Fever and Young Children

One of the most reasons for concerns among most new parents are fevers that seem to creep up suddenly and can rise rapidly. While a high fever, particularly in the middle of the night, can be quite frightening; a little information about high fevers in children can go a long way toward making concerned parents feel better and understand how to best help their child on the road to recovery.

Parents commonly wonder when it is appropriate to treat their child’s fever at home and when they should take their child to the emergency room. First, it is important to understand that fevers in children can be somewhat different than fevers in adults. Due to the fact that small children are unable to hold thermometers in their mouths, their temperatures must be taken either under the arm or rectally. Although there are a number of products on the market that will allow you to take your child’s temperature in the ear, similar to the process used in your pediatrician’s office, a rectal or axillary reading is still far more accurate. With that said; however, you should understand that a temperature taken under the arm will not be the same as a rectal reading, it will be about one degree lower, so this should be taken into consideration.

So, how high is a high temperature in small children? Very small children can attain temperatures that are quite high and although this will naturally cause some concern, the good news is that their temperatures usually come down quite quickly too. Generally, when considering whether you need to contact the doctor or self-care, you should take the child’s age and their temperature both into consideration. The type of additional symptoms that your child may also be exhibiting should also be taken into consideration in order to determine whether you should take your child to the doctor immediately.

When any of the following circumstances are present, you should contact your child’s physician immediately:

When your child is younger than 8 weeks of age and has a temperature that is higher than 100.4 F.

When your child is less than three months of age with a fever of 101 degrees and above.

When your child is less than three months of age and is exhibiting symptoms such as reduced appetite, irritability, skin rash.

When your child is older than 3 months of age but younger than 36 months of age and has a fever greater than 102.2 F.


Under the above circumstances, your doctor may run a series of tests to determine the cause of your child’s fever and symptoms. Usually, most childhood fevers result from a viral infection, which can be treated with medication.

 
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