Fever in children
Children frequently have febrile illnesses. Here are few important facts about fever.
Fever is body’s response to infection. It helps body in fighting the infection caused by viruses,
bacteria etc. Fever can also occur in some non-infectious diseases like allergy etc. Fever as such
is not damaging, even if it is as high as 41 degree C or 105 degree F. It is unlikely to cross this
level as long as there is no underlying brain dysfunction or the child is not in very hot
environment. It is the underlying infection which will determine the course of illness and
severity.
In case of fever, parents should take the child to cold environment. They can switch on the fan
or a/c if it does not make them uncomfortable. Clothing should be minimal and thin. This will
help in heat loss.
Temp should be measure in the armpit (never in the mouth) with thermometer. Digital
thermometer is convenient to use than manual one. Temp between 97 and 99 (F) is normal,
where as more than 99 degree F would be called as fever. Fever more than 100 F may be
treated with medicine as it may lead to discomfort, crankiness, refusal to eat or vomitting.
The common medicine used for fever is paracetamol (crocin). The dose of crocin is 15 mg/kg of
body weight/per dose every 4-6 hours (not more than 4 doses in 24 hours). Crocin and other
brands come in different forms like drops, syrup of different strengths with different
concentrations. For example, crocin drops contains 100 mg per 1 ml of paracetamol, which is 4
times more concentrated than crocin suspension (syrup) which has concentration of 120 mg per
5 ml paracetamol and twice concentrated than syrup crocin DS (240 mg per 5 ml). For baby
weighing 10 Kg, the dose of crocin drops would be 1.5 ml (150 mg), whereas crocin suspension 6
ml (144 mg). Many parents are not aware of this and sometimes serious mistakes are made. As
such, underdosing and overdosing of paracetamol is of common occurrence. Overdose of
paracetamol can lead to liver damage. It is a good habit to read the label of any medicine before
using it.
Other medicines which are used for fever are ibuprofen and mefanamic acid. These drugs
should not be given in an infant bellow 1 year as it can affect kidney and liver.