{"id":383991,"date":"2023-12-16T09:12:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T14:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/your-child-has-a-fever-when-is-it-time-to-see-a-doctor-drugs-com-mednews\/"},"modified":"2023-12-17T01:33:47","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T06:33:47","slug":"your-child-has-a-fever-when-is-it-time-to-see-a-doctor-drugs-com-mednews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/your-child-has-a-fever-when-is-it-time-to-see-a-doctor-drugs-com-mednews\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Child Has a Fever: When Is It Time to See a Doctor? &#8211; Drugs.com MedNews","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ddc-reviewed-by ddc-author-image\"><span>Medically reviewed by <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/support\/editor\/6\/judith-stewart-bpharm.html\">Judith Stewart, BPharm<\/a>. Last updated on Dec 16, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ddc-reviewed-by\">By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n<p>SATURDAY, Dec. 16 &#8212; It&#8217;s that time of year when your kids come home with sniffles and sore throats, but when should you worry if they have a fever?<\/p>\n<p>To a certain extent, fevers are the body&#8217;s natural way of fighting infection, one expert says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFever helps the immune system,\u201d explained <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/profile\/christopher-tolcher-md\">Dr. Christopher Tolcher<\/a>, a pediatrician with Agoura-West Valley Pediatrics, part of the Chidlren&#8217;s Hospital of Los Angeles network. \u201cIt slows down the spread of viruses and bacteria. It helps the body make more antibodies and chemicals that fight the infection, and it helps the immune system\u2019s cells move around better in the body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFevers are almost never dangerous&#8230;,\u201d he said in a hospital news release. \u201cA fever has to reach 107 to cause damage to tissues. That\u2019s extremely rare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That said, if your child\u2019s fever reaches 105 degrees, call your doctor. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean the child is in danger, but the child should be checked by the doctor that day to see what\u2019s going on,\u201d Tolcher said.<\/p>\n<p>A normal body temperature for a child ranges from 97 to 100 degrees, with an average of around 98.6. When a person\u2019s temperature reaches 100.4 or above, it\u2019s considered a fever.<\/p>\n<p>But when is a fever considered a medical emergency?<\/p>\n<p>Call your child\u2019s doctor right away for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>A fever that lasts more than four to five days<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>A fever (over 100.4) in a newborn younger than 2 months old<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>A fever of 105 or higher in a child of any age, including teens<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>A fever in an infant (under 1 year old) over 102 for more than two days<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your child has a fever and any of these other following signs, call your doctor right away or go to the emergency department:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Widespread, red or purple rash<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Stiff neck and bad headache<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Severe pain, including bad abdominal pain<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Shortness of breath<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Extreme weakness or altered mental state<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Dehydration (diapers are dry, child is not peeing much and urine is dark)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Seizures<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Children under 5 can sometimes have a seizure during a fever. \u201cSeizures are scary as heck to watch, but most of the time, you don\u2019t need to go to the ER,\u201d Tolcher said.<\/p>\n<p>If your child has a seizure that lasts less than two minutes, call your doctor. If a seizure lasts more than four to five minutes, call 911.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if your child has a fever that can be treated at home, how can you best make your child comfortable while they recover?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFocus on how the child is doing, not the number on the thermometer,\u201d Tolcher said. \u201cIf the fever is 100.5, but the child is crying from a headache or earache, give a pain reliever. But if they have a 104 [temperature] and aren\u2019t that bad, just give them fluids and keep them comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Too many layers of clothing and heavy blankets will raise the fever higher, so lightweight pajamas and light blankets are fine.<\/p>\n<p>Give plenty of fluids. \u201cThe body burns through water a lot faster when it has a fever, which is why extra fluids are important,\u201d Tolcher explained. \u201cYou don\u2019t want your child to get dehydrated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How to know when your child might be dehydrated? If your child\u2019s urine is dark, or your child is not peeing as often as normal, give more fluids. Give them whatever they will drink, including water, clear soups, electrolyte solution or popsicles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a child has a 104 [temperature] and a lot of body aches, giving one medicine will bring it down two or three degrees. That\u2019s enough. You just want to make the child more comfortable,&#8221; Tolcher noted.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, \u201cif you aggressively try to keep it down to 98.6, you slow the immune response to the infection,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Even if your child is miserable and you want them to feel better as quickly as possible, be careful not to overdose on the cold meds. Follow the directions on the label carefully.<\/p>\n<p>The best medicines for fever are acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil). Never give aspirin.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, don&#8217;t panic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all need to rest when we\u2019re sick,\u201d Tolcher said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the benefits of fever. It slows you down and gets you to take a break.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ddc-reference-list\">\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li> Children&#8217;s Hospital, Los Angeles, news release, Dec. 2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ddc-disclaimer\"><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong> Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ddc-mgt-3 ddc-mgb-3\">  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-child-has-a-fever-when-is-it-time-to-see-a-doctor-drugs-com-mednews.jpg\" alt width=\"160\" height=\"47\">  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ddc-mgt-0 ddc-text-color-secondary ddc-text-size-small-2\">\u00a9 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ddc-article-post-date\">Posted December 2023<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-resources\">\n<h2>Read this next<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<h2>More news resources<\/h2>\n<h2>Subscribe to our newsletter<\/h2>\n<p>Whatever your topic of interest, <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/newsletters\/\">subscribe to our newsletters<\/a> to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"plato-post-bottom-links\">\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-amplifi\">SEO Powered Content &amp; PR Distribution. <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amplifipr.com\">Get Amplified Today.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-platodata-network\">PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/platodata.network\">Access Here.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-platoaistream\">PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. 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Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. <a href=\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Access Here.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-source\"><span>Source:<\/span> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/news\/your-child-has-fever-time-see-doctor-116609.html\">https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/news\/your-child-has-fever-time-see-doctor-116609.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medically reviewed by Judith Stewart, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 16, 2023. By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter SATURDAY, Dec. 16 &#8212; It&#8217;s that time of year when your kids come home with sniffles and sore throats, but when should you worry if they have a fever? To a certain extent, fevers are the body&#8217;s natural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":2,"featured_media":383994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"acf":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383993,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383991\/revisions\/383993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}