All About Fever

Fever is a symptom and not a diagnosis or a medical condition. The most common cause of a fever in children is an infection; mostly viral but in some cases a bacterial. One of the challenges in evaluating children with fever is trying to determine the cause, or at least to make sure it is not due a bacterial infection. This distinction is important, as viral infections do not need antibiotic treatment, but bacterial infections usually do. More rarely there are other, so called "non infectious" causes of fever, but in this circumstance, the fever persists for prolonged periods of time(weeks or even months) rather than just for a short period coincident with a current infection. Fever is part of the overall picture. In general, the younger the child, the sicker looking the child and/or the longer the fever persists, the higher the chance of a bacterial infection. Also as important as the degree of fever is how a febrile child generally looks. A sick looking child with a low fever may be more ill than a very well, active child with a higher fever.

Taking A Child's Temperature

There are 3 ways to take a child's temperature:
Rectal: this is the most exact reading and is recommended for children less than 5 years of age
Oral: (by mouth): recommended for children older than 5 years of age
Axillary: (armpit): this is the least precise way to measure the temperature

The Normal Body Temperature

The average (normal) body temperature is usually 98.6º F (37ºC), rectally. However there are ranges of normal temperatures depending on how the temperature is measured:

The normal temperature range when measured rectally is: 36.6º - 38º (C), or 97.9º - 100.4º (F)
The normal temperature range when taken by mouth is: 35.5º to 37.5º (C), or 95.9º - 99.5º (F)
The normal temperature range when taken from the armpit is: 34.7º to 37.3º (C), or 94.5º - 99.1º (F)

What Body Temperature Is Considered To Be Fever?

A child is considered to have a fever if:
The rectal temperature is greater than 38º (C) or 100.4º (F),or
The oral( by mouth) temperature is greater than 37.8º (C ) or 100º (F),or
The armpit (axillary) temperature is greater than 37.2º (C) or 99º (F)

Measures To Help Lower The Fever:

Lowering the temperature with Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen can help your child feel better and be less irritable. It usually takes up to 60-90 minutes for the fever to go down. If fever medication does not bring the temperature down, the child could be given a lukewarm sponge bath. Do not use cool or cold compresses or baths and never use alcohol sponging. Also children with fever should not be overdressed.

WHEN TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S FEVER

Worrisome or alarm signs needing immediate medical attention include:

• the fever is higher than 39.5º C(103ºF)rectal or
• the child appears unwell or unusually ill (this applies even when there is no fever) or
• persistent fever(more than 3-4 days) or
• the child is less than 6 months of age

Information provided on this site is designed to be an educational aid only. It is not intended to replace the advice and care of your child's physician, nor is it intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you suspect that your child has a medical condition, always consult a physician.

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