When Your Little One has a Fever

23 Mar 2016 Comments

How to Keep it Cool When Your Little One is Heating Up

In the past year that I’ve had my Cheeky Monkey I can’t even remember how many times he has been unwell. Our first presentation to the emergency department he was not even three weeks old. He had a miniscule fever but he was so young that going anywhere else simply wasn’t an option. He had a urine infection and we were admitted for two weeks so he could have intravenous antibiotics. Being there with my sick boy day and night was utterly exhausting. I was adamant that I would continue breastfeeding, the medical staff supported me and agreed it was the best feeding option for his health, but Cheeky Monkey wouldn’t take a bottle so I was there, all day and night for those two weeks. He was too young for regular paracetamol for the first week so finding other ways to help him stay cool was important.

Due to a renal abnormality, he has been on prophylactic antibiotics since that first admission to prevent further infections. Despite that he developed an infection at four months old which was resistant to a large number of antibiotics and led to another hospital admission, as well as a regime change to a double agent antibiotic. He has had antibiotics at least daily for a year and three days at the time of writing this. I am genuinely concerned about antibiotic resistance in the long term, and what outcomes that may mean for him. Aside from the kidney complications, Cheeky Monkey has had innumerable coughs and colds lovingly passed by family, friends and their children. They’re never fun, and always hit him hard.

Paracetamol and Ibuprofen

Earlier this week I caught a segment on breakfast television about new recommendations passed down by the Australian Medical Association. The advice surrounds minimising the administration of paracetamol and ibuprofen to treat fever in children, as well as decreasing the prescription of antibiotics in ear infections. As a nurse both recommendations seemed like common sense to me: to utilize other options before dosing your child up, and helping the fight against antimicrobial resistance. To read the comments on the Facebook link many parents seemed to think of the recommendation as a directive for doctors to withhold care and deliberately cause pain to their children.

Heated conversation surrounding the same topic cropped up in a number of other online forums I frequent with a similar reaction. It was very evident that half the problem was the way in which the advice was worded both online and in subsequent news segments. I was surprised at the apparent ignorance of a number of parents in non-medicating ways to manage fever, many asked “what else am I supposed to do to bring down a temperature?”. Core temperature reduction strategies are often simple common sense, but when your baby is unwell common sense often flies out the window. So there’s no harm in a refresher is there?

Remove Layers of Clothing

The quickest and easiest remedy to help lower body temperature is to remove layers of clothing. Strip them down to a nappy or underwear if you need to. I’ve sat in an emergency department and seen a family bring in a child with a fever of 39C wearing a full tracksuit, ugg boots and a beanie. No joke. Being able to shed heat through their skin will help bring their core temperature down. If they get too cold, a light covering with natural fibre until they’re warm again will help aid their thermoregulation.

Damp Washcloth

One of my earliest memories of my father is him perched on the floor next to my bed, placing a damp washcloth on my forehead. As the cloth got too warm, he would take it off, spin it in the air between his hands until it cooled again and then reapply it. I’ve done this same thing when my son has had fevers, and also for many of the patients in my care over the years I have been nursing.

A Short Bath or Shower

A short bath or shower will help freshen the child if they’re sweating, with the added bonus of lowering body temperature as you introduce more cold water. Lukewarm water is fine but if they cool to the point of shivering the body will work harder and actually bring body temperature higher. Afterwards, keep the room a little cooler if you can and circulate air with a fan, the breeze will help keep them a little more comfortable.

Cold Food and Fluids

As a child there weren’t many food treats but one of the best was only being able to have lemonade icy poles when we were sick. Cold food and fluids will aid hydration as well as help keep them a little cooler. It also helps them feel a bit special when they feel decidedly less than ordinary.

Currently Cheeky Monkey is at the beginning of what is probably croup, and is running a low to moderate fever. Through the day he has been cranky but easily distracted though it deteriorated through the early evening and he was getting quite upset. After a cool shower together I’ve popped him into bed wearing a singlet, in his lightest sleeping bag, the fan on and a small dose of ibuprofen with his last feed of the day. Part of my occupation is giving medication to patients so I don’t balk at giving them to my child, but I do always try to keep in mind non-pharmacological options where they can be utilized.

If your child has a fever and it’s making them upset, distressed or uncomfortable, absolutely treat it. If at any time your MummySense tingles or the fever is in an infant under six months old, seek medical advice.

Aimee Toby

Tags: Health

Aimee Toby

Aimee has been married to The Husband for six years and is mother to Cheeky Monkey (1yo) and a furbaby StealthDog (4yo). She is a registered nurse with 10 years experience in a large Sydney Hospital and in her 'spare time' she enjoys baking, re-reading her favourite novels and being a fangirl of Disney, Tolkien, and Rowling. Aimee loves being a mum (most of the time) and is always on the...

When Your Little One has a Fever