What to do if a three and a half year old baby has a fever

Babies have relatively low resistance and immunity, and are easily infected with diseases, especially when the weather is dry, as germs spread faster. Three-and-a-half-year-old babies are prone to fever. Fever is the source of all diseases and must be stopped in time. Choose the right medicine for treatment, or you can use physical cooling methods to relieve fever. Dip a clean tissue in alcohol and place it on the baby's forehead to effectively cool down, or you can wipe the body.

When a 3-year-old baby has a fever, mothers are extremely worried. When a baby has a fever, mothers should first pay attention to the baby's condition and make certain judgments about it. If your baby has a high temperature but is in good physical and mental health, then there is no need to worry too much. However, if the baby has a persistent high fever and is also experiencing symptoms such as unconsciousness, severe vomiting, and poor mobility, it may be a more serious illness and you should seek medical attention immediately, and go to the emergency room if necessary.

1. Take your baby’s temperature

First, determine whether your baby has a fever. The normal body temperature of a young child is between 36 and 37 degrees Celsius. When the ear temperature or rectal temperature of a young child exceeds 38 degrees Celsius, it can be considered as a fever. However, sometimes some external factors may cause the child's body temperature to rise, such as just after a bath, just after drinking milk, the surrounding environment is too hot, etc. Therefore, when a child's body temperature rises, the first thing to do is to check whether the temperature rise is caused by the above-mentioned accidental factors.

(1) It is better to measure axillary temperature than rectal temperature: because rectal temperature must be inserted into the anus, it is more irritating to the baby, while axillary temperature is milder.

(2) Mercury thermometers or ear thermometers are suitable for babies under three years old: the accuracy and safety of ear thermometers have been confirmed by the medical community; mercury thermometers are more accurate than electronic thermometers.

(3) Shake the mercury column to below 36°C before use: this will ensure that the body temperature measured is accurate.

(4) Sufficient time is required: If measuring axillary temperature, it takes more than 5 minutes, while rectal temperature only takes 1 minute.

(5) Lubricate the rectal temperature gauge: Before measuring rectal temperature, apply lubricating cream on the rectal temperature gauge and then insert it 2 cm into the anus.

(6) Do not take your temperature immediately after bathing, eating, or exercising: You should wait half an hour after bathing before measuring your temperature. If your temperature is between 38 and 38.5°C after eating hot food, coming in from outside on a hot day, or exercising, you should rest for half an hour before measuring your temperature. Do not hastily diagnose a person with a fever.

2. Help your baby reduce fever

Fever is a warning sign, telling the mother that some part of the baby's body is sick; however, fever itself will not harm the child, so whether it is necessary to reduce the fever has long been controversial. However, most doctors favor moderate fever reduction. Because fever increases metabolism and causes internal consumption, patients will suffer from headaches, fatigue, and accelerated heartbeat.