Dr. Komarovsky about high temperature in children
Fever is a typical sign of an infectious disease. At the same time, the opinions of parents about whether it is necessary to bring down the temperature, when and how to do it, diverge. What does E. Komarovsky think about fever and how does he advise to act when it appears in young children?
Why does the temperature rise?
By increasing the temperature, according to Komarovsky, the body activates the production of substances that resist the pathogens. One of the main such compounds is the special interferon protein, which has properties to neutralize viruses. The amount of synthesized interferon is directly related to fever - the higher the numbers on the thermometer, the more interferon will be formed. Its maximum level in blood is observed on the second or third day of elevated temperature. Komarovsky stresses that it is precisely at this time that most viral infections end.
In cases where the body is so weakened that the fever is not observed with SARS, or the parents at the very beginning have knocked down the temperature and have not given an incentive for the formation of interferon, the disease lasts much longer. In such situations, the virus is destroyed by antibodies that have developed in the child’s body, and recovery occurs around the seventh day.
When do you need to beat down the temperature?
The well-known doctor emphasizes that all children are individual, and therefore suffer a fever in different ways. There are kids who are not hindered by the play rate of 39 degrees, but there are children who are already very ill at 37.5. That is why Komarovsky emphasizes that there is no universal recommendation on what numbers of fever should be given antipyretic.
How to act at a child's temperature?
According to Komarovsky, the main goal of parents should be to provide the child with the conditions in which his body can lose heat. Losses of heat occur in two ways - when the air that he breathes is warmed in the child’s lungs, as well as when sweat evaporates from the baby’s skin. Given these paths, a popular pediatrician definitely recommends to all children with a fever:
- Provide cool air in the room. Komarovsky calls + 16 + 18 degrees the best temperature for a nursery. In this case, the clothes on the child should be quite warm so that the skin vessels do not spasm.
- Give plenty to drink. This will allow the child to sweat more and eliminate blood clots. Komarovsky advises babies up to a year to drink broth of raisins, and older kids - a compote of dried fruit. A popular tea with the addition of raspberries, the doctor does not advise giving babies of the first year of life at all, but for children older than one year to use it only as an additional drink, since raspberries strongly stimulate the formation of sweets.
If the child refuses any drink, Komarovsky recommends giving any drink to which the baby agrees. The temperature of the liquid for drinking should be approximately equal to the body temperature, then it is absorbed faster in the digestive tract.
What not to do?
A popular pediatrician does not advise using physical methods to cool a child’s body, for example, the use of hot water bottles with ice, cold moistened with sheets and the like.They all cause a spasm of blood vessels that are in the skin, which leads to slower blood flow, reduce sweating and reduce waste of heat. In this case, you will only reduce the temperature of the baby’s skin, and the temperature inside the body will still remain high, which represents a significant danger.
Komarovsky also strongly opposes rubbing with vinegar or alcohol. A sweating child already loses enough heat, which leads to a decrease in temperature. Rubbing with alcohol-containing solutions, according to the pediatrician, additionally causes poisoning of the baby with alcohol, and when rubbed with vinegar, the risk of acid poisoning increases.
Do not advise Komarovsky also seek to increase the evaporation of sweat with a fan. It also causes vasospasm. According to the doctor, when the child is sweating, it is enough just to change into warm, dry clothes and calm down.
Antipyretic drugs
Indications for the use of such means Komarovsky calls situations when:
- The child suffers from fever.
- The baby has concomitant pathologies of the nervous system, in which the risk of seizures increases.
- The indicator on the thermometer above +39. According to the popular pediatrician, such a high temperature has more negative effects than advantages.
Komarovsky notes that the failure to comply with the conditions that help the child's body to spend excess heat, reduces the effectiveness of any drugs and increases the risk of adverse reactions.
The pediatrician names paracetamol as the most effective antipyretic for children. Komarovsky considers his main advantages to be safety of action and ease of use, since the drug is presented in many forms.
In addition, with regard to paracetamol, a famous doctor says that:
- This drug is especially effective in viral infections.
- Its effectiveness is not affected by the manufacturer and form of release, but only the dosage.
- This is not a means of treating infection, but only a way to eliminate one of the symptoms - high fever.
- It should not be used according to the clock, but should be given only when the temperature rises.
- Paracetamol should not be used more than four times a day and longer than three days in a row.
- Independent use of it is a temporary measure to improve the condition of the child until the arrival of the doctor.
- Any other antipyretic should be taken only after the appointment of a doctor.
