KOCHI: Fever by itself is not a disease; rather it is a symptom. It is defined as an underarm temperature of 37.5 degrees celsius and higher. The temperature increases because of chemicals, called cytokines, which are produced in the body in response to an invasion from a microorganism, malignancy or other intruders.
Fever may be caused by infectious diseases, heatstroke, dehydration, brain disorder, some types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, blood transfusion or certain medications.
If your child is younger than 3 months of age and has a fever, you should call your health care provider immediately. Difficulty in waking up, inconsolable crying, poor feeding, stiff neck, tense abdomen, recurrent vomiting and decreased urine output are some of the symptoms found in toddlers. A doctor needs to be consulted if your child is younger than 2 years and has a fever lasting more than 24 hours.
Treat your child’s fever with antipyretic like paracetamol, the child may show abnormal behavior or talk strangely due to reduced mentation. Seizures can occur during fever in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. If your child had a febrile seizure, there is a chance that the seizure may occur again; hence fever needs to be controlled. A febrile seizure does not imply that your child will have long term neurological issue or seizure disorder. Aspirin should not be given to control fever because it is associated with a serious, potentially fatal disease, called Reye syndrome.
Excess clothing will cause the temperature to rise by trapping heat. Hence the child should be dressed lightly.
Encourage your child to drink plenty of fluids. Bath may be avoided especially if your child has a cough in addition. The child should be cleaned by sponging with warm water. Coldwater should be avoided because it induces shivering and this, in turn, increases temperature.
Localising symptoms help in localising the body systems affected by the infection. For example symptoms like nasal discharge and cough suggest infection of nasal, paranasal sinuses. Watery discharge from nose or eyes mostly suggests a viral infection.
Cough with wet sound may suggest a lung infection (pneumonia). Symptoms like vomiting, stomach pain
or loose stools suggest infection of the gut. Prevention of dehydration is important by using oral rehydration solution. Painful urination suggests urinary tract infection needing antibiotics after taking urinary culture.
Dr Mrinal Sivadasan is a consultant neonatologist at SUT Hospital, Pattom. (The views expressed by the author are his own)