Fever (1)

            There are many things that can cause a child to have a fever. By knowing some basic facts about fever, the parent can save themselves a lot of worry and perhaps a doctor visit. The most common cause of fever is a viral infection such as a cold. Fever is often the first thing that happens when a child gets ill.  It usually starts in the late afternoon or evening, about the time you pick the child up from day-care. The child looks and acts sick and feels hot. Feeling the child is an inaccurate way to judge how high the fever is (101, 102, etc.) but feeling the child is an accurate way to judge whether the child has a fever or not. With most viral illnesses, the fever is up and down for the first three days and always higher at night. After the third day, the daytime fever drops. The child still will have a nighttime fever for another night or two and then the night fever goes away. During those first few days of fever, you can give the child a fever-reducing medication (acetaminophen or ibuprofen) to help him feel better. In fact, your child's response to the medication can sometimes let you know whether the fever is caused by a simple viral infection or a more serious infection. The temperature may not go down much with the medication, but the purpose of the medication is not to lower the fever, it is to make the child more comfortable. If the child seems to feel better an hour after a dose of the medication, the illness is less worrisome. If the child seems to be more sick or feels worse after the medication, it is more worrisome and the child should be seen by his caregiver.
     Fever is not dangerous and does not cause brain damage. Children can have seizures with fever, but the seizures are not caused because the fever got “too high”(See the article on “Fever Seizures”). Once the fever is gone, the child should feel much better, even though the symptoms that came along with the viral illness (runny nose, cough, diarrhea, etc.) may continue for another week or two. After the daytime fever resolves, it does not return even though the fever can still be up at night. If a daytime fever lasts more than 3 days or if the daytime fever returns after having been gone for a day or two, the child needs to see the doctor. If your child does not slowly improve over a week or two,  develops new or more serious symptoms or seems to be acting more ill, the child needs to see the doctor.