Fever in children is still a major concern of parents, who can even make parents rush to bring their children to the emergency services. Fever itself is a rise in body temperature exceeds 38 ° C (when measured via rectal), although it limits the increase in body temperature itself can be different for each person.
Fever is actually not a condition to endanger the life, unless the increase is very high body temperature continuously, for example, to achieve> 41 ° C. The presence of fever indicates a particular disease, although fever is usually due to a generalized infection is not serious.
In the brain there are regions that regulate body temperature & is called the hypothalamus. At the time of infection, the hypothalamus will increase body temperature as a way to fight the causes of infection. Nevertheless, many other conditions can also cause fever.
Causes of Fever In Children
Almost all infections can cause fever. Here are some of the causes of fever, such as those taken from www.emedicinehealth.com:
- Bacterial infections
- Viral infections
- Certain drugs
- Certain diseases associated with exposure to heat
- There are some specific cancers have early symptoms of fever, such as in leukemia & Hodgkin's disease.
In addition, there are several other reasons which can also cause a slight increase in body temperature, such as after immunization (although it does not occur in all children) & when the child grows teeth.
Handling Fever at Home
Not all symptoms of fever indicate a serious illness, here are some things that can be a sign that the fever that is felt quite overcome with the care at home, such as those taken from www.nlm.nih.gov:
- Children can still play
- Children can still eat well & drink
- Children respond to stimuli from the outside
- The color of his skin was normal
- Look good when the body temperature falls
If the fever is felt still lightweight & child shows signs such as above, then you need to do is give drink enough & let the children rest. So the fever may go down by itself. But if the child looks uncomfortable, vomiting, dehydration & difficult to sleep then it can be done the following ways to lower the body temperature of children:
- If the child is shivering, do not pile on the blankets over his body. Simply put the child dress comfortably sleep (preferably made of cotton so you can easily absorb sweat) & blanket with a thin blanket.
- Create conditions for the bedroom as comfortable as possible, keep do not get too hot or cold. When the room was too hot & stuffy, a fan can also be used for air circulation.
- Bathing with warm water can also help lower the body temperature. But the way it should be given after the child is given a febrifuge, to avoid a rise in body suuh back.
- Do not use ice packs, alcohol or a bath with cold water to lower body temperature. This method can reduce skin temperature, but can make the body becomes shivering, which will raise the body temperature back. Besides alcohol vapor can also be inhaled by children & disrupt breathing.
- If necessary can be used a fever reliever, such as: paracetamol & ibuprofen.
- Give your child plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, can be water, milk, vegetable soup, etc.
- While eating at the time of fever is not a problem, but do not force children to eat.
Here are some guidelines fever reliever medication use in children :
- Acetaminophen or paracetamol can be used to relieve demampada children, the way it works is by lowering the body temperature gauge in the brain. Acetaminophen or paracetamol should be taken every 4-6 hours.
- Ibuprofen can also be used to relieve fever in children, but should not be given to children aged <6 months. Ibuprofen can be given every 6-8 hours.
- Actually, aspirin can also be used to relieve fever in children, but should not be given to children unless the doctor advised to do so. This is because when aspirin is given to children who have developed a viral infection, can cause Reye syndrome, a disease that causes vomiting, confusion and even coma and liver damage.
- When children aged <2 years old, you should call your doctor first to get the appropriate dosage.
- It is important to know the child's weight, because there are few drug doses are calculated based on weight rather than age.
- Read the instructions printed on the packaging of drugs carefully, including dose, duration, etc. administration.
When performing maintenance fever children at home, should continue to monitor the situation of children, if not also his fever down, then you should consult with your doctor to get a diagnosis & treatment more precise. Here are some things that can be a sign to take a child who has fever to the doctor to be examined :
- Experiencing a high fever (> 41 ° C)
- Vomiting or diarrhea are constantly
- The mouth looks dry
- Fever up and down for several days
- Fuss & cry, despite doing a variety of ways to calm
- No appetite
- Look pale & limp
- Convulsions
- Experiencing a severe headache
- Redness of the skin
- Swelling or pain in joints
- Sore throat
- Pain in abdomen
- Swelling in the soft area in the baby's head
- Children do not respond to stimuli from the outside
- Wheezing or difficulty breathing