Dr. First warns about fever
Parents have been hot to ask me when to worry about their child having a fever.
Well let me try to cool down everyone’s concern and help separate the facts from the fiction in regard to fever.
One question I often get asked is if fever is bad for a child. Well fever is the body’s way to better fight off infection and rev up the body’s immune system, so fevers are actually good for children.
Another common concern is that fevers over 104 are dangerous and cause brain damage. Actually fevers over 108 have been shown to cause brain damage and that situation is very very rare and only occurs with extreme environmental temperatures.
Fevers due to infection never climb high enough to cause brain injury on the basis of the heat generated.
Parents also worry that the exact number on the thermometer is a problem. Actually the number is only of interest in infants under a month when we do want to know about temperatures above 100.4. Over that age if your child is immunized, it is not the number, but what your child looks like that is important in terms in terms of their overall wellness.
As to treatment, adequate hydration and not overdressing your child or covering your child with blankets to trap heat are the first step. Be aware that acetaminophen or ibuprofen should only be used to treat the discomfort and are not an automatic since as I just mentioned, fever helps rid your child’s body of the infection.
Bottom line: If you are concerned about your child with or without a high fever especially in terms of their breathing, hydration status, or level of alertness, please talk to your child’s doctor.
Hopefully tips like this will burn brightly in your minds so you can stay calm, cool, and collected the next time your child has a fever.