When you are a new mother, you want to exert all your energy to take care of the new life you have given birth to. The biggest fear of mothers is that their babies will get sick, especially if they have a fever in the middle of the night! When a baby has a fever, the mother becomes nervous and runs to the hospital with her child in her arms, day and night. In fact, although the baby fever should not be taken lightly, but there is no need to make a fuss.
Is 38.5 ℃ the gold standard for using antipyretics?
Usually pediatricians use 38.5°C as the cut-off point for taking antipyretic medication. However, we should also know that the purpose of giving fever-reducing medication is to reduce the child’s discomfort caused by the fever. Therefore, it is more important to focus on the specific “person” rather than the body temperature to determine when antipyretic medication is needed. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all standard. If you feel uncomfortable, you can consider giving medication, and if you are not particularly uncomfortable, there is no need to take antipyretic medication.
1. The following cases can be dispensed with
(1) Fever below 38 ℃ rarely causes serious discomfort in children and does not require antipyretic drugs.
(2) Some children have a temperature of 39 ℃, but they are still in good spirits and can clap and sing and play games with their parents, so antipyretics are not necessary in this case.
(2) Sometimes the body temperature is high but the child is sleeping, so there is no need to wake up the sleeping child and make them take medicine.
2.Several special groups
(1) Older children
For some older children in high school, they do not tolerate fever as well as younger children, and sometimes they feel headache and discomfort just after their body temperature exceeds 38°C. In this case, there is no need to dogmatically wait until their body temperature exceeds 38.5°C before giving them medicine.
(2) Newborns and infants under 3 months of age
Newborns and infants under 3 months of age should use antipyretics with caution. Because many fever-reducing drugs are currently given to adults, small infants are light in weight and have a large body surface area, so it is not easy to control the dose of fever-reducing drugs, and they are prone to deficiency or gastrointestinal damage. When fever occurs in children of this age, parents are advised to consult their pediatrician promptly to determine the treatment plan and are not advised to handle it on their own.
(3) Children with silicosis
Ibuprofen is preferred for fever reduction.
Normal therapeutic doses of acetaminophen can be used safely. There is no need to be overly anxious if you accidentally overdose, and seek prompt medical attention if necessary.
Put G6PD deficiency in the drug allergy history field so that your doctor will take it into account before prescribing.
In addition, these children should avoid camphor and fava beans in their lives.
There are so many antipyretic drugs, how to choose?
For antipyretic drugs, acetaminophen and ibuprofen, the most widely used in pediatrics, are recommended as safe and effective antipyretics.
Precautions for the use of antipyretic drugs
1. The effect is not immediate after taking the medicine
The effect time of oral antipyretics is generally about half an hour. Half an hour after taking the medicine, if the body temperature begins to fall, continue to observe; if the body temperature has not fallen trend, please seek medical attention.
2.Caution is needed when choosing to take multiple drugs
For general fever, if an antipyretic can control the temperature well, it is recommended to use a single drug to reduce fever, so as to avoid confusion between two drug doses.
For persistent high fever, if a drug is not effective in reducing fever, two drugs can be used alternately under the guidance of a pediatrician, which can reduce the number of times each drug is used within 24 hours and reduce the risk of adverse reactions.
3.Side effects are not as scary as “rumors”
Many parents hesitate to use drugs because they are worried about the side effects. Here we can clearly tell you that both drugs are widely used in the world and their safety has been proven in practice, so please do not refuse to give your baby the medication because you are overly worried about the side effects.
4. Nimesulide is contraindicated in children under 12 years of age
Nimesulide is prohibited for children under the age of 12 years old, taking into account the special characteristics of children’s drug safety. Anacin and aspirin are also not routinely used in children.