There are lots of myths out there concerning what to do when your child gets a fever. Several of these myths are attributed to your “grandma’s” generation. I am one of those grandmas and I must agree there were many of what turned out to be “old wives’ tales” that my generation was listening to.
Up until recent years my understanding was that a child COULD experience brain impairment if their fever got to around 105 degrees. My understanding was you WOULD try your best to bring a fever down with a lot of ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen. My understanding was you SHOULD bring a child in to the pediatrician, again if the fever was in the 104 or 105 degree span. Growing up, there was an expression we used, “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”. It just implied that we were no longer doing things the way we did them in the past. That certainly applies here. Today, doctors provide better patient teaching about fevers and how to reduce them.
Here are the facts as they sit today regarding your little one and a fever. Before I list them, I want to stress two things. Number one, these facts are NOT true for babies under 3-months old. Additionally, if your child is experiencing a special medical condition, these facts may not be true for them. It is imperative that you check with your child’s doctor to see how fever has an effect on his or her condition.
• Thermometers are more accurate nowadays than they were in my day. I normally would not hold the thermometer in my mouth for a lengthy enough time to get a correct reading. Here is the bottom line; there is no specific number on the thermometer that requires you to bring your child to the ER. That includes the readings of 104 and 105 degrees. Fever is the usual manner in which the body combats common infections. Viruses and bacteria that infect the body can’t effectively reproduce in hotter settings (like a body with a higher than average temp). Fever is never the disease; it is a symptom of whatever illness your kid has. As alarming as it is for parents/grandparents/caregivers to recognize, observing the higher number on your Temp-i-Sure thermometer implies the body is accomplishing what it should to battle the infection.
• How high a fever goes above the “normal number” (different for every child but might be somewhere between 98.6 to 99.9 degrees) does not really matter. Instead you should be watching for signs that your kiddo is able to maintain sufficient hydration or that their degree of activity is satisfactory, etc.
• This next point was the greatest surprise for me. Fevers don’t need to be treated with medication. In view of the fact that fevers help the body fight infection, as mentioned before, you need the fever to run its course. It is sensible to treat the fever when you think your child is uncomfortable. The goal of giving them the fever-reducer then becomes not to bring the fever back down into the “normal” range but to make your child feel better. They may be experiencing difficulty sleeping or not able to eat or drink, etc.
• When you have decided to provide your child a fever-reducer, to make them more comfy, let me highlight a few points about correct dosing. Experts say that one-half of caregivers do not give out the right dose of medication. Remember that medications should be given according to the child’s weight, not age. Also, always use the measuring device that comes with the certain medicine you are giving them. Just like back in “grandma’s day”, our regular teaspoons are not always accurate. I think a big worry for all parents is over-dosing their child. They overcompensate by under-dosing their child on purpose. This type of dose will not help your child the way it should. So, if you’re going to provide medicine to your child, give the right recommended dose.
• I hate to keep sounding like a broken record, but again fever is the typical response to infection. Fever does not cause brain damage. A typical functioning brain has the ability to cool itself. Each typical functioning brain has an internal thermostat that stops it from developing a high enough fever to trigger brain damage. There are major exceptions like a child suffering from heat stroke or another form of hyperthermia (like experiencing a brain injury or being in a closed car on a hot summer day, etc.)
