High temperature in a child

Increased body temperature is possible with various diseases in childhood. At the same time, the question of whether to shoot her down causes a lot of controversial opinions.

Someone from the parents heard that during fever the body is more actively fighting the disease, and if the temperature is brought down, the duration of the disease will increase. Others have heard that both its elevated values ​​and the drugs against it are very dangerous and threaten serious health problems.

As a result, some parents are afraid to bring down the temperature, even in cases where it is required, others give crumbs with a slight increase. Let's see what really needs to be done in these cases, as well as whether this symptom is a symptom of the disease.

The measurement in the armpits is the most accessible and simple, so it is most common.

However, there are other ways to measure:

1. In the mouth (determined by oral temperature). To measure usually use a special thermometer in the form of a dummy.
2. In the rectum (determine the rectal temperature). This method is used when the child is less than 5 months old, since children older than six months will resist the procedure. Thermometer (necessarily electronic) is processed by the cream and is inserted into the anus of the baby about two centimeters.
3. In the inguinal crease. The baby is laid on its side, the tip of the thermometer is placed in the skin fold, and then the child’s foot is held in a position pressed to the body.

Also, when measuring you need to follow the following rules:

• For a sick child, measurements should be taken at least three times a day.
• Do not determine the temperature if the baby is very active, crying, taking a bath, warmly wrapped up, as well as in case of high temperature of the air in the room.
• If you determine the oral temperature, this should be done 1 hour before eating and drinking, or 1 hour after, as drinks and food increase the values ​​in the oral cavity.

Features of temperature in infants are inconsistency and rapid increase in any disease. In addition, in infants up to a year in the norm, it is slightly higher than in older children.

The normal temperature for a child under 12 months is less than + 37.4 ° C, and for a child over 12 months - less than + 37 ° C. These are measurements of temperature in the axillary region, as well as in the inguinal fold. For rectal measurements, the norm is considered to be less than + 38 ° C, and for oral, less than + 37.6 ° C.

Depending on the indicators, the temperature is called:

• Subfebrile. Indicator - up to +38 degrees. Typically, this temperature is not knocked down, allowing the body to produce substances that protect it from viruses.
• Febrile Increase more than + 38 ° C, but less than + 39 ° C. Such a fever indicates that the child’s body is actively fighting the infection, so the parents ’tactics must take into account the child’s condition. If it is severely impaired, antipyretic drugs are indicated, and you can stop giving medication to a cheerful and calm child.
• Pyretic. Indicators on the thermometer from + 39 ° С to + 41 ° С. It is recommended to lower this temperature with medicines, as the risk of seizures increases.
• Hyperpyretic. The most dangerous is the temperature above + 41 ° С. Seeing this figure on the thermometer, you should immediately call an ambulance.

• Allows you to quickly diagnose many diseases in the early period and begin timely treatment.
• With influenza virus, high temperature is important for high levels of interferon, which can successfully fight infection.
• At elevated body temperature, microorganisms cease to multiply and become less resistant to the effects of antibacterial agents.
• Fever activates the baby’s immune system, enhancing phagocytosis and the production of antibodies.
• A child with a fever is in bed, thanks to which his strength is completely directed at fighting the disease.

• One of the complications is the appearance of seizures.
• During fever, the load on the baby’s heart rises, which is especially dangerous if the crumbs have rhythm disturbances or heart defects.
• When the temperature rises, the brain, as well as the liver, stomach, kidneys and other internal organs suffer.

To start the mechanism of raising the body temperature usually need foreign substances entering the body of the child - pyrogens. They can be various infectious agents represented by unicellular, viruses, protozoa, fungi, bacteria. When ingested, pathogens are absorbed by white blood cells (leukocytes). At the same time, these cells begin to produce interleukins that enter the brain with blood.

Reaching the center of the regulation of body temperature, located in the hypothalamus, these compounds change the perception of normal temperature. The brain of the baby begins to determine the temperature of 36.6-37 degrees as too low. He gives the command to the body to produce more heat and simultaneously spasm blood vessels to reduce heat transfer.

In this process, the following stages are distinguished:

1. Heat is produced in the body of the baby in larger quantities, but the heat transfer is not increased. Body temperature rises.
2. Heat transfer increases and a balance is established between heat generation and its excretion from the body. The temperature decreases, but not to normal values.
3. Heat production is reduced due to the death of infectious agents and a decrease in the production of interleukins. The return of heat remains high, the child sweats, and the temperature returns to normal.

Scientific studies have shown that active compounds produced at high temperatures (interferon among them) in some cases help to recover faster, and in some diseases affect their course negatively. In addition, for many children, this is a very dangerous condition.

