Managing a Child's Fever A fever is one of the ways your child’s body uses to help fight infection. Some fevers are caused by a virus and others by germs (bacteria). Your child could also have a low-grade fever while teething or after he or she gets a vaccine during a doctor’s office or clinic visit. Parents often worry about fever. But a fever is usually not harmful and most children will have one at some time. How high your child’s fever goes is not related to how sick your child is. How sick your child looks and feels is the important guide for you. A normal temperature is about 98.6º F (37.0ºC) when taken by mouth. Temperatures taken in the rectum are about 1 degree higher. Body temperatures are lower in the early morning and higher in the late afternoon and evening. This change is due to activity during the day. So, take your child's temperature in the morning. Re-check his or her temp about every 4 hours. Check it more often if your chld is less active, restless or does not seem to be feeling better. If your baby is less than 29 days old and has a fever, take him or her to an emergency room to be seen.
Treatment Your child’s doctor will talk with you about how to care for your child. Here are some general guidelines to help prevent your child from losing too much fluid due to the fever. Your goal is to make your child comfortable while the fever runs its course. Most of the time, you can treat your child's fever at home. ©2006-13 P&H Assoc., Inc This handout is for information only and is not meant to replace your doctors advice or treatment.
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Managing a Child's Fever
If your child seems to be OK and eats and drinks as usual, he or she may not need any medicine to treat the fever. There are other things you can do however, including: ●
Dress him or her in light clothing.
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Keep the room temperature less than 72ºF (22.2ºC).
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Give extra fluids to be sure your child is well hydrated (has enough fluids in the body). Do not give your child drinks with caffeine such as colas, coffee and tea. Decaffeinated drinks are fine though. If your child is shivering, wrap him or her in a light-weight blanket. Keep your child quiet. Active play like running, skipping, and jumping tends to raise body temperature.
Using medicines for fever Your child’s doctor may advise you to use non-aspirin medicine to help control your child’s fever or discomfort. In general, use these medicines if your child: ●
is not comfortable
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will not drink
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does not want to play
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is fussy
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has had a febrile seizure (a seizure caused by a fever) before
Do not use aspirin or aspirin products. These have been linked to Reye's Syndrome in children, which can cause severe illness and even death. ©2006-13 P&H Assoc., Inc This handout is for information only and is not meant to replace your doctors advice or treatment.
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