Temperature elevation above the usual 98-99 degree range usually means that a child’s immune system is responding to an illness.  Fever is a temperature of 100.5 or higher.  While parents often worry about fever, it is important to know that fever is made by our own bodies and helps us recover from infections.  Children will often “feel hot,” but without using a thermometer, you will not be able to know if a child has a fever.

Temperature over 100.5 in a newborn up to 2 or 3 months of age is always abnormal, and should be assessed urgently – text or call us right away.  After 3 months (and with vaccines helping), the other symptoms, and the pattern of the temperature over time are  most important to help us know what is happening, and how we should respond.

There is not a number on the thermometer that should cause worry for a child who has the recommended vaccines for their age.  This is different from what your mother or grandmothers were taught.  The vaccines against the most concerning bacterial infections are protecting kids from serious invasive diseases..  The main issue with fever is that it is often accompanied by misery, and sometimes pain.

How To Help Your Child

Do

  • Treat the child’s misery or pain, not the number on the thermometer.  If the child is not miserable with the fever, just observe.

  • Watch for indications of the cause of the fever – cold symptoms, stomach or bladder issues, or whole body/flu-like symptoms.

  • Hot bath or shower – make it a little hotter than the child’s temperature. When the water feels warm to the child, or they start sweating that means their temperature is coming down.

  • Children’s ibuprofen (generic Motrin or Advil) is preferred for children 6 months and older.  Children’s acetaminophen (Tylenol) can also be used, but provides fewer benefits.  Ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be given at the same time or separated by 2-3 hours.  The dose is calculated based on weight.  Divide the child’s weight in pounds by 4.4 or weight in kilograms by 2 to find the children’s formulation dose in milliliters, or see Over the Counter Pain/Fever Relief chart below.

  • Give the child plenty of fluids – water is best.

Don’t

  • Don’t give the child over the counter cough/cold medicine

  • Don’t buy the infant formulations of either medicine – this causes risks for over or underdosing.

  • Don’t use either individual medicine more frequently than once every 6 hours.

  • Don’t alternate ibuprofen and acetaminophen every 6 hours.  Use ibuprofen every 6 hours, and if there is continued misery needing treatment before the next dose is due, use acetaminophen at that time.

When to Worry

Contact us by texting or calling 503 400 3852 option 2

  • Temperature over 100.5 in a newborn up to 2 or 3 months of age is always abnormal, and should be assessed urgently – text or call us right away.

  • Child is having trouble breathing (see link for description).
  • Child is not able to maintain alertness/responsiveness to you.
  • Fever is associated with severe abdominal pain, headache/stiff neck, painful and frequent urination, rapidly spreading rash that looks like bleeding into the skin, changes in ability to maintain consciousness, seizure or other serious/alarming symptom
  • When the fever is worsening or not improving over time several days – meaning that the fever is trending higher and is harder to bring down with appropriate treatment.
  • Whenever fever suddenly returns as the child begins to improve 5-10 days after onset of a prior illness.

This advice about symptom relief is intended to equip you to help your child at home. If you have continued concerns please contact our office. If this is a medical emergency, please call 911 and us. We can also help during an emergency.

If you are not a Small Town Pediatrics family, please contact your child’s medical office or click Accepting New Patients to register your child with us.