How to bring down the temperature of a child – pediatrician advice

The health of the child is the most important thing for parents. Therefore, as soon as the child’s temperature rises, the parents panic and ask the question: what to do if the child has a fever? COLADY asked this question to the pediatrician and is ready to tell you everything you need to know about whether it is necessary to bring down the temperature of a child and how to do it correctly.

See also: First aid for febrile seizures in a newborn with a high fever.

If the baby has become capricious, eats poorly, cries – this is the first bell to measure his temperature. The temperature can be determined by fixing the thermometer in the mouth, armpit, rectum.

Elevated temperature is the response of the baby’s body to a foreign substance that has entered the newborn’s body. Therefore, you need to look at the behavior of the child: if the baby has not lost its appetite, is active, continues to play, then this temperature can not be brought down.

If you have determined that the child has a strong fever (the temperature has risen above 38, 5 ° C), then:

1. Call a doctor at home. If the baby has a high temperature and continues to grow, then, if possible, do not waste time, take the baby to the hospital yourself. In case of hyperthermic syndrome, when the body temperature is below 40 ° C, it is necessary to provide first aid to the child (read below) in order to avoid negative consequences associated with the work of the brain and metabolism.
2. Create comfortable conditions for your baby, i.e. ventilate the roomto oxygenate it. Keep the room temperature around 21 degrees (higher temperatures can cause the baby to overheat). Humidify the air. If you don’t have a humidifier, you can simply hang a wet towel in the room or put a jar of water.
3. Don’t put a lot of clothes on your toddler. Leave a thin cotton blouse on it, remove the diaper that interferes with normal heat transfer.
4. Give your baby a drink more often. (warm water, compote) or chest (every 5 – 10 minutes in small portions), because at a high temperature, a large amount of fluid is lost in an infant. Drinking plenty of fluids will help to quickly “flush” the toxins that are formed in the presence of viruses in the body.
5. Don’t upset your baby. If the child starts crying, calm him down, give him what he wants. In a crying child, the temperature will rise even more, and the state of health will deteriorate significantly.
6. Rock the baby. In a dream, the increased temperature is much easier to tolerate.
7. If the temperature of the newborn is more than 39 ° C, you need wipe the baby’s brushes and legs with a napkinsoaked in clean warm (36 ° C) water. Only without vinegar, alcohol and vodka – they can cause chemical burns on the delicate skin of the child. The same compress can be put on the baby’s forehead and periodically change the heated wipes to cool ones. An analogue of a water compress can be a compress from cabbage leaves. These compresses help relieve the heat in the child.
8. At a temperature in a baby, it is categorically impossible:
   • Putting enemas with cool water and completely wrapping the baby in wet cloth will cause cramps and muscle tremors.
   • Give medications before the arrival of the doctor and his consultation. All medicinal antipyretic drugs are toxic and, if the dosage and frequency of administration are not observed correctly, they are dangerous with complications, side effects and poisoning.
9. If, after the treatment prescribed by the doctor, the high temperature in the newborn continues to persist for 2-3 days, then need to call the doctor againto adjust treatment.

Commentary by pediatrician Elizabeth Gammel

What to do at a temperature in a newborn – first aid for a child at a temperature

Before deciding how to bring down the temperature of a child, we must understand when it needs to be brought down.

In a child, temperature norms range from 36.2 to 37.5.

This is when measured in the armpit or femoral fold. If measured rectally, then you can safely add to the normal limits – 0.3 degrees. Thus, you should not panic, even if you have measured 37.8. During the day, babies, especially newborns, also tend to fluctuate in temperature by almost a degree. The environment can affect the baby’s temperature.

The younger, the more pronounced the influences. Here, the wrapped child – the temperature has risen. Here, the temperature in the room has increased – the temperature has increased. As soon as they unrolled, ventilated – and everything comes back to normal.

It is worth worrying when the temperature rises above 38. For babies, an increase in temperature is dangerous, since seizures can develop against its background. In case of fever, first of all, the baby must be undressed, wiped off with a diaper soaked in water (the water should be at room temperature), it is absolutely impossible to add alcohol or vinegar to the water, since the child’s skin quickly absorbs all substances.

These activities are sometimes successful and the temperature drops. If there is no effect from the actions carried out, then drugs should be used. In pediatric practice, only paracetamol and ibuprofen are approved for use. The dose is calculated based on the weight of the child: ibuprofen 5-10 mg / kg body weight, paracetamol 10-15 mg / kg.

For children under 2 months old (weighing less than 5 kg), the above drugs can be used once, and only with the permission of the attending physician. Any time the temperature rises, the baby should be examined by a specialist.

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Colady Warns: Self-medication Can Harm Your Baby’s Health! Only a doctor should diagnose and prescribe treatment after examining the child. Therefore, when the child’s temperature rises, be sure to contact a specialist!

How did you bring down the temperature of the child? Let us know in the comments!