Care Advice
What You Should Know About Fever:
- Having a fever means your child has a new infection.
- It's most likely caused by a virus.
- You may not know the cause of the fever until other symptoms develop. This may take 24 hours.
- For infants older than 3 months old, most fevers are good for sick children. They help the body fight infection.
- Use the ranges below to help put your child's level of fever into perspective:
- 100° - 102° F (37.8° - 39° C) Low grade fever: helpful, good range. Don't treat.
- 102° - 104° F (39 - 40° C) Average fever: helpful. Treat if causes discomfort.
- Higher than 104° F (40° C) High fever: causes discomfort, but harmless. Always treat.
- Higher than 106° F (41.1° C) Very high fever: important to bring it down. Rare to go this high.
- Higher than 108° F (42.3° C) Dangerous fever: fever itself can be harmful.
Treatment for All Fevers - Extra Fluids:
- Fluids alone can lower the fever. Reason: being well hydrated helps the body give off heat through the skin.
- Offer your child extra water or other fluids by mouth. Cold fluids are better. Until 6 months old, only give extra formula or breastmilk.
- For all children, dress in 1 layer of light weight clothing, unless shivering. Reason: also helps heat loss from the skin.
- For shivering (or the chills), give your child a blanket. Make them comfortable.
- Caution: if a baby under 1 year has a fever, never overdress or bundle up. Reason: babies can get over-heated more easily than older children.
Fever Medicine:
- Caution: do not give a baby under 3 months any fever medicine. Most of these babies will need to be seen.
- For fevers 100°-102° F (37.8° - 39°C), fever meds are not needed. Reason: fevers in this range help the body fight the infection. Fevers turn on the body's immune system.
- Fever meds are mainly needed for fevers higher than 102° F (39° C).
- Give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
- Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil) if over 6 months old.
- Goal of treatment: keep the fever at a helpful level. Most often, the fever meds lower the fever by 2° to 3° F (1 - 1.5° C). They do not bring it down to normal. It takes 1 or 2 hours to see the effect.
- Do not use aspirin. Reason: risk of Reye syndrome, a rare but serious brain disease.
- Do not use both acetaminophen and ibuprofen together. Reason: not needed and a risk of giving too much.
- Pain: if your baby also has pain, treat it. Fever does not cause pain. Any pain is from the infection. It may be a sore throat or muscle pain.
Return to Child Care:
- Your child can return to child care after the fever is gone for 24 hours. Your child should feel well enough to join in normal activities.
What to Expect:
- Most fevers with viral illnesses range between 101° and 104° F (38.4° and 40° C).
- They may last for 2 or 3 days.
- They are not harmful.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Your child looks or acts very sick
- Any serious symptoms occur such as trouble breathing
- Fever goes higher than 104° F (40° C)
- Age less than 12 weeks old with any fever
- Fever without other symptoms lasts more than 48 hours
- Fever with other symptoms lasts more than 3 days (72 hours)
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.