Fever in children can be a cause of worry for parents. A baby’s ‘thermostat’ is not very well developed and so, it can times be a false symptom. When your baby is septic or infected, it might not have fever and on the other hand, it can have fever due to less intake of milk/dehydration etc. Your baby can present with fever if its very hot on the outside or if he is placed around sources of heat, so though it is necessary to keep your baby warm, do not overheat him by placing him next to heat sources. Dehydration in babies can present as fever.

This happens usually in the first two or three days after birth when breastfeeding is not proper. The baby however takes feeds properly and does not show signs of lethargy. If this is the case, fever will subside as soon as dehydration is corrected. Frequent breastfeeding and feeding as and when your baby wants is the answer to this problem. Fever can present if your baby has an infection. But as we mentioned earlier, this is not the rule and your child can have normal temperature or even low temp during an infection. Lethargy, frequent crying and poor feeding are some of the symptoms you should look for.

If the fever is persistent and your child has any of the above symptoms, take your child to the doctor. The best and safest medicine for children is ‘Paracetamol’. DO NOT give your baby ‘Aspirin’ for any reason, unless specifically directed by your doctor. It can have adverse reactions and can cause ‘Rey’s Syndrome’. Lets not go into the details of this. Apart from medicines, water sponging can help to bring down the fever. Remember that if the fever is persistent, do not keep trying to self treat your child. Especially if the fever is above 102 or 103 degrees take him to the doctor immediately. Children can have a ‘fit’ if the fever reaches near 105 degrees, but some children can have it even at a lower temperature. So do not dismiss it as a simple fever. High fevers can result in fatal consequences.