At present, it is the period of high incidence of respiratory diseases, especially children with weak immunity, who are more susceptible to diseases, and medical institutions in many places are also ushering in the peak of children's visits. Fever is the most common symptom of respiratory illness in children, and it is the most worrying and anxious cause for parents. Does the child have to go to the hospital as long as he has a fever?What are the conditions that really require prompt medical attention?Here's what the experts have to say.
How to get your child's fever right?
When do I need to see a doctor?
Fever is a symptom, not a disease. The temperature of the fever does not indicate the severity of the disease. Fever is almost inevitable in respiratory infections, and the vast majority of respiratory infections are mild.
Du Yiting, Deputy Director of the Emergency Department of Chengdu Women and Children's Central Hospital:When our body temperature is greater than 382. At the same time, when the child's age is greater than or equal to two months, acetaminophen can be used to solve the problem of fever, and when the age is greater than 6 months, ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used. In terms of care, it is also very important, you can choose a warm bath, warm water on the forehead, properly remove the baby's clothes, and at the same time can reduce the temperature in the room.
If your child has a fever for more than three days, especially if the temperature is over 41, or if he or she has rapid breathing, wheezing, vomiting, or decreased urine output, he or she needs to see a doctor.
Respond to your child's fever
These common pitfalls to avoid
As experts say, fever is not a disease in itself, but a symptom;Antipyretic is not a cure, but a relief for the child's discomfort. I hope that knowing these two points can help parents reduce their anxiety. Experts remind that parents should also avoid the following common misunderstandings when dealing with children's fever.
In most cases, fever is a protective mechanism for the body to deal with infection, reducing the activity of pathogens, promoting the production of immune cells in the body, and helping to speed up recovery. Therefore, it is not necessary for parents to give their child antipyretic medicine as soon as he sees him with fever.
However, high body temperature can increase the burden on your child's heart and lungs, so you can give your child fever-reducing medicine if necessary.
Wei Bing, Chief Physician of Pediatrics, Northern Theater General Hospital:It is not recommended to use two antipyretics alternately or in combination, which can easily lead to drug overdoseFor example, the child has enough ibuprofen and the effect is still not good, and then after four or five hours, it is changed to acetaminophen.
When your child has a fever, you can drink more water, but don't cover it with a thick quilt to cover your sweat, which will not do much to reduce fever and may lead to dehydration.
Febrile seizures in children.
What should parents do?
When it comes to children's fever, what parents are most afraid of is the occurrence of febrile seizures, which is what we often call "fever". What should parents do if this happens?
According to the doctor, due to the underdevelopment of the child's nervous system, the body temperature fluctuates too much in a short period of time, which can lead to febrile seizures. Febrile seizures run in families. Febrile seizures occur mainly in preschool infants and young children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. Common symptoms are twitching of the limbs, muscle stiffness, eyes turning up, trismus, etc., and in severe cases, foaming at the mouth and loss of consciousness.
Du Yiting, Deputy Director of the Emergency Department of Chengdu Women and Children's Central Hospital:When there is a febrile seizure, parents should not be particularly anxious and worried, and the correct way to do this is to lie the child on his back. In order to keep the airway open, do not forcibly shake the baby or give the baby medicine, which will cause the reflux of the drug into the trachea and cause suffocation.
The vast majority of children with febrile seizures are relieved within 5 minutes, which generally does not affect the child's health and does not cause long-term sequelae. If your child's seizures persist for more than 5 minutes and do not resolve, or if there are multiple seizures within 24 hours, parents should immediately call the emergency services** and request professional treatment.
*: CCTV News).