What to Do for Baby With 102 Temp

All kids go a fever from time to time. A fever itself commonly causes no damage and tin actually be a practiced thing — it'south often a sign that the trunk is fighting an infection.

But when your child wakes in the eye of the nighttime flushed, hot, and sweaty, it's easy to be unsure of what to do adjacent. Should y'all exit the thermometer? Call the doctor?

Hither's more almost fevers, including when to contact your md.

What Is a Fever?

Fever happens when the trunk'southward internal "thermostat" raises the torso temperature above its normal level. This thermostat is plant in a role of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus knows what temperature your body should be (usually around 98.6°F/37°C) and will send messages to your body to proceed it that way.

About people'southward trunk temperatures change a little bit during the class of the day: It's usually a piffling lower in the morning and a little college in the evening and tin can vary as kids run around, play, and exercise.

Sometimes, though, the hypothalamus will "reset" the body to a higher temperature in response to an infection, illness, or another crusade. Why? Researchers believe that turning up the rut is a style for the body to fight the germs that cause infections, making it a less comfortable identify for them.

What Causes Fevers?

It's important to retrieve that fever by itself is non an illness — it's usually a sign or symptom of some other problem.

Fevers tin exist acquired by a few things, including:

Infection: About fevers are acquired by infection or other illness. A fever helps the body fight infections by stimulating natural defense mechanisms.

Overdressing: Infants, especially newborns, may get fevers if they're overbundled or in a hot environs because they don't regulate their torso temperature too every bit older kids. But considering fevers in newborns tin can indicate a serious infection, fifty-fifty infants who are overdressed must exist checked by a doctor if they have a fever.

Immunizations: Babies and kids sometimes get a low-class fever after getting vaccinated.

Although teething may cause a slight rising in trunk temperature, it's probably non the cause if a kid'southward temperature is college than 100°F (37.8°C).

When Is a Fever a Sign of Something Serious?

In healthy kids, non all fevers demand to be treated. High fever, though, can make a child uncomfortable and make issues (such as dehydration) worse.

Doctors decide on whether to treat a fever by because both the temperature and a child's overall condition.

Kids whose temperatures are lower than 102°F (38.ix°C) often don't need medicine unless they're uncomfortable. There's one important exception: If an baby 3 months or younger has a rectal temperature of 100.four°F (38°C) or college, call your physician or become to the emergency department immediately. Even a slight fever tin be a sign of a potentially serious infection in very young babies.

If your child is between iii months and three years sometime and has a fever of 102.2°F (39°C) or higher, phone call to see if your doctor needs to see your child. For older kids, take behavior and activeness level into account. Watching how your child behaves volition requite y'all a pretty good thought of whether a small-scale illness is the cause or if your child should be seen by a doctor.

The illness is probably not serious if your child:

• is still interested in playing
• is eating and drinking well
• is alert and grin at you
• has a normal skin color
• looks well when his or her temperature comes downwards

And don't worry also much about a kid with a fever who doesn't desire to swallow. This is very common with infections that crusade fever. For kids who yet drink and urinate (pee) commonly, non eating as much as usual is OK.

Is it a Fever?

A gentle kiss on the forehead or a manus placed lightly on the skin is oft enough to give yous a hint that your child has a fever. However, this method of taking a temperature (called tactile temperature) won't requite an accurate measurement.

Use a reliable digital thermometer to ostend a fever. It's a fever when a kid'southward temperature is at or above 1 of these levels:

• measured orally (in the mouth): 100°F (37.8°C)
• measured rectally (in the bottom): 100.iv°F (38°C)
• measured in an axillary position (under the arm): 99°F (37.2°C)

Merely how high a fever is doesn't tell yous much most how sick your kid is. A simple cold or other viral infection can sometimes cause a rather loftier fever (in the 102°–104°F/38.9°–forty°C range), just this doesn't usually mean in that location'due south a serious trouble. In fact, a serious infection, particularly in infants, might cause no fever or even a low trunk temperature (below 97°F or 36.1°C).

Considering fevers can rise and fall, a child might have chills as the trunk'due south temperature begins to rise. The child may sweat to release extra heat every bit the temperature starts to driblet.

Sometimes kids with a fever breathe faster than usual and may take a faster heart charge per unit. Call the physician if your child has trouble breathing, is animate faster than normal, or is still animate fast after the fever comes down.

p

How Can I Assist My Child Feel Better?

