Fever-Allaying Treatments

Self-tending at Home

The three vital objectives of home tending for a kid having fever would be lowering the temperature, averting dehydration and monitoring any grave or life-menacing ailments.

The preliminary goal would be making the kid feel restful and at ease by checking and assuaging the temperature to below 102 degrees Fahrenheit or 38.9 degree Celsius. The fever is measured by employing a thermometer, giving medications and making the child dress in appropriate manner. A tepid water soak could be beneficial to the child.

• Thermometer employed for checking the child’s temperature are obtainable in glass mercury, digital and tympanic (in the ear) models.
• It is safer to not opt for the tympanic thermometers as the adjudicator is still out on their exactness.
• Glass mercury thermometers function effectively, however they are fragile with tendency to break and require some minutes to obtain a reading.
• Digital thermometers are reasonably priced and give reading within seconds.
• The best way of checking the tot’s or infant’s temperature is via the rectum. For this the child would need to be held chest facing downwards across the knees. The child’s derriere needs to be spread out with one hand and the thermometer greased with a water-dissolvable jelly is to be gently inserted nearly once inch within the rectum.
• Oral temperatures could be taken in older aged kids that are not breathing orally or have not lately drunk any kind of heated or cold form of beverage.
• Acetaminophen (Infant’s Tylenol, Tempra) and ibuprofen (Infant’s Advil, Infant’s Motrin) could be employed for lowering the temperature.
  • The dose and the number of times of usage of the medications given on the label needs to be strictly adhered to.
  • Always bearing in mind that the medication needs to be given over a span of minimum one day or else the fever would relapse.
  • Aspirin must never be given for treating fever in kids, particularly in cases where fever is accompanied by chickenpox. It has been associated to Reye’s syndrome that leads to liver cirrhosis. The usage of Ibuprofen during chickenpox is also a debatable matter.

• Overdressing the kid needs to be avoided even during the wintry months.
  • When the child is overdressed, the body cannot easily cool itself down as it fails to do the tasks like evaporate, radiate, conduct or convey.
  • The sensible way would be dressing the infant in one layer of garments and swathing the child in a sheet of cloth or light-weight blanket.

• The body temperature could be allayed by giving a sponge bath to the child in tepid water.
  • This normally is not required, though it might help in swiftly lowering temperature.
  • Placing the infant in some inches-deep tepid water and employing a sponge or washcloth for wetting the skin of the hands, feet and the body.
  • The tepid water on its own would not cool the kid, but the water evaporating from the skin’s surface would act as a cooling agent and hence aid in lowering the temperature. Hence covering the kid with damp towels must be avoided.
  • Contradictory to the accepted folk antidote for reducing fever, one must never rub alcohol during bathing or on to the skin as it noxious to kids.

The second objective of home tending must be averting dehydration. Among humans, excessive amounts of water are lost from the skin and the lungs while having fever.

• Encouraging the intake of clear fluids like non-carbonated beverages that have no caffeine or juices (not water as water doesn’t contain the essential electrolytes and glucose), other kinds of clear fluids like vegetable clear or chicken clear soup, Pedialyte and other kinds of replenishing beverages obtainable at any well-stocked grocery or medical store.
• Tea, other products with caffeine content must be kept away as they have a diuretic action leading one to urinate frequently and hence fluid loss which is an effect that is undesirable during this time.
• Urination should occur in about four hourly intervals and must be light in colour to indicate ample hydration.

The third objective would be monitoring the infant for any indicators of grave or life-menacing ailments.

• An ideal approach would be lowering the body temperature to below 102 degree Fahrenheit or 39 degree Celcius.
• Additionally ensuring that the child in consuming ample amounts of clear fluids not including water.
• In spite of both these conditions being followed and still the kid appears sick, then a grave problem could be the reason.

Medical Problem

The doctor could or could not be able to precisely pinpoint the reason behind the child’s fever.

Viral infections affecting the respiratory tract are the prevalent causes of fever. Antibiotics do not aid in either curing or helping with the viral infections.

• In case a bacterial infection is diagnosed, then an antibiotics course would be started.
• Antibiotics for home intake are given during infections affecting the urinary tract, ear, throat, sinuses, skin, gastrointestinal form or pneumonia.
• The child could also be given oral course of antibiotics or a jab or both together.
• Those detected with bacterial meningitis mostly need hospitalization.

In addition, acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) could be given by the doctor for treating fever.

Treatment for dehydration would involve either an oral or intravenous administration of fluids.

• In case the child vomits, antiemetic drugs might be administered by either shot or using suppository for rectal use.
• Oral fluids would eventually be started.