Top tips to “break” your child’s fever

It’s the middle of the night and your child is running a fever. What now?

All children will experience a fever at some point or another. A fever is defined by most healthcare providers as a temperature of 38°C and higher.

Contrary to some beliefs, fever is not an illness. Rather, it is a symptom, or sign, that your body is fighting an illness or infection. Fever stimulates the body’s defenses, sending white blood cells and other “fighter” cells to fight and destroy the cause of the infection.

Why does my child have a fever?

Common conditions that can cause fevers in children include:

• Teething
• Upper respiratory tract infections (RTIs)
• Flu
• Ear infections
• Roseola – a virus that causes a temperature and a rash
• Tonsillitis
• Kidney or urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Common childhood illnesses, such as chickenpox and whooping cough

Your child’s temperature can also be raised after vaccinations, or if they overheat because of too much bedding or clothing. Most parents will attest that watching a child go through the discomfort of a fever can be very stressful on both emotional and practical levels. Knowing just what to do, and when to do it, is a challenge moms have faced for many generations.

How to manage your child’s fever

As previously mentioned, a raised temperature can be a warning sign of serious illness as well as an indicator of a child’s normal response to an infection. This is one of the primary reasons parents are often so worried about a child’s raised temperature. Another issue is the fact that fever is uncomfortable and distressing for the child, and no parent wants to see their child stressed unnecessarily.

If steps can be taken to reduce the load that comes with a fever, they should be. As a result of this complicated context, establishing clear guidelines through which to assess a fever is a very important exercise for parents and health practitioners alike.

Experts make it clear that the parent’s primary goal in treating a child with a fever should be to improve their overall comfort, rather than to focus on the normalisation of body temperature.

When, however, the fever contributes to pain or notable discomfort, such as a headache, the use of analgesic medication for relief is appropriate. In addition to paying careful attention to assessing and controlling the child’s general discomfort, parents should also familiarise themselves with the broader guidelines set out by health professionals in the management of fever in children.

Guidelines in the management of fever

• Avoid over and under-dressing: Obviously parents should avoid under-dressing the child, but it’s also important to remember that over-dressing prevents the body from cooling. Dress the child in cool, light clothing, preferably a single layer. Cover them with a sheet or light blanket.
• Relieve pain as it arises: Use approved paediatric products able to offer effective yet gentle relief if the child is in discomfort and / or pain. Products like Calpol are safe to use from 3 months to 6 years for the symptomatic relief of mild to moderate pain caused by teething pains, fever, toothache, sore throats, and headaches.
• Use fluids: Children lose water during a fever and can become dehydrated, so give them plenty of cool liquid to drink.
• Love: There is nothing more comforting to a distressed child than receiving love and affection.

When to call your doctor

Sometimes a high temperature in children is associated with more serious conditions. It’s important to remember that potentially serious causes of fever are relatively rare but can be deadly.  

Call a doctor if and when: 

• An infant younger than three months of age develops a fever.
• Your child’s fever lasts more than five days.
• Your child’s fever is higher than 40°C.
• Your child’s fever does not come down with fever reducers.
• Your child is not acting themselves, is difficult to arouse, or is not taking in enough liquids.
• Your child was recently immunised and has a temperature above 38°C, or a fever for more than 48 hours.