Most parents become anxious whenever their child develops a fever.
Most fevers in children are caused by an infection and no one likes to think that their child has some sort of infection. Feverish children also behave differently. They become quiet. They stop eating. They complain about headaches or sore throats or stomach aches and so on.
This “sickness behaviour” sends strong signals to parents. Evolutionary survival genes kick in causing them to react in a appropriate manner. They become anxious. They begin to take more attention to the child. And they seek advice on what to do.
Most fevers are caused by viruses. We live in a soup of viruses. They are all around and inside us, 24 hours of the day. Some cause illness, others assist us in living. We have immense defences against those viruses that are pathogenic, something that medicine forgot during the Covid outbreak where most people who died had other things wrong with them, the first being age, the second, obesity.
Newborn babies are usually innocent of disease at birth. From then on they are constantly being attacked by viruses. Apart from the protection their mother’s milk gives them for the first year or two, their defences are not fully developed and children frequently become sick and get fever in the first six years of life. Febrile illnesses become much less common after that.
This variation is normal. All children get sick about five to six times during their first five to six years. The situation is not made easier by the new habit of sending young children, some of them still babies, to a nursery where they come in contact with other children who share viruses with them.
Fever is a normal response of the child’s immune system to infection. Fever itself is not an illness. It is a symptom of an underlying infection, usually a viral infection. Occasionally, fever may be due to a bacteria or something worse.
Parents may worry that a fever will cause damage to the child, especially to the brain. Fever never does this. That only happens when the temperature is associated with a serious underlying disorder and there are usually symptoms and signs of that disorder.
In general, fevers in children last three days or 72 hours. If the child is behaving reasonably normal, especially if you can bring the fever down, a wait and see attitude is proper. After the third day, see a doctor.
Most parents hurry to treat fever. But it is quite all right not to treat fever unless it is making the child uncomfortable. However it’s good to remember that viruses live and thrive at normal body temperatures. One of the body’s many defence mechanisms is fever. Viruses are destroyed at higher temperatures, ie, fever. So fever can be good for the child. But fever causes children to be unhappy. It causes parents to worry. It does produce a strain on body systems by increasing metabolism and causing the child to become listless and pale. It causes the heart to beat rapidly and rarely, it causes fever fits in susceptible children. It’s often necessary then to bring down the fever, as described below. Do not try to lower the fever down rapidly. That causes the child to feel sick and shiver. Shivering causes the temperature to go back up quickly. That sudden rise in body temperature causes fits. Bring it down slowly and it goes back up slowly. All the while, the child’s other defence mechanisms destroy the virus.
WHAT TO DO
1. Under the age of six months, go to the doctor immediately.
2. If the child has any DANGER SIGNS, see a doctor immediately.
3. If not:
a) Keep the child cool. Dress lightly. Cotton is best. Avoid direct airflow. Oscillate a fan on the child or use A/C. An A/C temperature of 24 degrees maintains a comfortably cool room that prevents overheating without causing chills.
b) Encourage the child to drink lots of water, coconut water or fresh fruit juice.
c) Give fever medication (paracetamol or ibuprofen) in the correct dose. Medication does nothing for the cause of the fever. It brings the temperature down. As the effect wears off, the temperature will return.
d) If despite this, fever persists, sponge the child, including the head, in warm water for at least 15 minutes.
4. If the temperature does not come down after this, seek medical advice.
