What Is a Fever in children?
We say that a child has a fever when the child's body temperature, measured in the rectum, is 100.4ºF (38.0ºC) or higher.
Many parents see fever in a child as something very serious. But fever, in and of itself, is rarely dangerous. It is the cause of the fever that doctors focus on, rather than the actual fever. In fact, a fever can be an important part of the body's defense against infections and shows that the body is trying to kill germs – such as the common cold – that make your child sick.
Most fevers are not serious. In fact, most can be treated with lots of fluids to drink, rest, lightweight clothing, and fever-reducing medicine like acetaminophen and ibuprofen – Tylenol or Advil.
How to measure fever in children?
When taking your child's temperature, don't just feel your child's forehead.
You need to really take it with a thermometer, and all parents of young children should have a thermometer at home. There are several types of thermometers available. Mercury thermometers used to be the norm, but should no longer be used since mercury is a toxin.
Glass thermometers now use alcohol to measure body temperature. In recent years, electronic and digital thermometers have entered the market. For the most accurate temperatures readings, the thermometer should be placed in the rectum. Watch the video for instructions on how to take your child's rectal temperature. Forehead strips, temperatures taken under the arm, or in the ear, are not as accurate as temperatures taken rectally.
Causes of fever
If you have taken the child's temperature and found that he or she has a fever, i.e. the temperature is in excess of 100.4ºF (38.0ºC), this could mean that your child is ill.
But children can have an elevated body temperature for other reasons as well.
Children may run a fever after receiving a vaccination.
They can also have an increased body temperature if they are wearing clothes that are too warm or too tight or if they are participating in physical activity.
Also prolonged heat exposure, especially when accompanied by dehydration, can also cause an elevated body temperature.
However, the most common cause of fever is an infection. Common infections in children are infections of the respiratory passages (ear, nose, throat and lungs) and gastro-intestinal infections.
Children who are attending day-care or in their first year of school are particularly susceptible to infections because they are in contact with other children who may be ill. Children can also be easily infected if someone else in the family is ill.
Febrile seizures in children
Some children may experience seizures resulting from their fever. These seizures are known as febrile seizures (convulsions) and is one of the most common causes of seizures in children.
Febrile seizures affects approximately 4% of all children, and those affected are most often between the ages of 6 months and 4 years. Parents will find these seizures very frightening, even though the causes of the fever are usually mild infections of the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. The infections that lead to these seizures are almost always caused by viruses.
The seizures themselves are usually caused by a rapid increase in body temperature in the early stage of an infection, which often takes place before the parents have even realized that their child has a fever. The seizures normally last anywhere from 1-5 minutes and will usually stop without treatment.
However, because febrile seizures can occasionally be prolonged, and can be caused by serious infections, you should seek emergency treatment in when your child has had a febrile seizure.
