What to do if your child has a fever

Children are very lively and active, and often play until they are covered in sweat. If you are not careful at this time, the children may catch a cold and have a fever. When a child shows symptoms of fever, parents must pay attention to observe the child's reaction and provide some care for the child to prevent the cold and fever from becoming serious. Now let's talk about what to do when a child has a fever.

1. Rest

Increase rest time and ensure that children get enough sleep to enhance their disease resistance.

2. Observe body temperature

If the child's body temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees Celsius, it means the child has a fever and physical cooling (warm water bath) or drug cooling should be performed immediately (preferably under the guidance of a doctor).

3. Diet

Children with colds often have poor appetite, so parents can arrange feeding time when the body temperature is close to normal after the fever subsides and give the children light, easily digestible food.

4. Stay hydrated

Especially when the fever is high, you should eat more to replenish the loss of water.

5. Wear appropriate clothing and bedding

Do not overdress or cover your child too much when he or she has a high fever, because on the one hand it will not dissipate heat easily and cause the body temperature to rise, and on the other hand it will make the child sweat too much and cause water loss. The correct approach is not to wear too many clothes when you have a fever. You should take off some clothes when you go to bed to avoid catching a cold after getting up. You can cover yourself with a little more quilt than usual, but you should reduce it in time after sweating.

6. Keep bowel movements smooth

Keeping bowel movements regular helps your child's body temperature return to normal. If a child is constipated, parents can use ketamine to relieve the symptoms.

7. Wipe with warm water or take a warm bath

Wipe your child's head, armpits, and limbs with a warm, wet towel or give him or her a warm bath, scrubbing the skin more often to promote heat dissipation.

8. Foot bath

It can promote blood circulation, relieve discomfort, and lower the baby's body temperature. You can use a large basin or a small bucket to soak your feet. Pour 2/3 of the basin with water. The water temperature should be slightly higher than usual, based on what your baby can adapt to. When soaking the baby's feet, the mother can rub the baby's two little feet, which can not only dilate the blood vessels but also relieve the discomfort caused by fever.

9. Ice

You can use a small amount of ice or cold compress on the baby's head or large blood vessels. But be sure to wrap a layer of cloth around the ice bag to prevent local frostbite on the baby's skin, and babies under 6 months old should not be given ice compresses. There is still much controversy about the pros and cons of this approach. It is generally believed that ice compresses do more harm than good, because they may cause the capillaries in the baby's skin to contract, hindering heat dissipation and causing the body temperature to be higher. Especially if accompanied by chills or shivering, ice compresses should not be used.

10. Wet towel compress

Wipe your baby's limbs with a warm towel, or apply a wet towel to the forehead to help reduce fever.

11. Medication

To reduce fever, you usually choose cooling patches or cooling suppositories. You can also use oral solution or granule dosage forms. For infants under 1 year old, it is best to use drops because the drug concentration in drops is low and the irritation is less.

12. Drink water

Feed your baby water repeatedly and try to let your baby rest in bed. While taking the above-mentioned antipyretic measures for children with fever, you should closely observe the baby's other conditions, such as whether he or she has a cough, his or her mental state, etc. If the temperature is too high, go to the hospital for treatment.