A hot baby under three months
Learn the age cut-off before you need it. A baby from birth to three months with a fever needs immediate medical attention. GP or emergency.
Not a wait to see if they settle after a feed. Not a text to your mother. Immediate.
Raising Children is just as blunt about a child of any age with a weak immune system and a fever. Immediate care. The rest of childhood is slightly more graded, and you still do not freelance.
Over three months, take them to a GP if the fever has run for two days or more, if breathing is hard, if they are drowsy, if they seem mildly dried out, refusing drinks or weeing less, if the neck is stiff or light hurts or there is a mild headache, if they are vomiting, if there is a rash, if there has been a febrile seizure, or if pain will not ease with pain medicine. Also if they simply seem wrong or worse and you are worried.
Worry is a valid symptom on this page. If any of that is severe, or they crash quickly, emergency or 000. Very difficult breathing or unresponsive is 000 straight away.
Fever can climb over days or jump. It can rise and fall in a day. Chills on the way up, sweat on the way down.
They can dry out if fluid leaves and drinks do not replace it. Between about 6 months and 6 years a febrile seizure can happen, and it is rare. Most fevers last a few days.
A long one can mean something underneath. A thermometer tells you it is a fever. Your hand on a forehead is a rumour.
Treatment is comfort and fluid, not a fight with the number. If they are hot and unhappy, paracetamol at the dose and timing on the packet. Ibuprofen only if they are older than three months.
If they have a fever and seem fine, skip the medicine. It does not fix the infection. If you are still using it after 48 hours, see a GP.
Dress them in light clothes, about one layer less than usual. Skip the cool bath, the sponge and the fan. Those can make them more miserable.
Do not force food. A bacterial illness may need antibiotics, which is a doctor's call. Aspirin stays in the cupboard unless a doctor has prescribed it.
It is linked with Reye's syndrome, and it can be dangerous with chickenpox or flu symptoms.
Your night move is the thermometer, a note of the time and the number, drinks, and the car keys if the baby is under three months. Tell the clinician what you gave and when. Do not stack doses because you are frightened. The packet is the dose.
Source: Raising Children Network