For a long time, high fever was considered a factor capable of disrupting blood clotting and causing overheating of the brain. Therefore, it was feared and tried to reduce in all sorts of ways. However, modern scientific research has shown that it is not the heat itself that leads to health problems, but the disease that is manifested by such a symptom.

At the same time, doctors note that fever is a danger to children with chronic pathologies of internal organs, symptoms of dehydration, impaired physical development or illness of the nervous system.

It is determined primarily by the age of the baby:

If you see on the thermometer the numbers indicated above in the table, this indicates a high probability of a serious illness, therefore it is extremely important to immediately call a doctor for such temperature measurements.

It is usually recommended to churn the febrile temperature if the child does not tolerate this condition, but there are situations where it is worth giving febrifuge and at subfebrile indicators:

• If the child is less than 2 months.
• When a baby has a disease of the cardiovascular system.
• In the past, the child had convulsions at high temperatures.
• If the child has a disease of the nervous system.
• When a child has hyperthermia caused by overheating.

High fever is rarely the only manifestation of a child’s health problems. Other signs of disease join it.

Redness of the throat with fever is characteristic of viral and bacterial infections affecting the nasopharynx. Such symptoms often occur with angina, scarlet fever and other childhood infections. The child complains of pain when swallowing, begins to cough, refuses to eat.

The combination of fever and runny nose is most common in viral infections, when viruses infect the nasal mucosa. A child may also have symptoms such as weakness, refusal of food, difficulty breathing through the nose, lethargy, sore throat, cough.

A condition where, at an elevated temperature in a child, pale skin and her blood vessels are spasmed is called white fever. To the touch the limbs of a baby with such a fever will be cold. The child usually has chills. This condition requires immediate medical attention. The body of the child should be rubbed with hands, but the use of wiping with water and other methods of physical cooling is prohibited. To remove the spasm of skin vessels, the doctor will recommend to take a spasmolytic, for example, No-silo.

Increased body temperature can cause seizures. Because of their association with elevated temperature, such convulsions are called febrile. They are diagnosed in children younger than 6 years of age with rates above + 38 ° C, as well as in children with pathologies of the nervous system in any figures.

Such symptoms against the background of an elevated temperature usually indicate the development of an intestinal infection, but they can also be caused by the use of certain foods by a young child. In babies younger than 3 years, the intestines are not yet fully matured, so those foods that are normally tolerated by older children can cause dyspepsia and fever.

The emergence of complaints of pain in the abdomen in the background of fever should alert the parents and cause an ambulance call. So can serious illnesses that require surgery (for example, appendicitis), and kidney disease, and diseases of the digestive tract. To clarify the reasons, the child will be assigned tests and additional examinations.

The absence of other signs of the disease often occurs during dentition, as well as in situations where the disease is just beginning (other symptoms appear later). High fever, as the only symptom, is often noted in kidney infections. To confirm the disease can be urine tests and ultrasound study.

The increased temperature is a protective reaction of the child’s body to the entry of pathogens into it, but it may also be due to non-infectious causes.

A very common cause of fever are infectious diseases:

This reason is very common in younger children, but the indicators are usually up to + 38.5 ° C. In rare cases, the fever can be very strong, and the child refuses to eat and is sluggish.

In case of overheating, parents notice a connection between the increase in temperature and the effects of heat on the child, for example, a fever appeared after a long stay in the sun. In infants, overheating may result in the use of excessively warm clothing.Also, parents can themselves provoke overheating when a baby is wrapped up with a small increase.

The danger of overheating is associated with the risk of thermal shock. It is manifested not only by high fever, but also by impaired consciousness, convulsions, impaired heart function and breathing. Heat stroke is a reason to immediately call an ambulance.

Preventive vaccination can cause a rise in temperature within a few days after the procedure. In this case, the child may experience swelling and pain at the site of the vaccine. These symptoms indicate the production of immunity and are considered acceptable side effects of vaccinations. In this case, antipyretic drugs can be given even with a slight increase in performance.

The doctor should be called in each case of fever, as only a specialist will be able to determine what caused and how to treat the baby.

Indications for an immediate call to the doctor are such situations:

• The temperature has risen above the indicators considered maximum for a certain age of the child.
• Fever provoked seizures.
• The kid is disoriented, he has hallucinations.
• If there are other dangerous symptoms - vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, earache, rash, diarrhea and others.
• A child's temperature is elevated for longer than 24 hours and during this time the condition has not improved.
• The baby has serious chronic diseases.
• You doubt that you are able to properly assess the condition of the baby and help him.
• The child went on the mend, but the temperature rose again.
• The baby refuses to drink and parents notice the symptoms of dehydration.

