| FEVER | |||||
| Myths About
Fever MYTH: All fevers are bad for children. FACT: Fevers turn on the body’s immune system Fevers are one of the body’s protective mechanisms Most fevers are good for children and help the body fight infection. MYTH: Fevers cause brain damage or fevers over 104 degrees F are dangerous. FACT: Fevers with infections don’t cause brain damage. Only body temperatures over 108 degrees F can cause brain damage. Fevers only go this high with high environmental temperatures (e.g. confined to a closed car). MYTH: Anyone can have a febrile seizure. FACT: Only 4% of children can have a febrile seizure. MYTH: Febrile seizures are harmful. FACT: Febrile seizures are scary to watch, but they usually stop within 5 minutes. They cause no permanent harm. MYTH: All fevers need to be treated with fever medicine. FACT: Fevers only need to be treated if they cause discomfort. Usually that’s fevers over 102 or 103 degrees F. MYTH: Without treatment, fevers will keep going higher. FACT: Wrong. Fevers from infection top out at 105 or 106 degrees F or lower, due to the brain’s thermostat. MYTH: With treatment, fevers should come down to normal. FACT: With treatment, fevers usually come down 2 or 3 degrees F. MYTH: If the fever doesn’t come down (if you can’t "break the fever"), the cause is serious. FACT: Fevers that don’t respond to fever medicine can be caused by viruses or bacteria. It doesn’t relate to the seriousness of the infection. MYTH: If the fever is high, the cause is serious. FACT: If your child looks very sick, the cause is serious. MYTH: The exact number of the temperature is very important. FACT: How your child looks is what’s important. MYTH: Temperatures between 98.7 degrees and 100 degrees F are low-grade fevers. FACT: Oral temperatures between 98.7 degrees F and 100 degrees F are normal
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Fever is almost always the body's reaction to infection. Although we
now admit that low grade fever may result from teething, high fever is
never the result of teething. In response to chemicals released into the
blood from infection, the brain's thermostat instructs the body to
generate more heat in an attempt to counteract the infection. Thus, fever
may be an important mechanism in fighting infection. Fever is a symptom of
an illness, not a disease in itself. Fever in itself is not harmful to
your average (healthy) child. It does not cause brain damage in the range
commonly seen with infections. Temperatures that cause brain damage are
usually not from infection but from being over heated (as in a locked
vehicle) and do not occur until extremely high temperatures (109 or so)
Some parents may be aware of what are called febrile seizures (seizures or
convulsions with fever). These result from an inherited genetic tendency
present in about 5% of people. They are usually brief, almost never
harmful, and contrary to what you would think, aggressive treatment of
fever and infection has not been shown to prevent them. What to do if your
child has a fever The most important concerns are making the child more
comfortable and considering the cause of the child's illness. To make your
child more comfortable, dress her however she feels best. Usually this is
in light comfortable clothing--occasionally, periods of chilling precede a
fever and for a brief time a child may feel more comfortable warmly
dressed or with a blanket. Be careful, however, not to continue this if
the child mounts a high fever as this may serve to push the temperature
even higher. Try to make the child more comfortable in other ways by
providing plenty of rest, extra fluids, and observe for signs of serious
illness or needing to see the doctor. The decision to give medicine for
fever should depend on how uncomfortable the child is. Nowadays, we know
the focus should be on the child's comfort rather than the height of the
fever. Fever medicines may take up to 2 hours to work, and, in some cases
may not lower the fever at all. No longer do we think this is a sign of
more serious illness. Remember, the focus should be on making your child
more comfortable and how ill she appears rather than on the height of the
fever. If you think your child would feel better lowering her temperature
then give something for fever--but do it because the child is
uncomfortable and not just because she has a fever. There are several
different medicines for fever. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen come in infants
& Children's and suppositories. It is exceedingly important to know which
you are using because the drops and the syrup have different
concentrations of medicine. Contrary to what it would seem, acetaminophen
drops are more concentrated than syrup.
Used by Permission www.thisolddoc.com
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Fever Medications Acetaminophen (Tylenol) comes in several concentrations Infant Drops of 80 mg/dropper Children's Elixir of 180 mg/5 ml (teaspoon) Chewables 80 mg/chewable Jr. Strength 160 mg/chew able or caplet. Regular Adult Tylenol 325 mg/tablet The dose of acetaminophen to use if your child has a fever is 80 mg of acetaminophen for every 12 pounds . Ibuprofen (Advil; Motrin) concentrations Infant drops 50 mg/dropper Children's Elixir 100 mg/5 ml (teaspoon) Chewables 100 mg/chewable Adult 200 mg/tablet The dose of ibuprofen is 50 mg for every 12 pounds Avoid combination products such as Tylenol cold, Tylenol sinus, Advil cold or Advil Sinus. Common Questions What if the fever doesn't come down? The purpose of giving fever medicines is to make the child more comfortable. Not all fevers will come down with medicine. Some will remain high. If the fever does not come down it is not a more serious sign. Should I alternate Tylenol and Advil? If you give your child something such as Tylenol for fever and he is still uncomfortable 2 hours later you can give him a dose of Advil at that time. It is not necessary to routinely alternate Tylenol and Advil? Should I wake my child up to give him fever medicines? Often fevers are higher at night--even normal temperatures are higher in the evening. So if your child has a 101 fever at 7 pm it may be higher later. However this is not a bad sign. Often a child whose has been sleeping will awaken with a much higher fever (especially if he had the covers over him). It is not necessary to wake your child up but you can if you want to do so. Should I bathe my child to lower his fever? Sponging a child with tepid water is one way of temporarily lower fever. It is somewhat like coming home in the winter and finding that your house is too hot. You could lower your house's temperature by opening the doors and windows but it wouldn't make sense to do this and not reset the thermostat. Bathing a child who has fever is a lot like opening the windows. You need to give some medicine such as Tylenol or Advil to reset the thermostat. Is it worthwhile to bathe a child for fever? That depends. The purpose of treating fever is to make your child more comfortable. If bathing him makes him feel better then do it. If it doesn't don't.
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