I want to preface with the concept that a fever is not a disease – it is a symptom that something is going on inside the body that is causing temperature to rise. The majority of fevers among kids are due to self-limiting viral illnesses. Identifying why the child has a fever is a great place to start: do they have an ear infection? Are they teething? Is there a bacterial infection going around at the daycare?
There is a time to be concerned; a time to bring down the fever, but there is value in letting your fever (or your babe’s fever) run its course. Here’s some myths about fever that I wanted to bust. There’s plenty of text but it’s simplified as much as I could! After all, I think you deserve to know the most I can get down on paper to be well-educated on fevers by the end of this post! Just click on Busted! under each “myth” to reveal the answer. Enjoy.
Myth #1: If my child gets a fever, I can bring it down with a cool cloth!
Myth #2: The higher the temperature, the more serious this is!
Myth #3: Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Acetaminophen are all great choices to bring down a fever should I need to.
Myth #4: If I don’t do anything my child will have a seizure! Seizures are incredibly dangerous and they will get epilepsy!
Myth #5: My child has a fever and that’s reason enough to get them to a doctor – a fever must always be treated!