Fever is a natural reaction of the body to fight an infection. Very common among the little ones, it often worries young, inexperienced parents. But what to do when the first symptoms appear? What are the actions to take to relieve your child?
The first steps to adopt
If your child seems inconsolable, febrile, and his cheeks are red, first take his temperature, if it exceeds 38 ° C, your child has a fever.
To take the temperature of your child, we advise the rectal way because more effective but you can use a frontal thermometer, we do not forget to clean it after each use with alcohol at 90 °.
The first reflexes to adopt to avoid the rise of fever are:
- Undress your child
- Then try to keep the room temperature between 18 and 20 ° C
- Give him a drink regularly to avoid dehydration
- Pass him a washcloth moistened with cold water on his forehead.
Warning: It is strongly discouraged to give your child a cold or even lukewarm bath, proven ineffective.
What medical treatment?
If your child's temperature keeps rising or exceeds 38.5 ° C, it's time to introduce medical treatment. There are three different types of medicines: paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen.
Paracetamol must be your first choice, because you can give this medicine from birth (from 3 kg). This medicine should act on the discomfort due to fever and so relieve your child.
Ibuprofen can be given to your child from 3 months, more effective than paracetamol but more dangerous because it promotes the spread of some serious infections.
Aspirin is nowadays not recommended, so avoid if possible.
When to call the doctor?
If your baby is born prematurely, first we avoid using drugs that can do more harm than good, we advise you to go to your doctor or your nearest hospital to avoid convulsions or other problems.
If your child acts strangely, we think in particular of an irritable child, who cries a lot, has an earache, vomits, headache or breathes with difficulty, in these cases, we do not hesitate and we go makes it imperative to his doctor.
