If your child does not feel sick or has no history of febrile convulsions, then fever usually does not need medication. Fever is important to help your child fight off infections. If your child does not have a history of seizures or a chronic illness, then a fever is not dangerous or important. Even if your child has a history of febrile convulsions, you may still have seizures with medication. Observing your child’s behavior is even more important for treatment. If your child is eating and sleeping well and is able to play normally, he may not need any kind of treatment. You should talk to your pediatrician about when to intervene in your child’s fever treatment. Recommendations for Fever Treatment 1. Keep your child’s room and home cool and comfortable, and do not overdress your child; 2. Advise your child to drink plenty of water, fruit juices, oral electrolyte solutions, gummy products (jellies), and Popsicles; 3. Turn on the electric fan if the room is warm or unventilated to keep the air circulating; 4. It is not necessary for your child to stay in the room or lie in bed when he or she has a fever. Your child can walk around the room, taking care not to overexert himself; 5. If the fever is highly contagious (e.g., chicken pox or influenza), keep your child away from other children, the elderly, or those with weaker resistance (e.g., cancer patients). Sponging In most cases, using oral acetaminophen or ibuprofen is the most convenient way to make a child with a fever feel comfortable. However, you can also use warm sponge rubs in combination with or alone to provide relief. Sponging is preferable to acetaminophen or ibuprofen in the following situations: Your child is allergic or resistant to fever-reducing medications (this is rare). Sponge rubs are recommended in combination with acetaminophen or ibuprofen if: 1) the fever is causing your child extreme discomfort; 2) your child is vomiting and the medicine is not staying in the stomach. Place the child in a regular bath (tub or baby bath) with 1-2 inches of warm water (85-90 degrees Fahrenheit, or 29.4-32.2 degrees Celsius) and sponge the child. If you do not have a bath thermometer, test the water temperature with the back of your hand or wrist, which is slightly on the warm side. Do not use cold water; cold water can make your child uncomfortable and cause shivering, which can raise his or her temperature. If your child starts to shiver, the water is too cold. Shivering can aggravate a fever, at which point your child should be taken out of the tub immediately. Have your child sit in the water – this is more comfortable than lying down. Then, wipe your child’s body, arms and legs with a clean towel or sponge. Moisture evaporation can lower body temperature. Keep the room temperature at 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 degrees Celsius) and continue to rub your child’s body until the body temperature reaches an acceptable level. Never rub with alcohol, which can be absorbed into the child’s skin and lead to more serious problems (such as unconsciousness). Usually after 30 to 45 minutes of scrubbing, your child’s fever will have gone down 1-2 degrees. However, if your child is very resistant to the rub, then let him sit in the water and play. If he feels restless or uncomfortable in the tub, then it’s best to take him out to play, even if his fever is still high. Remember, a fever of less than 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius) is not harmful. My interpretation is that warm baths and soaks as such need not be used at all below 39° C. Above 39° C, fever-reducing medication is also the first thing to be taken, and should only be considered as an addition if the child is unable to take fever-reducing medication, or if the child is very uncomfortable, i.e., if the discomfort caused by the fever has greatly outweighed that caused by the rubbing of the baths, and should never be considered as the preferred method.