Find your local services Search for a service near you by entering your postcode below. Please input your postcode in the following format: A12 1BC. NHS inform has more information on this condition. Read more. You said:. Based on the information you gave us, we made the following recommendation:. Treating a fever If your child has a fever, it's important to keep them hydrated by giving them plenty of cool water to drink. Antipyretics Children's paracetamol or ibuprofen work as antipyretics, which help to reduce fever, as well as being painkillers.
More serious illnesses Sometimes a high temperature in children is associated with more serious signs and symptoms, such as: breathlessness vomiting rash fits or seizures Possible serious bacterial illnesses include: meningitis — infection of the meninges, the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord septicaemia — infection of the blood pneumonia — inflammation of the lung tissue, usually caused by an infection It's important to remember that potentially serious causes of fever are relatively rare.
Tweet Click here to share this page on Twitter This will open a new window. Print Click here to print this page This will open your print options in a new window. When your child has a fever, the body works the same way to control the temperature. But it has temporarily reset its thermostat at a higher temperature.
The temperature increases for a number of reasons:. Chemicals, called cytokines and mediators, are made in the body in response to an invasion from a microorganism, malignancy, or other intruder. The body is making more macrophages. These are cells that go to combat when intruders are present in the body.
These cells actually "eat-up" the invading organism. The body is busy trying to make natural antibodies, which fight infection. These antibodies will recognize the infection next time it tries to invade.
Many bacteria are enclosed in an overcoat-like membrane. When this membrane is disrupted or broken, the contents that escape can be toxic to the body. Typically, rectal thermometers offer the most accurate temperature readings for infants and young toddlers; oral thermometers provide greatest accuracy for older children.
Most children can manage an oral thermometer at 4 years of age. For most children, a fever is a sign that their body is responding effectively to an infection. When viruses or bacteria invade your body, white blood cells release proteins called pyrogens.
Pyrogens flow through the bloodstream to the hypothalamus, the region of the brain that controls body temperature. There, they bind to receptors that cause the hypothalamus to raise internal body temperature, resulting in a fever. Importantly, this process is self-limiting — an immune response will not trigger a fever sufficient to cause brain injury. In short, a fever is protective and a good sign that the immune system is trying to fight the infection.
There is little to no scientific evidence to support the widely held belief that teething causes significant fever.
If your child is comfortable, fever-reducing medications are unnecessary. Only when an infection has been eliminated will body temperature return to normal. Acetaminophen Tylenol and ibuprofen Advil, Motrin are among the most common fever-reducing medicines. Dosing should be based on body weight.
KidMed maintains a free online dosing chart for acetaminophen and ibuprofen. This is very common with infections that cause fever. For kids who still drink and urinate pee normally, not eating as much as usual is OK.
A gentle kiss on the forehead or a hand placed lightly on the skin is often enough to give you a hint that your child has a fever. However, this method of taking a temperature called tactile temperature won't give an accurate measurement.
Use a reliable digital thermometer to confirm a fever. It's a fever when a child's temperature is at or above one of these levels:. But how high a fever is doesn't tell you much about how sick your child is. Because fevers can rise and fall, a child might have chills as the body's temperature begins to rise.
The child may sweat to release extra heat as the temperature starts to drop. Sometimes kids with a fever breathe faster than usual and may have a faster heart rate. Call the doctor if your child has trouble breathing, is breathing faster than normal, or is still breathing fast after the fever comes down. Again, not all fevers need to be treated. In most cases, a fever should be treated only if it's causing a child discomfort. If your child is fussy or uncomfortable, you can give acetaminophen or ibuprofen based on the package recommendations for age or weight.
Unless instructed by a doctor, never give aspirin to a child due to its association with Reye syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease.
If you don't know the recommended dose or your child is younger than 2 years old, call the doctor to find out how much to give. Infants younger than 2 months old should not be given any medicine for fever without being checked by a doctor.
If your child has any medical problems, check with the doctor to see which medicine is best to use. Remember that fever medicine can temporarily bring a temperature down, but usually won't return it to normal — and it won't treat the underlying reason for the fever. Dress your child in lightweight clothing and cover with a light sheet or blanket.
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