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One of the great villains throughout maternal life is fever in children, we can have one, two, three children, but it will always take away our sleep we will never be 100% prepared to face it. They appear unexpectedly, without warning and suddenly knock down our little ones, ending any mood and play.
But fever in children is a natural and inevitable process that will be repeated over and over again throughout life, being a warning of something going wrong in the child’s body and the indicated thing is for mom to be as calm as possible and observe each signal.
Temperature Indicating Fever
A subfebrile or febrile state is considered to be above 37 degrees Celsius and already considered to be in a fever state when above 37.8 degrees . When above that, one must be alert and take the necessary care so that the temperature does not rise further, causing a feverish seizure.
The fever occurs as a sign that some bacteria, viruses or fungi are invading the body and its temperature rise is capable of killing some of these invaders. Therefore, their presence is part of this fight and can help in solving the problem.
When to Worry About Child Fever
It is advisable that parents observe each sign and the child’s behavior during the fever period. The child may have 38.2 degrees of fever and be playing, eating and acting normally and this will be a sign that the organism itself is fighting infection, so it requires less concern.
But if the child is feverish and visibly dejected, debilitated and crying, the concern must be greater, as some types of infection cause greater discomfort and in some cases pain, so if the symptoms do not disappear with the medication the doctor should be sought.
When to Seek Emergency Care
Another reason for the emergency room to be sought is in case of fever above 39.5 degrees, remembering that all other symptoms that may be noticed should be described to the pediatrician for correct diagnosis. There are symptoms that occur together with the appearance of fever that can indicate a more serious problem, such as the red spots that appear due to a picture of bacterial infection . These spots can be easily visualized and do not lighten when pressed in the exact spot, they can appear in the form of larger, red spots as well.
Fever Due To Pneumonia
Another very common picture of childhood fever is pneumonia. The child appears tired, with difficulty in breathing and very breathless accompanied by fever, which may appear more quietly as in some cases with very high fever.
Remembering that emergency care or emergency aid should be sought only in case of emergency and extreme need. In these environments we end up exposing children to various viruses and bacteria that can bring even more health problems because immunity is low at that time.
How to Control Fever
To combat fever, the use of antipyretics such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and dipyrone is indicated and should be administered at the dosage indicated by the doctor and only if really necessary. Warm, comfortable and relaxing baths can help control the temperature.
Use a thermometer to assist in the measurement and control of childhood fever and thus act appropriately for each case and thus checking if the medication is having an effect or if the temperature is rising even more.
Risks of Very High Fever
In the case of very high temperature, the child may suffer a febrile seizure , suddenly become pale, the muscles and lower organs become rigid, and may begin to struggle or even lose consciousness.
What to do in case of seizure
It is usually a frightening fact for parents who witness such a scene, but the best thing to do is to hold the child in such a way that he does not hurt himself with the movements until the crisis passes, preferably that the child is placed with his face to the side so that do not choke on saliva.
Febrile seizures usually last an average of 20 seconds and should only be of concern if it exceeds 4 minutes and the crisis does not end there. A hospital should be sought immediately. If your little one suffered from such a situation, don’t worry, the febrile seizure does not cause sequelae.
Usually children who suffer from febrile seizures are the children of parents who have already gone through this situation in childhood too, the good news is that they usually occur only once in their life and in the average age group of children from 6 months to 6 years of age .
See also: How to Lower Children’s Fever?
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