Again, non all fevers need to be treated. In well-nigh cases, a fever should be treated only if it'southward causing a child discomfort.

Here are ways to ease symptoms that ofttimes accompany a fever:

Medicines

If your kid is fussy or uncomfortable, yous can give acetaminophen or ibuprofen based on the packet recommendations for age or weight. (Unless instructed by a md, never give aspirin to a child due to its association with Reye syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal illness.) If you don't know the recommended dose or your child is younger than ii years sometime, call the doctor to notice out how much to give.

Infants younger than two months sometime should not be given any medicine for fever without being checked by a doctor. If your kid has any medical problems, check with the doctor to see which medicine is best to use. Call up that fever medicine can temporarily bring a temperature down, merely commonly won't render it to normal — and it won't care for the underlying reason for the fever.

Abode Comfort Measures

Wearing apparel your child in lightweight clothing and embrace with a lite canvas or blanket. Overdressing and overbundling can prevent trunk heat from escaping and tin crusade the temperature to ascent.

Brand sure your kid'due south sleeping room is a comfortable temperature — not too hot or too cold.

While some parents utilize lukewarm sponge baths to lower fever, this method just helps temporarily, if at all. In fact, sponge baths can make kids uncomfortable. Never use rubbing alcohol (it can cause poisoning when absorbed through the skin) or ice packs/cold baths (they can cause chills that can raise body temperature).

Food and Drinks

Offer plenty of fluids to avoid aridity because fevers make kids lose fluids more rapidly than usual. H2o, soup, ice pops, and flavored gelatin are all good choices. Avoid drinks with caffeine, including colas and tea, considering they can make dehydration worse by increasing urination (peeing).

If your kid as well is vomiting and/or has diarrhea, ask the doctor if you should give an electrolyte (rehydration) solution fabricated peculiarly for kids. You lot tin can find these at drugstores and supermarkets. Don't offering sports drinks — they're not made for younger children and the added sugars tin can make diarrhea worse. Also, limit your child's intake of fruits and apple juice.

In full general, let kids eat what they want (in reasonable amounts), but don't force information technology if they don't feel like it.

Taking information technology Easy

Make sure your child gets enough of remainder. Staying in bed all day isn't necessary, but a sick child should take it easy.

Information technology's best to keep a kid with a fever home from school or childcare. Near doctors feel that it's safe to return when the temperature has been normal for 24 hours.

When Should I Call the Dr.?

The exact temperature that should trigger a call to the dr. depends on a kid'due south age, the illness, and whether at that place are other symptoms with the fever.

Call your doctor if you accept an:

• infant younger than 3 months onetime with a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher
• older child with a temperature of college than 102.two°F (39°C)

Likewise call if an older kid has a fever of lower than 102.ii°F (39°C) but also:

• refuses fluids or seems also ill to drink adequately
• has lasting diarrhea or repeated airsickness
• has whatsoever signs of aridity (peeing less than usual, not having tears when crying, less alert and less active than usual)
• has a specific complaint (like a sore throat or earache)
• still has a fever afterwards 24 hours (in kids younger than 2 years old) or 72 hours (in kids 2 years or older)
• is getting fevers a lot, even if they but final a few hours each night
• has a chronic medical problem, such equally middle disease, cancer, lupus, or sickle cell disease
• has a rash
• has pain while peeing

Become emergency care if your child shows any of these signs:

• crying that won't finish
• extreme irritability or fussiness
• languor and trouble waking up
• a rash or purple spots that look like bruises on the skin (that were not at that place before your kid got sick)
• blue lips, tongue, or nails
• infant's soft spot on the head seems to be bulging out or sunken in
• strong cervix
• severe headache
• limpness or refusal to move
• trouble breathing that doesn't get better when the nose is cleared
• leaning frontwards and drooling
• seizure
• moderate to severe abdomen pain

Also, ask if your md has specific guidelines on when to phone call well-nigh a fever.

What Else Should I Know?

All kids get fevers, and in nigh cases they're completely back to normal within a few days. For older babies and kids, the way they human activity can exist more than important than the reading on your thermometer. Everyone gets a niggling cranky when they have a fever. This is normal and should be expected.

Merely if you're ever in doubt about what to practice or what a fever might mean, or if your kid is acting ill in a style that concerns you fifty-fifty if in that location's no fever, e'er telephone call your doctor for advice.

jeansusenter.blogspot.com

Source: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/fever.html

Share this post