What should I do if my child has chills and fever?

Children are the ones who need the most care in the family, not only because they are too young to understand anything, but also because a family is more complete with children. However, even though we take good care of the children, many of them still get sick from time to time. Chills and fever are relatively common diseases among children. This disease must be treated early, so what should we do if children have a chill and fever?

Having a fever but cold hands and feet is a phenomenon of false cold and true heat, which is especially common in infants and young children under 3 years old. This is mainly because babies (especially infants) have less blood in their limbs than in their internal organs. Due to insufficient blood supply to their limbs, they are more likely to feel cold than adults. In addition, the baby's nervous system is not yet fully developed, and the autonomic nerves responsible for managing vasodilation and contraction are prone to disorder, causing the small blood vessels at the ends of the limbs to be in a spasmodic contraction state and become cold when the high fever first occurs.

As soon as the baby has a fever, parents will cover the baby tightly, dressing him in "three layers inside and three layers outside", making him look like a steamed dumpling. Some mothers say that their children are very afraid of cold when they have a fever. Some say that wearing thicker clothes is to cover up sweat, and the child’s fever will go away once he sweats.

Children's sweat glands are underdeveloped, so it is not easy to achieve the purpose of "sweating" by "covering up the sweat". For children, the more they are covered, the higher their body temperature will be, which can easily cause "heat syndrome" (that is, children will have a series of symptoms such as high fever, pale complexion, poor reaction, and difficulty breathing due to covering too tightly), and it can also easily induce high fever convulsions. Experts say that when children have a high fever, their limb circulation often deteriorates, and their hands and feet do not feel hot but rather cool. If the baby has cold hands and feet, is afraid of wind, and likes to snuggle in his mother's arms, he may soon develop a fever. Therefore, parents should not assume that their children’s hands and feet are cold because they are not dressed enough.

Children are always prone to illness, not because we can't take care of them. In fact, children’s defense system is not as strong as adults’, so we must pay great attention to children. If there is anything unusual, seek medical attention as soon as possible. The editor has introduced what to do if your child has a chill or fever. For those prospective parents, please remember it well.