There is little worse then hearing your child wake up in the middle of the night, crying. When you go to them and pick them up for comfort you realize they feel as hot as an oven and it’s obvious your little babe is sick. You take their temperature — and there it is, your child has a fever.
Fevers are often feel like a big threat to parents, many rush for the Tylenol and the phone to make a call into their doctor or their first reaction is to take them to the emergency room. Understandably we get nervous and anxious when our child is not feeling well. What some parents don’t realize is not all fevers are bad. There are 4 key things to know about if your child spikes a fever (for a child over 3-years-old):
A fever is a natural body response used to fight infection
Many parents believe that a fever is something that we need to fight, that it’s important to get the temperature down and then babe will be better. That’s simply not true. The body will send out signals at sign of infection to raise body temperatures — it does this to fight the infection because there are many that can not survive at extreme body temperatures. By quickly lowering the fever in a child, you rid their immune system from their fighting tool against the bacteria/virus.
A high fever is different depending on age and the way you took the temperature
What is considered to be a ‘fever’ in an adult and child varies as does the method of taking their temperature. A temperature is considered a fever if it reaches 100.4F (38 C) when taken orally or rectally; if taken in the underarm or mouth it’s considered a fever when it’s a bit under that.
Not all fevers need to be treated
The rule really is “treat the child, not the fever”. What this means is that if your child has a fever but is acting fine, then there is no need to give them medication. If your child is acting miserable, complaining of big aches or being sore that’s when it becomes beneficial to bring down the fever. Temperatures of 102F and lower don’t typically need to be treated. Temperatures at 105+F for over an hour after being given fever-reducing medication (like tylenol or ibuprofen) should likely be seen by a doctor or warrants a call.
Signs are usually a better indicator of overall health and danger
If your child is not acting like themselves, that is a better indication of how they are actually feeling. If your child has chills, complains of being achy or has pain, giving medication to reduce their fever can help them rest. If your child is still interested in playing, eating and drinking okay, alert and smiling at you, and looks well when their temperature comes down, there is likely nothing to worry about. If your child has a fever for 3 days — it’s best to have them looked at by a doctor.
** Of course, if your “parent instinct” is telling you that something isn’t right — that feeling overrides anything anyone else tells you or you read. Always trust your gut and if you think your child needs to be seen, calling your doctor is likely the best idea. **
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These are great general guidelines.
Your body won’t spike a fever over 105 unless there are some external factors involved (hot tub, heat stroke, ingested poison). Your body won’t cook itself. Also, a fever has to get to 102 before your immune system kicks into gear and sends out “fighter cells” to destroy the bacteria/virus. Giving fever reducers mess with this nature immune response and makes it easier for bacteria/viruses to multiply because it gives them the perfect temperature to grow in. If your child is restless and achy, giving arnica and some diluted green tea will allow the bodies natural response to stay in full force and allow your child to rest. Keeping their glucose levels up greatly reduces the chances of a seizure (which happens because of rapidly increasing/decreasing temp, not just a high temp)
Personally, with OTC child products being recalled just about every week, I wouldn’t ever give them to my children. My kids will run a temp between 103 – 104 for 12 hours and then be right as rain. I don’t really remember the last time my kids had colds. My 5 years old has had only two lasting colds. My youngest has had cancer but has never been sick with a cold/flu, go figure. Sarah Pope @ The Healthy Home Economist also has a great post on fevers.
But like your post says, parents always know the norms for their kids and should trust their gut instincts.
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January 31, 2012 at 8:21 am
The “treat the child, not the fever” is huge. Most of the time, when my kids are fighting something, they’re beyond happy – just a little less rambunctious. If I actually fretted about their temperatures, I’d be in & out of the hospital all of the time. Heck, 100.4 one hour might lead to 98.6 an hour later.
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