Waking up in the middle the night and figuring out that your child has a fever can be a scary situation. Especially when you’re a first-time parent it can make the situation stressful. No matter how careful you are your child will eventually get a fever.
o A variety of thermometers are available, from standard oral thermometers to the newer temporal artery scanners. You can use any of these devices, but a digital thermometer is generally all you need.
o It is most accurate to use a rectal thermometer for infants and young children. If you feel uneasy doing this, use whichever device makes you most comfortable. In older children, an oral temperature is most accurate, if the child can tolerate it.
A fever can be defined as a temperature over 100.4 F. But just because they may feel warm to you and come to that degree shouldn’t call for concern right away. If the fever lasts less than five days and your child is eating, drinking, and playing like normal then there shouldn’t be any worry. A temperature of up to 102.5 F for children 3 months to 3 years or if they’re older up to 103 F, as troublesome as they may seem they are common and shouldn’t cause for alarm right away. Also, if you have had an infant immunized it’s common for them to get a low-grade fever if it lasts less than 48 hours.
Per the Cleveland Clinic: When should you be worried about a fever? Call a doctor when:
o An infant younger than 3 months of age develops a fever. Fevers may be your infant’s only response to a serious illness.
o Your child’s fever lasts more than five days. We may need to investigate further for underlying causes.
o Your child’s fever is higher than 104 F.
o Your child’s fever does not come down with fever reducers.
o Your child is not acting himself or herself, is difficult to arouse or is not taking in enough liquids. Babies who are not wetting at least four diapers per day and older children who are not urinating every eight to 12 hours may become dangerously dehydrated.
o Your child was recently immunized and has a temperature above 102º F or a fever for more than 48 hours.
o You are concerned. If you are uncomfortable with your child’s temperature or illness, call your doctor or nurse practitioner to discuss it.
If your child has frequent fevers and your pediatrician can’t find a diagnosis you may be referred to a specialist to help find the cause.
Lim, T. (2016, January 26). Kids' Fevers: When to Worry, When to Relax. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/05/kids-fevers-when-to-worry-when-to-relax/
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