First, here’s a little disclaimer: I am not a physician or medical professional. Please do not allow my personal tips to come before those of your child’s doctor! I do my best to overcome stressful situations by being prepared. If I go through an unpleasant situation, I tend to plan ways to ease the pain if the situation ever repeats itself. Plus, I am a little superstitious and have convinced myself that when I plan for events, they don’t happen 🙂 (Your welcome–for preventing the zombie apocalypse with my preps)
There is nothing quite like the heart clenching panic that comes when you baby’s temperature spikes. The first time my son ran a fever as a baby, we went straight to the pediatrician. It was 104 degrees!
But don’t forget that if your child’s temperature spikes it means that his body is doing what it’s supposed to do when confronted by a virus or bacterial infection.
Here are a few tips to help bring down a child’s temperature. (Again, I am assuming that you have already contacted or gone to the doctor!)
Give the child the dr provided dosage of acetomenophen (Tylenol). Write down the time and medicine. Wait one hour. If the fever still hasn’t gone down and the baby is older than six months, give a dose (get the correct dosage from the doctor) of ibuprofen (Motrin) and again WRITE DOWN THE TIME and the medicine name. Tylenol can be given every four hours and Motrin every six hours but they must be given at least an hour apart per my pediatrician.
If you prefer not to use medication or if the medicine is not relieving the fever, wet a washcloth in WARM (not cold or even cool) water , wring it out, and gently wipe down the child’s back, arms, and legs. The warm water naturally cools on the skin and helps gently bring down the baby’s temperature.
A luke warm bath can also be soothing. However, do not put the baby in an ice cold bath! Not only will it distress the baby but will also result in shivering which raises the baby’s temperature.
It is important to keep the fevered child well hydrated. Pedialyte in a bottle or as freezer pops work wonders. I would also use a medicine syringe to give my children a teaspoon on pedialyte every few minutes when they would be too sick to drink on their own.
DRASTIC MEASURES:
There are times when a child’s alarmingly high fever will call for drastic measures. This tip is not for the faint of heart! For times when my son’s temperature rose upwards of 105 degrees, I would substitute Acephen for the Tylenol. Acephen is acetaminophen…but in a suppository form. I’ve found that it works much quicker than the oral version to bring down fevers.
What tips do you have for handling fevers?
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