Parenting is difficult. Throw in a fever, and your anxiety level tin can skyrocket. Feeling your child'south brow, searching for the thermometer and calling family and friends for advice tin can become obsessions.

While your child's elevated temperature may signal an result, typically, a hot forehead is zippo to lose your cool over.  Fevers are not a medical status. Fevers are our body's natural defense force to fight infection, speeding up certain metabolic processes to assist our immune organisation join the fight.

But with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, your child's fever may crusade you lot more anxiety since a fever is one of the primary symptoms of the virus. If yous call up your child has been exposed to COVID-19, visit Clare, the OSF HealthCare chatbot. Clare can screen your child's symptoms and directly y'all to needed care and support.

What is considered a fever?

A typical body temperature for a healthy child is between 97.7 degrees and 99.5 degrees. Nevertheless, everyone'south temperature peaks effectually 6 p.m., we just don't recognize it when we're healthy.

So, if your child already has a fever, and they normally have a rise in body temperature every evening, the addition of the body's normal temperature increase to the fever causes that "spike" in the evenings. Unfortunately, that's unremarkably when the physician's offices accept airtight for the day.

Also, children don't sweat equally much as adults. They can feel warm for many reasons – crying, playing, teething, snuggling in a warm bed or hot weather. Their body is radiating heat. Feeling their forehead is not plenty. You demand to take their temperature to get an authentic reading.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends you apply a digital thermometer. It's all-time to take the temperature rectally for children ages 3 and younger. A rectal temperature of more than 100.4 degrees is considered a fever. When taken orally, a temperature college than 99.5 degrees is diagnosed every bit a fever.

Typically, if your child is behaving unremarkably, there is no need for any fever-lowering treatment. The AAP recommends you check with your wellness intendance provider if:

  • Age 3 months or younger: Rectal temperature of 100.iv degrees or college – should be seen immediately.
    • Call your principal intendance provider or become to the nearest emergency department
  • Younger than age 2: Fever lasts more than 24 hours
  • Ages 2 and older: Fever lasts more than 72 hours
  • Any age: Fever repeatedly goes higher than 104 degrees or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as having a seizure, severe sore throat, severe abdominal or ear pain, severe headache, unexplained rash, repeated vomiting or diarrhea, potent neck, unusual sleepiness or very fussy behavior
    • Blue lips, natural language or nails
    • The child's status has worsened since a previous doc visit

Living through the fever

Your child may act normal and even want to play despite having a fever. Equally long as they don't over-exert themselves and play calmly, that's perfectly fine. However, your child is nevertheless infectious and should avoid going around others.

If the kid is not acting bothered past the temperature, I commonly tell my parents to concur off on giving acetaminophen or ibuprofen for a fever between 100.4 degrees and 102 degrees. Notwithstanding, if the child is acting lethargic, having pain or not wanting to drinkable fluids, I recommend giving medications. Fevers can offset to become uncomfortable after they go above 102 degree or 103 degrees.

Hurting will non allow the kid to remainder well, which is one of the best things someone can do to fight infection. Decreased fluids may cause dehydration. Then, you have to pay attention to how your child is acting and how they look. You know your child better than anyone else.

Other tips:

young mother holding with infant with fever calling

  • If your child is younger than 2 years one-time, phone call your health care provider or chemist to observe out how much medicine is recommended.
  • If your child is older than 2, follow the label instructions for the specific medication.
  • If your child is younger than three months, check with your health care provider before giving acetaminophen.
  • Do non give ibuprofen to your child if they are younger than 6 months, dehydrated or airsickness. If the fever is treated with acetaminophen or ibuprofen but notwithstanding hasn't gone down after 1 to four hours, you should inform your wellness intendance provider.
  • Do non requite aspirin to children or teens. Aspirin apply by young people with viral illnesses has been linked to Reye syndrome, a rare but serious disease.

A mutual report I go from patients in the office is that they didn't requite their child any medication before they came in because they wanted me to see their child's fever and not mask any symptoms. Please do not feel that this is necessary. No one wants a kid to suffer from the side furnishings of fever if they do not accept to. We will believe you.

It'due south normal for fevers from infections to terminal for ii or three days. The fever volition likely come back afterward the fever medicine wears off. However, the fever will not return once the torso overpowers the infection. Typically, this can take three to four days.

Staying hydrated

Fever tin can lead to aridity. Information technology'due south essential your kid gets plenty liquids, specially if you breastfeed. Contact your health intendance provider if your child refuses to drinkable or shows signs of aridity, such as:

  • A sunken fontanel (soft spot on the top of the baby'south head)
  • Dry out mouth and lips
  • Lack of tears
  • Sunken optics
  • General look of illness

Things to know about fevers

There are times when a fever can pb to a febrile seizure or convulsion – particularly in children betwixt the ages of three months and five years. Although scary, febrile seizures usually just last a few minutes and are not dangerous, merely you should nevertheless inform your health care provider.

Information technology's also of import to tell your pediatrician if your kid develops a fever subsequently traveling. Special tests can be ordered to find out if your child picked up an infection while on your trip.

Fever lonely is simply rarely harmful and usually remains below 105.8 degrees

young girl with a fever wearing a blanket and drinking hot tea

Our brain knows when our torso is getting too hot and is wonderfully designed to regulate our temperature, keeping fevers due to infection from going over 103 degrees or 104 degrees. They rarely become to 105 degrees or 106 degrees.

While these are "high" fevers, you don't demand to be alarmed because fevers with infections don't rise high enough to cause brain harm. When your body temperature rises above 108 degrees, it is possible to get encephalon harm. Simply temperatures that cause encephalon damage are caused by surrounding temperatures being high – like the inside of a motorcar, with the windows up on a hot summer day.

Call back, fever is one of the good guys

Fever is a machinery that the trunk uses to gainsay infection, helping to kill bacteria and viruses by boosting the product of infection-fighting white blood cells. Typically, y'all don't need to worry most reducing the fever unless your child is uncomfortable.

If you lot can't get your child's fever down, telephone call your pediatrician. Be prepared with how high the fever has been, for how long and how much and when acetaminophen or ibuprofen was given. This data tin can help usa provide you with advice over the telephone and maybe salve you a trip to the office or emergency room.