Tips for reducing fever for six-month-old babies

Babies with fever are very anxious for mothers, and most babies with fever are due to inflammation in the body, so it is also very dangerous for babies. Fever is divided into high fever and low fever. Doctors will use cooling drugs for patients when the temperature is above 38 degrees. If it is still below 38 degrees, physical cooling methods are generally used. So what are the tips for reducing fever for six-month-old babies?

If the baby's body temperature is below 38.5℃, there is no need to take antipyretics, but other measures can be taken to reduce the temperature. First of all, the indoor environment should be kept quiet, the temperature should be moderate (18℃～25℃), and the ventilation should be good. The clothes and quilts should not be too thick. If the baby sweats a lot, change the clothes into clean clothes in time and wipe them with warm water. When a baby has a fever, his breathing will speed up and more water will evaporate, so it is necessary to replenish water in time and let the baby drink more warm water to encourage more urination and sweating to lower the temperature. 37.5℃ ~ 38℃ is a low fever, 38.1℃ ~ 39℃ is a moderate fever, 39.1℃ ~ 40.4℃ is a high fever, and above 40.5℃ is a very high fever. If the baby's temperature is high but it is not to the point of taking antipyretics, physical cooling can be used.

Specific method: Wet a towel with warm water, wring it slightly dry, and then wipe the baby's neck, arms, chest, back, thighs and other parts. Wipe the large blood vessels in the elbows, armpits, and neck a few more times until a slight redness appears. You can also put an ice pack or cold towel on your child's forehead to reduce the brain's oxygen consumption, thereby lowering body temperature and protecting the brain. Do not use alcohol bath to cool down the baby, because the baby's skin is delicate and alcohol is easily absorbed into the body, which will cause the baby to be irritable and cry.

If the baby's temperature is above 38.5℃, you can take antipyretics. When giving babies antipyretic drugs, they should be given strictly according to their weight. Commonly used antipyretic drugs for babies include acetaminophen (such as Tylenol, Benadryl) and ibuprofen (such as Motrin, Tonne), which are both antipyretic and analgesic drugs. Acetaminophen has a fast onset of action, strong effect and high safety, so it may be the first choice. Ibuprofen reduces fever quickly and steadily, with the fever-reducing effect lasting for 6 to 8 hours. It is generally used in children over 6 months old.

Antipyretics achieve the purpose of reducing fever by inducing sweating, so after taking antipyretics, you should let your baby drink more warm water to induce sweating, or use warm water sponge baths to help reduce fever. Many mothers will encounter this situation. Less than 4 hours after the baby took antipyretics, the temperature rose to above 38.5℃. At this time, you can no longer give the baby antipyretics and can only watch the baby fever. In fact, there is a way to deal with this situation. It is to prepare two drugs with different ingredients, acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) and ibuprofen (such as Motrin), at the same time, and use the two drugs alternately. This can reduce the number of times each drug is used within 24 hours and reduce the side effects of the drugs.

The specific method of taking is: You can give your baby ibuprofen 4 hours after using acetaminophen. If your temperature rises again 6 hours after taking ibuprofen, you can take acetaminophen again. If the baby's temperature rises again within 4 hours after taking the medicine, do not continue to take the last antipyretic medicine, but change to another antipyretic medicine. If the baby has a febrile seizure, both drugs can be used at the same time, and the dosage remains the same.