Once the cause has been identified, it is necessary to determine how to deal with such a symptom. Taking into account the condition of the baby, his age, temperature figures and related facts, the parents and the doctor decide whether they need antipyretic drugs.

In most cases, such drugs allow, albeit briefly, to improve the condition of the child, to allow him to sleep and eat. With angina, otitis, teething, stomatitis, these drugs reduce pain.

Rubdowns are permissible only after the use of drugs prescribed by a doctor, relieving the spasm of peripheral vessels. For the procedure using only water at room temperature. In addition, wiping the child can be provided that the baby does not mind, as with resistance and shouts, the temperature will increase even more. After wiping the child should not wrap, otherwise his condition will worsen.

Drinking a child with fever should often and a lot. Give your child tea, compote, water, juice or any other liquid that he agrees to drink. This is extremely important for heat transfer through greater evaporation of sweat from the skin, as well as for more rapid elimination of toxins in the urine.

Food should be given to the baby in small quantities. Let the child eat by appetite, but a little, because when digesting food, the body temperature will increase.And the dishes and drinks offered to the child, the temperature should be about 37-38 degrees.

They recommend drinking tea with the addition of cranberries: it stimulates active sweating. At the same time, such a drink should be given carefully - in infants up to one year old, it can cause allergies, and older children should not use cranberries for any stomach ailments.

The use of modern drugs that reduce the temperature is considered safe if the following conditions are observed:

• Do not give to children under 18 aspirin and other products that have acetylsalicylic acid.
• Do not exceed the dosage recommended in the instructions.
• Do not take medications if they are contraindicated.
• Do not reduce the antipyretic increased the temperaturewhich is a symptom of chickenpox (this increases the risk of complications).

For a baby, not the fever itself is dangerous, but the cause of the appearance of this symptom. If the parents do not know what caused the baby to rise in temperature and the state did not improve the next day after the increase in indicators, as well as additional warning symptoms appeared, you should immediately seek medical help. So you determine the cause of the child’s illness and can affect it, and not just the symptom.

• Selecting a specific drug to reduce the temperature, determine the desired single dose according to the instructions.
• It is necessary to accept febrifuge only if necessary.
• A minimum of 4 hours should be elapsed before the next dose for paracetamol or 6 hours for ibuprofen.
• During the day, you can take a maximum of 4 doses of the drug.
• The medication, taken by mouth, washed down with water or milk. It can also be drunk during the meal - so the irritating effect of drugs on the gastric mucosa will be reduced.

Drugs that are recommended in children at high temperatures are paracetamol as well as ibuprofen. Both remedies reduce pain equally, but ibuprofen has a more pronounced and prolonged antipyretic effect. In this case, paracetamol is called safer and is recommended as a drug of choice for babies in the first months of their lives.

The action taken through the mouth of drugs begins within 20-30 minutes after their use, and rectal suppositories - 30-40 minutes after administration. Candles will also be the most preferred option in the presence of bouts of vomiting in a child. In addition, syrups, powders and tablets often include additives for taste and smell, which can cause allergies.

You can hear the recommendations to take paracetamol and ibuprofen together or with alternating these drugs. Doctors believe that it is safe, but not a necessity. The combination of these drugs works with the same efficiency as taking ibuprofen alone.And if you have given this medicine, and the temperature does not decrease, do not give paracetamol in addition, it is better to call an ambulance right away.

Even as an adult, it is advised to avoid using aspirin at a temperature where possible, and it is completely contraindicated in children under 18 years of age.

If there are no other antipyretic drugs in the house, aspirin should not be given to the child anyway. If you have purchased any new medicine recommended for colds or flu, be sure to check if it contains acetylsalicylic acid.

• In the room, reduce the temperature of the air to 18-20 degrees to increase heat transfer (if the baby does not have chills). You should also take care of sufficient moisture (the optimal level is 60%), since the dryness of the air will contribute to the loss of children's body fluids and drying out mucous membranes.
• Choosing clothes for the child, make sure that the baby is not cold, but you shouldn’t overheat the crumbs with too warm clothes. Dress the child in the same way as you are dressed or a little lighter, and when the baby starts to sweat and wants to undress, allow him to release more heat in this way.
• Limit the activity of the child, because some kids even at temperatures above 39 degrees run and jump. As movement increases heat production in the body, distract the child from active games. However, make it so that the baby does not cry, because hysterical and crying she will also rise. Offer your child reading books, watching cartoons, or some other quiet activity. To force the child to lie down constantly is not necessary.