a child’s body). • You can also ask if the group knows of a few of the common causes of fever, such as: colds, diarrhea, malaria, dengue, ear and throat infections, urinary infections and pneumonia. • Explain that in this meeting we are going to practice a few ways to lower a child’s fever while we are seeking medical attention. Ask a mother to volunteer the use of her child as you demonstrate the following steps: • Confirm that the child has a high fever – if you have a thermometer in your medicine cabinet use it to take the child’s temperature. • Place a cool damp washcloth on the child’s neck, armpit and groin. • Give the child medicine like Tylenol for children, following the indicated doses. NEVER give a child aspirin. • Dress a child in light clothes, don’t dress them in thick heavy clothes and give them plenty of water to drink. • If the fever doesn’t lessen soon, take them to a health clinic at the first opportunity.
Summing Up:
What did we learn today? Now, we’ll review what we discussed today. • How do you feel after this meeting? Why? • What are the two most important things you’ve learned today? • What will you do differently based on what you learned during the meeting? • What did you like the most? Are there things you didn’t like? • Do you have any remaining concerns or questions about what we talked about? To finish, what would you recommend to improve today’s meeting when we do it again with another group. (Explain that answering this question will help the meeting be even better in the future for parents with small children.)
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To do at home:
• Tell parents to check their first aid kit and make sure they have Tylenol for children and if possible, that they get a thermometer. • Tell parents to make sure they know where they can bring their children in case they need medical attention.
Basic information for the facilitator: Learning more about treating fever: 1- Signs and symptoms of fever: Fever is defined as a rectal temperature above 38 Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit). If there is no rectal thermometer at home, then some signs of a fever are when the child “feels hot”, cries a lot, and looks sick. If this is the case, the child should be taken to the Community Health Worker (CHW) or health clinic to check on the rectal temperature and diagnose the cause of fever. Young infants, 0-3 months old, are particularly at risk when they have high temperature and should be examined by a doctor.
2-Causes of fever in the child: Most frequently the child with fever will have a viral infection, a
common cold or flu, which only requires symptomatic treatment. If the fever persists and the child develops other symptoms like fast breathing, cough, chest in-drawing, does not want to eat, looks lethargic and is irritable, he or she should be taken to the health clinic for diagnosis. Serious causes of fever are: • Urinary track infection: infection of the kidney or bladder • Pneumonia or lung infection • Meningitis: infection in the tissues covering the brain • Otitis or ear infection
3-Consequences of high fever: High temperature in a child, 39 Celsius or above, can cause
the child to have convulsions and can lead to damage to the brain if repeated. A child who had convulsions should be seen by a doctor to rule out meningitis and to treat the child, preventing further convulsions.
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4- How to treat fever:
• The 3 goals of home care for a child with a fever are to reduce the temperature, prevent dehydration, and monitor for serious or life-threatening illness. • The first goal is to make the child comfortable by monitoring and reducing the fever to less than 38.9 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit). A temperature higher than this increases the risk of convulsions. • Use a wet cloth or towel on the forehead, neck, and groin to bring temperature down. • Bathing a child with lukewarm water can also help reduce temperature. • The child should be given fluids like soups, Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), to prevent from dehydration. • Giving acetaminophen or ibuprofen under the guidance of a CHW or nurse is sometimes necessary to reduce fever. • If given all the measures above, the child is still ill, medical help will be needed. • They should be dressed lightly. • Children should have all their immunizations up-to-date. • They should continue breast feeding up to two years to have defenses and vitamins from their mother. • They should start complementary feeding at the age of 6 months to boost their own defenses. • NEVER GIVE ASPIRIN TO TREAT FEVER
Facilitator’s Manual