As a parent, we try to keep our baby away from all sorts of diseases and illness. As per the recent survey of 1000 moms, it is found that the No. 1 concern of a mother is Fever. Care like Mum is peerless. During fever, the baby behaves in a very irritable manner and it is difficult to control them. A baby’s average body temperature is 37° Celsius. So, if the body temperature reaches to 38° to remains the same for more than 24 hours, it means that baby has a fever. However, having a fever is not a bad thing. It is a sign of illness and not the cause of illness.
The body temperature rises to fight and make it inhabitable for the temperature-sensitive bacteria and germs to remain in the body. If the infection due to the bacteria or viruses is very high, then the temperature of the body rises to a very high level. However, the fever in babies should be treated properly as it can lead to dehydration, discomfort to and any other serious condition. At low fever you don’t need to panic too much, just a few prescribed medicines will do the work. But, if the fever remains for a longer time or is very high, you should head to the doctor immediately.
When to visit your doctor?
The risk temperature usually changes with the age of the baby. For children under 12 months, fever is significantly a major issue so it is necessary to seek medical guidance immediately if it is very high. The children over 12 months should be given medical guidance if it exhibits the symptoms like cold, running nose, body aches, diarrhoea, headache, a sore throat, chills, fatigue, nausea or if the body temperature is more than 40 degree Celsius (104°F). For a baby, less than 3 months, the critical temperature to visit the doctor is 100.4°F. If the baby is between 3 months to 6 months, you have to head him or her to the doctor if the temperature is more than 101°F.
If your baby is more than 6 months old and has a fever of more than 103°F, it is necessary to seek medical attention. If the thermometer shows more than 102°F and the baby is indicated with few of these symptoms like cold, fatigue, body ache, headache, dehydration, running nose and sore throat, then you have to head to the doctor. Fever can cause dehydration as the body loses fluid due to high temperature. Febrile convulsions are seizure than can happen due to the high density of infection. However, the chance of this disease is extremely low, but you should talk about this with the doctor.
Many parents get panicked if the skin of the baby seems flushed and warm, but it is not necessary that it is a fever. Usually, such things can happen because of cold or by doing some tough physical activity or even on a very hot day. If you need more informative articles then you can get on Care like Mum blog.
